Cut the chicken breasts into uniform, large bite-sized pieces and put them in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and white pepper, then add the sake and mix well.

Separate one egg, saving the yolk for later. Add the egg white to the chicken and give it a good mix to make sure all the pieces are coated evenly.

Add the potato starch and mix until all the pieces are fully coated.

Finally, add the cooking oil.

Set it aside while you get the other ingredients ready.

Heat a large wok or frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add some oil and cook the chicken in a single layer until it’s golden brown on both sides.

Take the chicken out of the pan and put it on a plate while we make the sauce.

The chicken will finish cooking when you put it back in the sauce later.

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside.

Next, using the same pan, add a little more oil and fry the leeks, garlic, and ginger until they release their aroma.

Once you start to smell the aromas, add the chili bean paste and mix it all together, then fry for about one minute.

Next, add the prepared sauce to the pan.

After cooking for 1 to 2 minutes while mixing, return the chicken to the pan, and at the same time, add the green peas, lemon juice, chili oil, and sesame oil.

Mix thoroughly for about 1 minute.

Once they’re glossy and coated, turn off the heat.

Next, use a separate frying pan to make scrambled eggs using the remaining whole egg and egg yolk from earlier. You can make them however you like, but I used a method of heating the eggs slowly over low heat with butter.

Once you’ve made the dish, you’re all set to serve the tori chili with the scrambled eggs and enjoy with plain rice!

Place the wrapper on your palm and spread 1 tbsp of mixture in the middle.

Use a small amount of water to wet the edges. This will seal your gyoza and prevent leaks.

Start the folding process by pinching one corner first.

From there, continue to use your thumbs to space out and press down each pleat until you reach the end of the wrapper. Press down firmly to seal.

Deshell, devein and wash your prawns before using a knife to finely chop them until they reach a paste-like consistency. You don’t need to be too thorough here. We use a knife (instead of a food processor) so that the texture is a little chunky.

Transfer the prawns to a mixing bowl and add black pepper, soy sauce, sake, grated garlic, grated ginger, scallop stock powder, cornstarch, garlic chives and white onion. Mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Take a gyoza wrapper and place it on your flattened palm. Add 1 tbsp of filling to the center and spread it evenly, leaving a finger-width border around the edge. Lightly wet the edge with cold water.

Fold the wrapper in half but don’t let the edges touch yet. Pinch one corner to start the pleat.

Make a small fold and press it down to make another pleat. Continue until the gyoza is sealed.

Press the pleats one last time to secure them.

Heat a frying pan on medium and once hot, add the cooking oil. Place the gyoza with the base flat to the bottom of the pan. Fry until golden underneath. While you wait, boil some water.

Once the underneath is browned, pour the boiled water around the pan and place a lid on top. Leave the gyoza to cook in the steam until the water has almost disappeared.

Once the water is almost gone, remove the lid. Allow the water to evaporate completely and then remove the pan from the heat.

Mix ponzu sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili oil in a small bowl. If you want it a bit spicier, feel free to add some chopped chilies.

Flip the gyoza onto a serving plate and squeeze some lemon juice over the top.

Serve with your homemade dipping sauce and enjoy!

Start by pouring warm water into a jug and then adding the dry yeast and sugar. Mix well and wait a few minutes for it to become foamy.

I recommend warming the milk slightly too, even if it’s just to room temperature. (Cold milk might hinder the yeast.)

Sift the cake flour and strong flour into a large mixing bowl and add salt and baking powder. Mix well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

After the yeast has foamed up, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the contents of the jug into the well. Add the milk here too.

Mix together to form a rough dough and tip it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead until smooth, place it back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. It’s important to keep it covered since moisture in the air can affect the rise.

Leave it in a warm place to rise until it has doubled in size.

Start by finely dicing all of the vegetables. They should be small enough that each ingredient spreads evenly throughout the filling, but big enough that they still have a bit of texture.

