34
FOOD
Japan-easy!
Luiz Hara is a former banker turned Le Cordon Bleu
chef and supper club host. He is a Great Taste Awards
judge, food and travel writer, and author of Nikkei
Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way and
The Japanese Larder: Bringing Japanese Ingredients
into Your Everyday Cooking.
Luiz Hara asks, "How often have you bought an
exotic foreign ingredient for a special recipe only
to struggle to think what to do with it beyond
cooking that dish ,and for it to be sitting in our
fridges until it is past its use by date? I think we can all
relate to this. Japanese ingredients all too commonly
baffle home cooks - we often don't know how to use them
except in the recipe at hand. For example, miso paste is
the key ingredient in the ubiquitous miso soup, but there
is so much more to it than that. Miso can be used in many
different ways to create anything from marinated grilled
cod to barbecued caramelized pork ribs, and even miso
ice cream."
Over recent decades, home cooks the world over have
come to love many delicious and previously unfamiliar
foods. Take the humble garlic - unused and unloved in
most English-speaking countries until Elizabeth David
and Julia Child opened the eyes and taste buds of their
readers in the 1950s. And outside of Italy, whoever cooked
with radicchio, pancetta or even balsamic vinegar 30
years ago? It was only through the work of visionary chefs
that these ingredients are in our kitchens today.
With the same passion, enthusiasm and love of flavour
in mind, Hara firmly believes that great ingredients should
not be limited by geographic boundaries. The Japanese
Larder was written as a celebration of key Japanese
ingredients and the richness and depth of flavour they
can bring to readers anywhere in the world. In each
chapter of this stunning cookbook, a set of core Japanese
ingredients is explained and their uses illustrated in both
classical Japanese and newly created recipes for kitchens
outside Japan.
More than miso
Beyond some essential Japanese ingredients, recipes in
The Japanese Larder are based on produce that is readily
available in any major supermarket, encouraging cooks
to try something new yet accessible. Readers can use
these recipes to create an entire meal or use one of these
dishes alongside some of their own favourites.
Recipe examples include: Roast Soy and Butter
Chicken; Grilled Lamb Cutlets in Spicy Green Miso;
Seared Tuna with Sesame-Ponzu Dressing; Matcha and
Clotted Cream Rice Pudding.
Hara is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, food and travel
writer, who lives in London and specializes in Japanese
and Nikkei cuisines, Nikkei cuisine is a type of fusion
cuisine that combines Japanese and Peruvian or Brazilian
elements. Nikkei is the word first used to describe
immigrants of Japanese origin in Peru.
The Japanese Larder: Bringing Japanese Ingredients
Into Your Everyday Cooking by Luiz Hara.
www.luizhara.com