A balance of simple ingredients lies at the heart of these recipes with plenty of colour to boot. The soft summer rolls, so called because they enclose fresh, summery ingredients in a rice paper wrap, are a mash-up of salad and sandwich. The rice paper is dried, so keeps for ages in the cupboard. It just needs a quick dunk in a bowl of warm water to soften it enough to use. Fill them with finely chopped salad and shredded meat, fish or tofu but get the bits prepped first so you’re ready to roll (excuse the pun!). Everything needs to be chopped in similar sizes so that once they’re wrapped the vegetables are like pieces in a jigsaw and all fit together quite tightly. Match with a pot of sweet chilli sauce – this is the dressing – to dip into.
For a more traditional bowl of salad, go for a teriyaki salad or poke (poh-kay) bowl, where a bed of seasoned sushi rice forms the base. For the former, the protein (meat, fish or tofu) is quickly stir-fried in teriyaki marinade to contrast with the simple rice and refreshing salad.
Poke bowls were invented by Hawaiian fishermen who used to enjoy offcuts from their catch, seasoned to their tastes. The recipes developed into beautiful bowls of salad where everything is carefully prepared and cut into similar sizes. The height of it all in a bowl is important as is each ingredient being portioned separately so you can see exactly what it consists of. Just as in Japanese cooking, there’s a deep respect for everything that’s enjoyed. For these recipes, we’ve added our own twists and Japanese-inspired additions, and we’re sure they’ll become firm favourites.