Heat a large pan on medium and add a drizzle of sesame oil. Add the vegetables and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

Next, add soy sauce, oyster sauce, miso paste, black vinegar sake, sugar, honey, salt, pepper and Chinese chicken stock powder and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed into the mixture.

Mix 1 tsp of potato starch (or corn starch) in a separate bowl with 1 tbsp of cold water to make a slurry. Turn off the heat and pour the slurry into the pan. Mix thoroughly until the mixture becomes slightly thickened and glossy.

Transfer the filling to a container and leave it to cool.

Mix the pork mince and lard in a mixing bowl. Once the vegetables are cool to the touch, add them to the bowl and mix until evenly distributed throughout the filling.

Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge until the dough is ready.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out and roll it into a cylinder.

Cut the cylinder into approximately 60g (about 2oz) pieces. My recipe makes 4, but if you’ve doubled or tripled the recipe, cut it into 8 or 12.

Shape each piece so they’re round, and cover them with plastic wrap or a clean, damp tea towel.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes. This resting time helps loosen the dough so that it’s easier to shape.

Flatten out each piece of dough with your palm, and then use a rolling pin to roll it flat to about 5mm (1/4 inch) thick.

Use the rolling pin to thin out the edges all the way around. Since the top will be gathered, the edges should be thinner to prevent the top from becoming too thick and doughy. In other words, the center should be about 5mm thick, while the edges should only be about 2mm thick.

Take the filling out of the fridge and divide it into equal portions (approx 60g/2oz each). Roll each portion into a rough ball and place it in the center of the dough.

Now, I will warn you that my method of folding is not an authentic way, but it’s so easy that you can’t fail! Even if you’re a beginner, you can get this folding method on the first try!

Start by bringing the top and bottom edges to meet in the middle of the filling and pinch them together. Do the same with the left and right edges.

Then, repeat diagonally with each pair of parallel corners.

To fully ensure the nikuman is sealed, twist the middle point.

This will also move the folds and improve the appearance!

Place each completed nikuman on a small piece of baking paper and then place inside the steaming basket.

Once they’re all complete, add the lid and rest for another 15 minutes.

Once the 15-minute resting time is up, fill a pot with (cold) water and place the steaming basket with the nikuman on top. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, and then once it’s bubbling, turn the heat down to medium and set a timer for 13 minutes.

By starting with cold water, the temperature is brought up gradually, and the dough grows more smoothly. This prevents holes and the nikuman from becoming misshapen.

Once the timer is up, remove the lid immediately (no need to wait!) and enjoy your freshly steamed homemade Japanese nikuman!

Grating the onion and ginger not only helps it distribute more evenly through the filling, but it also makes it extra juicy!

Add the finely chopped spring onion and bamboo shoots to a separate bowl with some potato starch and mix them together until evenly coated.

Not only does the potato starch help absorb the excess moisture from the vegetables, but it will also act as a binder when we combine it with the meat, helping make a more stable filling that will hold its shape when steamed.

Combine the meat, grated onion and ginger, and potato starch-coated vegetables all into one bowl and knead them together by hand until the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the filling.

Take a wonton wrapper and place it in the palm of your hand. Use a cutlery knife to spread about 1 tbsp of filling in the center. (This is approximately 15g per shumai.) Leave some space around the edge with extra space in the corners.

Curl your thumb and fingers around the shumai to help guide the edges of the wrapper upwards.

While your thumb and fingers are wrapped around the shumai, use the knife to push it down. Use your other hand to push the shumai up from underneath and flatten the base.

Smooth out the dent using the edge of the knife.

Place the completed shumai in a steaming basket lined with baking paper. Once they’re all shaped, place a green pea in the center of each one.

Bring your water to a rolling boil.

Once the water is boiling, place the steaming basket with a lid over the pot and steam the shumai for 8 minutes.

Remove the shumai from the heat and dish up!

I recommend dipping shumai with Japanese “karashi” mustard and soy sauce!

The first step is to rehydrate the dry shiitake mushrooms in water. Make sure you only use dried shiitake mushrooms for this recipe, as the flavor of fresh ones is not so strong.

