How to make sushi rice:

• . 4 cups sushi rice
• . 4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)
• . 4 ounces raw tuna sashimi

PREPARATION:

Cut the tuna into thin and long sticks. Put a nori sheet on top of a bamboo mat (makisu). Spread the sushi rice on top of the nori sheet. Place the tuna sticks lengthwise on the rice. Roll up the bamboo mat, pressing forward to shape the sushi into a cylinder. Press the bamboo mat firmly and remove it from the sushi. Cut the rolled sushi into bite-sized pieces. Makes 4 rolls

Makes 4-6 servings :

• . 3 cups Japanese-style rice
• . 3 1/4 cups water
• . 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• . 3 tbsp sugar
• . 1 tsp salt

PREPARATION:

After washing the rice well, cook it by pan or rice cooker. Prepare sushi vinegar (sushi-zu) by mixing rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture. Spread the hot steamed rice into a large plate (if you have it, use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke) by shamoji (spatula). Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice by shamoji very quickly. Be careful not to smash the rice. To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, use a fan as you mix sushi rice. This will give sushi rice a shiny look. It's best to use sushi rice right away.

Makes 4-6 servings :

TEMPURA SHRIMP

• . 12 large shrimps
• . 1 egg
• . 1 cup all purpose flour
• . 1 cup ice water
• . Vegetable oil for frying

PREPARATION:

Remove heads and shells from shrimps without removing tails. Devein the shrimps. Make two or three incisions in the stomach sides of the shrimps to straighten them. Lightly press the back of shrimps to straighten. Remove the dirt from the tails of shrimps, using a knife. Dry shrimps on paper towels. Make tempura batter as mentioned above . Heat the oil to 340F degree. Flour shrimps before frying. Dip the shrimps in the tempura batter. Fry the shrimps until crisp

Makes 4 servings :

How to make tempura batter:

• . 1 egg
• . 1 cup ice water
• . 1 cup all purpose flour

PREPARATION:

Beat an egg in a bowl. Add ice water in the bowl. Be sure to use very cold water. Add sifted flour in the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to overmix the batter

Makes 4 servings :

KURUMI (WALNUTS) MANJU CAKE:

• . 1 egg
• . 8 tbsps sugar
• . 1 and 1/4 cup flour
• . 1/2 tsp baking soda
• . For filling:
• . 1/2 cup dried an (azuki bean paste) powder
• . 1 cup sugar
• . 3/4 cup water
• . 2 tbsps chopped walnuts
• . *or use 5-6 oz koshi-an (refined sweet azuki bean paste)
• . For topping:
• . 1 egg yolk
• . 12 small pieces walnuts

PREPARATION:

To make filling, put water in a pan and put the pan on low heat. Add 1 cup of sugar in the water. Further, add an powder in the pan. Heat the an, stirring well. When an is thickened, stop the heat. Add chopped walnuts in the an filling. Divide the an into 12 pieces and make 12 balls. Set them aside. Crack an egg and separate egg white and yolk to two bowls. Add 4 tbsps of sugar in the egg white and whisk well. Add 4 tbsps of sugar in the egg yolk and whisk well. Add whisked egg white in the egg yolk mixture and stir together. Sift flour and baking soda together and add it to the egg mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and rest it in the refrigerator for about an hour. Spread some flour over a cutting board and place the dough. Stretch the dough to a long stick. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Round each piece and make 12 balls. Take a ball and flatten it by hands. Stretch the round dough so that it can wrap a piece of an filling. Place a piece of an filling in the center of the round dough. Wrap the filling, stretching the dough. Repeat the process to make 12 balls. Place the balls in oven pan. Brush tops with egg yolk. Further, put walnuts on tops. Bake them in preheated 160F oven for 10-15 minutes.

SHRIMP DUMPLING :

• . 8 oz. shelled shrimps
• . 8 oz. shelled shrimps
• . 2 scallions, finely chopped
• . 2 tbsp chopped beansprouts
• . 2 tsp soy sauce
• . 1 tsp rice wine
• . ¼ tsp sugar
• Dumplings:
• . 2 cups flour
• . ½ cup hot water

PREPARATION:

1. To make the dumplings, sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water. Using your fingers or a spatula, draw the flour into the liquid until it has been incorporated and the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out into a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. 2. Chop the shrimps finely and transfer them to a bowl. Stir in the scallions, bean sprouts, soy sauce, wine and sugar until mixture is thoroughly blended. 3. Turn the dough out on to the floured surface and roll out into a sausage about 1 inch in diameter. Cut the dough into slices 1 inch wide. Flatten the slices evenly with your fingers until they measure about 3 inch in diameter. 4. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each dough circle. Gather up the dough around the filling and bring it up over, pleating it up slightly as you bring it towards the centre. Turn the ends clockwise slightly to seal the filling in completely. 5. Half-fill a large saucepan or the bottom half of a steamer with water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Arrange the dumplings in a colander or the top half of the steamer, sealed side up, and place over the boiling water. Reduce the heat to moderate and steam the dumplings for about 10 minutes. 6. Serve at once.

CLAY POT ORANGE CHICKEN :

• . 1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken
• . 2 medium oranges, peeled and sliced
• (reserve the rinds) Salt
• . Pepper
• . 1 clove garlic, crushed
• . 1/2 cup orange juice
• . 1/4 cup soy sauce
• . 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• . 1/2 teaspoon allspice, ground
• . 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• . Arrowroot

PREPARATION:

Presoak pot, top and bottom, in water for fifteen minutes. Wash chicken, inside and out, under running cold water. Rub inside of chicken with salt, pepper and pressed garlic. Stuff with orange slices, peeled. Place chicken in pot, breast down. Grate the orange rind and sprinkle over chicken. Add orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, allspice and brown sugar. Place covered pot in cold oven. Turn temperature to 480 degrees F. Cook 90 minutes. Ten minutes before done, remove from oven, pour liquid into saucepan. Return the pot, uncovered, to oven for final 10 minutes to brown the chicken. Meanwhile, bring sauce to a boil and thicken with arrowroot. You may want to add a bit of brown sugar to the sauce, to taste.

ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOM WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCECHICKEN:

• . 1 lb asparagus, stiff ends peeled
• . 1/4 lb brown button mushrooms (or mixed mushrooms)
• . 2 garlic cloves
• . 1 T fermented black soybeans
• . 1.5 T rice vinegar
• . 1 T soy sauce
• . 1 t potato starch (or cornstarch)
• . 1 t brown sugar
• . 1 T sake or other rice wine

PREPARATION:

Cut asparagus on the diagonal into 1-2 inch pieces. Blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water. Drain and set aside. Wash and slice mushrooms. Set aside. Mince the garlic. Rinse the black beans well. Mix garlic and beans together. Set aside. Mix together the rice vinegar, tamari, starch, sugar, and sake. Set aside. Fill a glass with water and set handy next to the stove. Put a skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, dump the garlic mixture into the pan. Stir fry for one minute, adding water as the mixture begins to stick -- add just a little at time. Add the asparagus and stir fry for 10 minutes (or until asparagus is just shy of being crisp-done), again adding water just as needed. Add mushrooms and stir fry for 2-5 more minutes. Add the vinegar mixture (giving it a last stir to make sure starch is well mixed), stir until evenly coated and sauce thickens. Serve immediately.

MANDARIN ORANGE PUDDING

• . 1/4 ounce Agar agar
• . 2/3 cup Sugar
• . 2 cup Warm water
• . 1/4 cup Evaporated milk
• . 4 cup Water
• . 10 cherries
• . 4 Mandarin Orange

PREPARATION:

Soak agar agar stick in a med. bowl with 2 c. warm water 30 minutes. Transfer agar agar and water to a lg. saucepan. Add 4 c. water. Bring to a boil over med. heat and cook until agar agar is completely dissolved. Take orange pulp from the oranges remove seeds. Remove saucepan from heat and add sugar, milk and orange pulp. Stir until sugar is totally dissolved. Pour into a 12x8 cake pan. Let stand until cool. Refrig. until pudding is firm, about 15 min. Cut into diamond shapes. Garnish with cherries. Serve chilled.

SOGO PUDDING WITH RED BEAN

• 2 oz (60g) Water Chestnut Flour
• 3 oz (80g) Corn Flour
• 100 ml Evaporated Milk
• 200 ml Coconut Milk
• 15 tbsp Granulated Sugar
• 1000 ml Boiled Hot Water
• 1.5 (40g) Canned Red Bean

PREPARATION:

1. Dissolve sugar by hot water 2. Mix water chestnut flour, corn flour into a plain square container 3. Add in evaporated milk and coconut milk, then mix them well 4. Pour in the boiling sugar water, stir well until form paste 5. Add in red bean, stir again until red bean in well distribution 6. Chilled by refrigerator while paste is cooled down 7. Cut into small square pieces, dish up and serve

RIGATONI IN BLUE CHEESE PESTO CREAM SAUCE

• . 200 gr. rigatoni,
• . 3 tablespoon pesto sauce,
• . 1 tablespoon butter,
• . 1/2 cup cooking cream,
• . 100 gr. blue cheese,
• . 2 chopped shallots,
• . 1 grilled chicken breast,
• . 1 teaspoon chopped parsley,
• . 2 tablespoon sliced sun-dried tomatoes,
• . black pepper to taste.

PREPARATION:

Heat the butter in a skillet and sauté the shallots for 2-3 minutes. Slice the grilled chicken breast to strips and throw them in the skillet together with the sun-dried tomatoes. Add, also, the pesto sauce and blue cheese, and after 1 minute - the cooking cream. Make sure you are using pesto with less oil in it. Reduce the sauce in the pan for about 2 minutes to thicken a little bit. Boil the rigatoni according to the package directions and toss them with the blue cheese - pesto - cream sauce. Sprinkle with the fresh parsley. This recipe serves two.

RISOTTO WITH CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS

1 1/2 cup uncooked risotto rice, 4 grilled chicken breasts, 10 asparagus spears, 1 ounce sliced sun dried tomato, 1 tablespoon chopped onion, 1 teaspoon chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 400 ml. chicken stock or as needed, 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, 1 pinch Italian herbs mix.

PREPARATION:

Boil the rice until half-cooked and rinse it with cold water. Blanch the asparagus spears in boiling water and slice them to 3-4 pieces. In a large skillet heat the butter and olive oil and saute the garlic and onion for about 3 minutes. Add the sun dried tomato, sliced asparagus and chicken breast (sliced to strips), and cook for another 4 minutes. Add the rice and the chicken stock and stir regularly until the stock is absorbed by the rice. Taste the rice for doneness, and if needed add some more stock and keep cooking until done. Season with salt, pepper and Italian herbs, and fold the grated Parmesan into the risotto in the last moment before removing the skillet from the heat. This recipe is for 2 servings of Risotto Pollo e Asparagi.

CASTAGNACCIO

• . 400 g of Flour of Chestnuts
• . 50 g of Sugar
• . 400 ml of Water
• . 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• . 50 g of Pine kernel
• . 20 g of Butter

PREPARATION:

Place the flour of chestnuts and the sugar in a bowl add the extra virgin olive oil and mix, then add the water little by little and in the same time stir the mixture in order to not make lumps. Now add the pine kernel, butter and flour a baking pan of 22 cm of diameter, pour in it the mixture and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes or until the surface present crack and the pine kernels become golden.