Cooking Japanese in Jamaica

Ai Irisawa-Coney, Contributor

Welcome to our new food series, Cooking Japanese in Jamaica. Now you can prepare and enjoy your favourite Japanese dishes in the comfort of your own home. Join us twice each month as we teach you how to make some simple but delicious Japanese dishes the Jamaican way with contributor Ai Irisawa-Coney. Try it, then and let us know how they turn out! Send comments or questions to lifestyle@gleanerjm.com or on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gleaner-Lifestyle.

Tofu burger

In my eyes, Jamaica has changed so much since my first visit in 2004. Back then, there was no East Japanese, no Tamarind, no Rafael's. And I thought it was one of the most boring and disappointing experiences to shop in supermarkets even in the heart of Kingston.

These days, most supermarkets and grocery stores stock basic Japanese ingredients like California rice, soy sauce, miso paste, udon noodle, nori (seaweed), sesame seeds, konbu (dried seaweed), katsuo (dried bonito flakes), enough for me to cook authentic and fusion Japanese food in our kitchen.

My Jamaican friends often ask me to teach them how to cook Japanese food. After tens of broken promises, I have decided to write this column so that I can finally share my recipes using ingredients available here in Jamaica.

The first recipe I'd like to introduce is Tofu Burger.

We are almost into rainy season, so on one Thursday afternoon, I was so cosy at home that I didn't feel like going out at all. I decided to put together a dinner with whatever was available in our fridge to make some comfort food my husband would enjoy.

Tofu burgers are so quick and easy to prepare, you will be repeating this recipe over and over again. Tofu, a staple in the Japanese diet, is a soy product and soy has many health benefits.

It helps reduce cholesterol.

It is one of the most nourishing and body-building proteins.

It enhances our mental and physical energy.

It fights against diabetes, hardening of the arteries and all the complications that can arise with the heart, brain, kidneys and eyes.

It prevents gall stones.

For most Japanese dishes, you need to be equipped with a few essential ingredients. To make tofu burgers you will need soy sauce, sesame oil and miso paste (fermented soy paste).

Preparation time: 20 minutes

For six burgers

Ingredients

¹/²lb tofu

5 string beans

2 stems of spring onion (scallion)

1 small onion

¹/² carrot

1 small tomato

1 slice of bread (white or whole wheat) soaked in 1/4 cup of milk or soy milk

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp miso paste

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ginger juice (grated and extracted using a piece of clean cloth)

1 tsp soy sauce

A pinch of salt and pepper

Method

(1) Finely chop string beans, onions, carrot and tomato and stir-fry until soft.

(2) Crumble tofu using your hands in a bowl and then mix all ingredients together well.

(3) Make them into the shape of dumplings.

(4) Heat oil in a frying pan and fry each 'dumpling' on low heat for about five minutes on each side.

(5) Serve with your favourite rice, bread or pasta and garnish with sliced tomato and cucumber.

Itadakimasu! (Bon appétit!)

Ai and her husband operate a Jamaican/Chinese food take-out restaurant and she also managed a Japanese restaurant in Soho, London.