For 1-2 servings, I suggest two shiitake mushrooms; however, the ones in my pack were small, so I used 3 this time.

Soak them for about 20-30 minutes until softened. You can also use this time to set your rice. (If you don’t have a rice cooker, check out my post on how to cook fluffy Japanese style rice on the stove!)

Start by melting butter in a pan over a low heat.

Once melted, add the soy sauce and mix.

Add the chicken stock, light brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Turn up the heat to medium and bring it to a boil.

Allow the sauce to boil for 1 minute and then turn it down to a simmer.

Make a slurry by mixing potato starch and cold water in a small bowl, then add it to the sauce along with the rice vinegar.

Allow the sauce to simmer until it becomes slightly thickened and glossy.

Once it’s thickened, turn off the heat. You can leave it on the stove to keep it warm or reheat it just before serving.

Once the shiitake are rehydrated, remove them from the water. Don’t discard the water; this is now a shiitake dashi (broth) that we will add to the eggs later!

Cut the shiitake into slices.

Finely dice the spring onion and shred the crab sticks using a fork.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them until the whites and yolks are combined.

Add the shiitake, spring onion, and imitation crab and whisk them all together.

Add 1 tbsp of shiitake dashi per portion.

Then add Japanese mayonnaise, grated ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Whisk them all together, and then you’re ready to cook!

Heat a pan on medium-high; once hot, add the oil and swirl it around the pan. To make sure the base is evenly coated with oil, you can use kitchen paper to rub it all over the surface, this will ensure your omelette doesn’t stick. I recommend using a pan that is roughly the same size as your serving dish.

Once the pan is hot, pour the egg mixture in.

Whisk the egg with chopsticks while it’s still raw to ensure a fluffy texture. Once you start to see the edges setting, stop whisking. I usually whisk it for about 30 seconds.

Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook until it’s half done.

I took my omelette off the heat at this point. (If you prefer your eggs well done, you can flip it and cook the other side for 30 seconds or so.)

Make a small mountain of rice in a bowl. I recommend using a deep dish with raised edges so the sauce stays in the bowl.

Carefully slide the omelette from the pan over the rice.

Pour the sauce over the top. (Reheat if necessary.)

Drizzle with sesame oil and top with a few green peas for an authentic presentation!

And enjoy!

Take your pork belly or shoulder and roughly cut it. I do this so that my spring rolls have a chunkier texture, but if you’re using ground meat, you can skip this step.

Place it in a mixing bowl with salt, pepper, and sesame oil and mix until evenly distributed.

Heat up a pan (one that has a lid) on medium and add the shredded cabbage. Depending on your choice of pan, add a small amount of oil to prevent sticking.

Once the cabbage has softened slightly, add chicken stock and sake and place the lid on top. Simmer for 3 minutes, and then turn off the heat.

Heat a large pan on medium-low and add the pork. Stir fry until sealed.

Add the finely chopped fresh ginger and green onion, and stir fry until the ginger becomes fragrant.

Once fragrant, add the rest of the vegetables. These should be cut into thin strips (julienne) to make it easier to roll the harumaki later.

Stir fry for a few minutes.

Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar to flavor the filling. Mix thoroughly to ensure they’re evenly distributed.

Pour the contents of the other pan (cabbage and chicken stock) into the wok and mix well.

Add the rice vermicelli, make sure they’re submerged in the chicken stock so that they can soften.

Once the noodles have softened, take a small bowl and mix cold water with cornstarch to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the pan and mix well.

Simmer until thick and glossy, then remove the pan from the heat.

Transfer the filling to a wide container and allow it to cool until cool enough to touch.

Once cool, use scissors to cut the noodles (this will make it easier to divide the filling).

Divide the filling into portions equal to the number of wrappers you have. This will ensure the size is uniform and you don’t have any leftover filling!

You are now ready to roll your harumaki!

Take a small bowl and add water and flour at a ratio of 2:1 to make a paste. Place your spring roll wrapper in front of you at a 45-degree angle to look like a diamond.

