Grilled Sweet Miso Aubergine

It should come as no surprise that I really love eating aubergine, in all kinds of ways judging from the various aubergine recipes I've posted such as Marinated aubergines, Panko crusted aubergine and Pasta Alla Norma. I really like its texture and it ability to take on flavours perfectly. Another one of my absolute favourite is the Grilled Sweet Miso aubergine. Initially, I thought that I could just buy sweet miso, plonk it on the sliced aubergine and throw it in the oven but no, it's easy but not that easy! This dish makes a great appetiser or a side dish. We had it with some grilled shio koji salmon recently and that went down really well!

Ingredients
1 Aubergine (sliced into rings of about 1 cm thickness)
1 Spring Onion (sliced)
1 tbsp Sweet Miso Paste
2 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
Black Sesame Seeds
Light Olive Oil

Method
1) Preheat oven to 200 deg C.
2) Place sliced aubergine on a baking tray lined with baking paper and brush with olive oil.
3) Roast it for about 25 - 25 mins or until it's cooked.
4) In the meantime, mix the sweet miso paste, mirin and brown sugar until you get a smooth paste. Add a little water if it's too thick. (Please also note that measurements are only a guide as store bought miso has different degrees of saltiness so it's best to taste and adjust accordingly)
5) When aubergines are done, take it out of the oven, top each slice with some of the paste and spread it around evenly. 
6) Sprinkle some black sesame seeds on each slice and place it under the grill for 2-3 mins until the paste bubbles.
7) Once done, garnish with sliced spring onions and serve. 

Sushi Tetsu - Sushi at it's best!

Opened only 3 weeks ago, Sushi Tetsu has already been receiving rave reviews from bloggers. Some have even returned for another meal  as they couldn't get enough of it's awesome offerings.

I got to know of this amazing but tiny restaurant run by Chef Toru Takahashi, who used to work at Nobu and his wife, through twitter and after reading The Skinny Bib's very exciting review, I knew that I would have to make a reservation soon as everyone who's been there all feel that it's going to be very difficult to make reservations soon. Oh yes! It is that good and I totally agree after having a dinner experience there!
It only sits 7 people at the counter and 2 tables of 2 in the restaurant. I was told that Chef Toru only serves sushi at the counter so the tables are there for people who are waiting to enjoy a beer or two.

There's only sushi and sashimi on the menu so for those who don't eat raw fish, this is not a place for you. Fish sourced by Chef Toru supplier are indeed of the best quality. Fish that are fresh, springy and full of flavour definitely hold the prime spot here. Chef Toru is a master at combining flavours and textures whether it's spring onions, shiso leaves, sancho pepper, cucumber, plum sauce or blowtorching which compliments and accentuates the star of the show! Just look at the concentration on his face during preparation!

As we were here to eat to our heart's content, we each went for the omakase flower set menu which contained the most amount of items... 9 items(chosen by Chef Toru) + a roll. However, towards the end of this taste adventure, we decided to order more as we couldn't get enough and asked Chef Toru  recommend 3 more items so yes, we ate quite a lot but somehow with sushi, one will never get too bloated, a very good thing in my books and just for the record, i'm usually a pretty small eater and i managed to eat everything. :) 

After we placed our order, a bamboo leaf that has already been soaked in water was placed in front of each of us and wiped cleaned. All sushi will then be served on this bamboo leaf. It'll be replaced when it gets too dry. 

The journey then begins. One thing to note is the Chef Toru brushes most of the sushi with soy sauce so though there's additional soy sauce available for you to use on the side. It's usually not necessary. 

Seabream Sushi

Turbot Sushi with plum sauce and spring onions

Salmon Sushi

Ebi/sweet prawn Sushi

Yellow Tail with plum sauce

Tuna Sushi - the colour is amazing!

Mackerel, Sancho pepper amd seaweed algae sushi

Light seared Scallop Sushi

Cucumber, Razor clam skirting and shiso roll

Chef Toru blowtorching the Otoro (Tuna Belly)

The awesome smokey oily seared Otoro (Tuna belly)

Razor clam, lime juice and seasalt sushi

Sea urchin wrapped in cucumber

Tamago(Japanese Omelette) - prawns and fish was used to flavour this and it added a nice sweetness. Started over a stove and ended in the oven.

We thoroughly enjoyed sitting at the counter and watching Chef Toru work with precision and lightness. We'll definitely make another trip back soon!


The bill came up to £65/person. We had green tea but Sushi Tetsu also carries a selection of sake and Japanese beer. 

Sushi Tetsu
Jerusalem Passage
London
EC1V 4JP
Tel. 020 3217 0090

Yaki Udon

Yaki Udon is one of the dishes we cook quite frequently during week as it's really quick. Just right for a no fuss dinner after a long day at work. However, I usually cook it with whatever I have in the fridge so it kinda becomes a fusion style Yaki Udon which is still tasty all the same! :) Some of the non authentic ingredient's I've used includes bak choi, brown mushrooms and red peppers.

Ingredients

2 packs pre boiled Udon Noodles 

One onion sliced

1 red pepper sliced

1 carrot peeled and cut into small strips

3 small bak choi, stem and leaves seperated

1 tbsp oil
Sesame seeds
1 tbsp tamari sauce (or according to taste)
1.5 tbsp mirin  (or according to taste)


Method:
- Blanch the udon for about a minute to separate and remove the oiliness 
- Heat oil on a medium heat in a wok
- Stirfry onions until soft
- Add in carrots, peppers and fry for a few minutes
- Add in bak choi stems and fry for 2 mins
- Add Udon, and fry for another min before adding bak choi leaves and seasonings
- Yaki Udon is ready once leaves have wilted
- Sprinkle over sesame seeds and serve.