MasterChef winner Tim Anderson says just five Japanese ingredients can transform the way you cook – boosting flavour, building confidence and making everyday meals far more interesting.
Five Essential Japanese Ingredients
Anderson, who won the BBC cookery show in 2011, believes everyone can 'level up all (their) cooking' using just five Japanese staples. These ingredients are now readily available in most supermarkets and won't break the bank.
The father-of-two, who lives in London, says: 'Japanese food has just been in this perpetual motion machine of popularity – the more people learn about it, the more they like it. So, things are different now. More people are cooking it, which is great, and more people have the ingredients on hand.'
He adds: 'It's actually amazing how available they are. In fact, I was just doing my normal weekly shop the other day and noticed that there are even more brands of ponzu available, for example. Japanese seasonings are a shortcut to flavour town.'
Anderson's Top Five Ingredients
- Japanese soy sauce
- Japanese or short grain rice
- Dashi powder (a stock)
- Mirin (a rice wine)
- Miso
While these are affordable, Anderson recommends spending more on hon mirin (true mirin) where possible.
From Wisconsin to Japan: A Culinary Journey
Born and raised in Wisconsin, the 41-year-old has been studying Japanese food culture for more than two decades. He first encountered Japanese food as a teenager through the cooking show Iron Chef. Growing up, he mainly ate American classics like pasta, meat, casseroles, and pizza, with Mexican food being the 'most exotic'.
In high school, his image of Japanese food was limited to sushi and yakitori. 'I don't think I had any Japanese food at all until I was a teenager,' he recalls. 'There wasn't a single Japanese restaurant in my hometown.'
After moving to LA for college, his horizons expanded, but it was living in Japan that truly sparked his love for the cuisine. Ramen, especially tonkotsu ramen, became his obsession, leading him to move to Kyushu – the home of ramen.
JapanEasy Kitchen: Simple Recipes for Everyday Cooking
Anderson's latest cookbook, JapanEasy Kitchen, features over 100 recipes built around his core ingredients. The book has a 'no deep frying' rule to keep things simple. He says: 'For this book, I wanted to make it as easy as possible. Lots of people have these ingredients already, so my thought was, let's get people using them.'
His goals are twofold: 'Goal one is get people using Japanese ingredients and cooking Japanese food on a regular basis, and goal two is improve all your cooking by familiarity with Japanese seasonings.'
For beginners, Anderson suggests the scampi rice bowl, which uses four of the five key ingredients – dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and rice. He is especially proud of a tofumisu (vegan tiramisu) recipe.
Recipes to Try
Katsu Curry Parmo
A Teesside classic reworked with Japanese curry. This dish features breaded chicken topped with béchamel and molten cheese, served with pickled ginger or fukujin-zuke.
Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter, 65g plain flour, 250ml milk, ½ pack curry roux, 100ml water, 120g panko, 4 chicken breasts, salt, pepper, MSG, vegetable oil, 150g Cheddar, Japanese pickles.
Method: Make a roux with butter and 15g flour, add milk, then curry roux. Prepare batter with water and remaining flour. Butterfly chicken, season, coat in batter and panko. Shallow-fry until golden. Top with curry sauce and cheese, grill until bubbly. Serve with pickles and rice.
Miso e Pepe
A Japanese twist on cacio e pepe, using miso instead of cheese. 'Italy: once again, I'm sorry,' Anderson jokes. 'This is cacio e pepe – pasta with cheese and pepper – but, you know, with miso. I can't help it if miso is such a versatile stand-in for cheese!'
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil, 30g butter, 30 grinds black pepper, 30g white miso, 150g spaghetti, Pecorino (optional).
Method: Heat oil and butter, add pepper, whisk in miso. Cook pasta, reserve water. Add pasta water to miso mixture, boil until milky. Toss with pasta, garnish with Pecorino.
No-Churn Soy Sauce Caramel Ice Cream
Sweet, salty, and addictive. 'I whipped this up when looking to use up half a can of dulce de leche and whipping cream,' Anderson says. 'I have never rushed to write down a recipe so quickly. It's DELICIOUS.'
Ingredients: 300ml whipping cream, 200g dulce de leche, 2 tbsp icing sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste, 1-2 tbsp soy sauce.
Method: Whip all ingredients until thick and airy. Freeze until set.
JapanEasy Kitchen by Tim Anderson (Quadrille, £26) is available now.