Important Note

Most harumaki wrappers have a smooth side that should be on the outside of the roll and a rough side that should be inside. When placing your wrapper down, ensure the rough side faces up.

If you can’t tell by eye, use touch to determine which side is which.

Spread the filling horizontally just below the center, making sure not to spread it too close to the edges.

Pull the bottom corner tightly over the filling to start the roll.

Fold the left and right edges over to make the harumaki resemble an envelope. Press the folds down to secure them. There shouldn’t be any gaps.

Continue to roll the harumaki upwards 1-2 times (depending on the size of your wrapper) and leave the flap at the top.

Spread the paste you made earlier along the edges of the flap and then roll once more to complete. Press the harumaki down to secure it.

Pressing the harumaki will also make it flatter so that it won’t roll in the oil. This will help it cook more evenly!

Repeat until all of your wrappers and filling are used up.

You are now ready to cook them!

Add about 2cm of oil to a pan and heat to 160°C (320°F). Once hot, place the harumaki in the oil with the sealed side (point) facing down. Fry until golden.

Once golden underneath, flip and repeat on the other side. They don’t need to be cooked for too long since the filling is already cooked.

Once golden and crispy all over, rest on a wire rack for a few minutes to drain the excess oil.

To enjoy these harumaki the Japanese way, serve with soy sauce and a blob of karashi mustard.

Enjoy!

Heat a wok over a high heat and melt the lard. If using sesame oil instead, use a medium heat to prevent burning.

Crack the eggs directly into the wok and break the yolks. Fry until it reaches a runny scrambled consistency.

Add the rice and stir fry together until well combined.

Add the chashu, kamaboko (fish cake), and green onion. They should be roughly chopped quite small so that they can be evenly distributed into the rice.

Stir fry until well incorporated.

Add the chashu marinade, salt, fine white pepper, and Chinese chicken bouillon powder. Mix thoroughly.

Stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until the condiments have incorporated into the rice. Toss the rice occasionally to help dry it out slightly. (See video for example.)

Pack the rice into a ladle or small bowl and flip it out onto a plate. Place a few pieces of red pickled ginger (benishoga) on top and serve.

Enjoy it with ramen or your favorite chuka-style dishes!

Wash the eggplant, cut off each end, and then cut in half lengthways (if the eggplant is especially thick, cut into quarters lengthways). From there, cut it into rough bitesize pieces.

Fill a bowl with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Place the eggplant inside and soak for 5 minutes. This softens any bitterness and stops the eggplant from becoming discolored or absorbing too much oil during cooking.

After 5 minutes, drain the water and dry the eggplant with kitchen paper.

I crush the cashew nuts using a mortar and pestle. Feel free to chop them with a knife or crush them with a rolling pin instead.

Heat a wok on medium and add sesame oil. Once hot, add finely diced garlic cloves, fresh ginger, and a white part of a leek.

Stir fry until fragrant, and then add the chili bean sauce, sugar, and black pepper.

Add the soy meat and crushed nuts from earlier and mix.

Add sake and soy sauce and stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until the soy meat is heated through and evenly coated in the sauce.

Add the eggplant to the wok and drizzle with sesame oil. Stir fry until the eggplant has picked up some of the flavors from the sauce.

Pour the vegetable stock into the pan and bring it to a boil.

Mix cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl to make a slurry.

Pour the slurry into the broth and mix over the heat until it becomes thick and glossy.

Once thickened to your liking, turn off the heat and dish up!

Transfer to serving bowls and top with a sprinkle of finely chopped green onion and a bunch of chili threads.

Enjoy!

Begin by whisking together your dry ingredients: cake flour, rice flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.

Place the dry mix in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. This crucial step helps reduce gluten formation when the beer is added and creates a temperature differential that promotes the formation of a lighter, more delicate crust when fried.

Grab a bowl (large and wide if you’re coating the shrimp, small if you’re just making a dipping sauce) and combine the Japanese mayonnaise, condensed milk, tomato ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, and paprika powder.

