Recipe of the Month

On the suggestion of Sile Fluidedge we have tried to source a recipe that is both Japanese, and something good for eating on your lap using only one hand (the other holds the zapper - not that you'll be changing channels).

So we were delighted to receive Charmaine Soloman's 'The Complete Asian Cookbook' from Grub Street publishers. Phew! What an exhaustive and delightful study of the cuisine of a continent. We went straight to the section on Japan, to find this chicken omelette, but when World Cup fever subsides, I'm sure we'll be cooking Fried Noodles from Indonesia, split pea fritters from Burma, or some of the dim sum recipes from China. All the recipes are described in perfectly plain language, making even impossible looking concoctions sound quite simply achievable. No wonder this book comes with encomiums from Ken Hom, Nigel Slater, Clarissa Dickson Wright and Alan Davidson.

Torimake
Chicken Omelette

Serves 2

3 eggs
2 tablespoons dashi or water
half teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
vegetable oil for frying

Filling:
Half a cup of chopped cooked chicken
2 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

Filling: Flavour chicken with soy, mirin, sugar and juice pressed from grated ginger.

Beat eggs and add dashi, salt and soy. Heat omelette pan and grease lightly with a few drops of oil, pour in the egg and cook until set on the bottom, but liquid on top.

Put the chicken filling in a neat line across the omelette and roll the egg mixture firmly around it, away from you. Turn on to a plate, cut in two and serve immediately.

This chicken omelette may also be rolled in a bamboo mat, left until cool and firm, then unrolled, sliced and served as an hors d'oeuvre (read TV Snack - Ed)

Click here to buy 'The Complete Asian Cookbook'

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