The best thing about cooking Japanese food (apart from it is usually delicious) is that nobody else I talk to has any idea what is going on. It's fantastic, like learning some ancient mystical art with secret nods and handshakes, or a form of alchemy, turning bizarely named and packaged foodstuffs into something everybody can recognise as purest gold.

Today's stew was pretty damn fine. I think partly because of the massive tiger prawns which my friend Fran seems to have a secret supplier of (see 1/7). I don't know where she gets them from but they are quite the best prawns I've ever had.

I've also discovered a new ingredient - sansho (Japanese pepper). It's a bit like szechuan pepper in that it has an odd anaesthetic effect on the mouth but has a slightly different taste - excellent, I love discovering new things.

And when people say "So what did you have for dinner yesterday." I can say:

"Oh, just a nabemono, made with prawns and clams - nothing unusual."


Cake Blog

Almond Torte from Café Nero: I'm sure they used to call these Bakewell tarts at café Nero. Perhaps they read my blog of 5/4/2005


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