Mix until smooth and set aside.

Place deveined and deshelled shrimp in a bowl and rub the surface with cornstarch and a couple of pinches of salt. Massage gently for about 30 seconds, then rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels.

This one step makes the shrimp even tastier.

Heat your oil to a sizzling 180-190°C (356-374°F). The oil temperature should be this high for this batter. I use a contactless cooking thermometer when deep-frying. I recommend this because it is convenient to use, no matter your pot!

Also, drop garlic cloves while preheating to infuse the oil with flavor (optional) and remove them before they start to burn.

Just before frying, dust your shrimp with a light coating of cornstarch. This step is key to making sure the batter sticks perfectly to the shrimp and creates a moisture barrier between the shrimp and the batter.

Remove your dry batter mix from the freezer and quickly stir in well-chilled lager beer (or plain carbonated water). Mix with minimal stirring. A few lumps are actually good! Overmixing activates gluten and results in a tougher coating.

Fry the prawns in batches (in my case, two batches). Avoid overcrowding; we want each prawn to cook evenly. They’ll need about 3 minutes until they’re a lovely golden brown.

Keep an eye on that garlic if you haven’t already removed it. When it’s dark brown, it’s done its job. Fish it out and discard or eat!

As each batch finishes frying, transfer the shrimp to a wire rack. This allows air to circulate around the entire piece, preventing the bottom from becoming soggy from trapped steam and allowing excess oil to drip away cleanly.

The most critical timing decision: coat the shrimp with the mayo sauce ONLY immediately before serving. If you toss them too early, the moisture from the sauce will quickly soften your perfectly crispy batter.

For best results, put your fried shrimp in a wide, shallow bowl and gently fold in the sauce with a silicone spatula using a lifting motion rather than stirring. This keeps the delicate coating intact while making sure the sauce gets spread evenly.

Plate your shrimp immediately after coating with sauce, and finish with a light sprinkle of dried parsley for color contrast and a subtle herbal note.

In this recipe, I use pork loin. It’s quite lean but has a thick rim of fat that adds extra flavor to the dish. To speed up the cooking time and tenderize the meat, I start by pounding the pork with a rolling pin until it’s about 1cm (1/2 inch) thick.

Once you reach the desired thickness, cut into strips about 1/2 – 1cm thick. Cutting the meat thin will add uniformity to the dish and speed up the cooking process.

Next, take a large mixing bowl and whisk an egg. Once the whites and yolks have combined, add the pork strips, sake, salt and soy sauce.

Add cornstarch (or potato starch) and mix thoroughly.

Finally, add a drizzle of sesame oil and set the bowl aside until it’s time to cook.

One of the key features of Chinjao Rosu is that everything is cut into thin strips. Not only does this keep down the cooking time, but it also improves the presentation.

Julienne the bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and ginger. The ginger should be especially thin. I also thinly slice the garlic, but you can crush it if you prefer.

In a small bowl, add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, chicken stock powder, water and cornstarch (or potato starch). Mix well until the sugar and starch have dissolved, then set by the stove for later.

Heat a wok on medium-high, and once it’s hot, add 1 tbsp of cooking oil and the contents of the bowl of pork. The egg mixture will create a beautiful golden crust on the pork that will absorb the sauce later.

Once the pork is cooked through, transfer it to a plate and set aside for later. This is important to avoid overcooking.

Using the same wok, add an extra drizzle of oil if needed and add the bamboo shoots. Fry for a few minutes.

Add the bell peppers, ginger and garlic and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

Next, add the pork back in and mix everything together.

Turn off the heat, give the sauce a final mix (to ensure the starch hasn’t sunk to the bottom) and then pour it around the wok. Mix well, allowing the sauce to heat through and thicken using the residual heat.

By turning off the stove, we prevent the sauce from becoming overcooked and sticky, instead it should be slightly thickened and glossy.

Transfer the contents of the wok to serving plates, drizzle with sesame oil and enjoy!

I recommend serving Chinjao Rosu with a bowl of freshly cooked rice.