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Japanese style small plates

Japanese style small plates

These Japanese-style small plates bring date night to your kitchen — crisp-bottomed prawn gyoza with a tangy dipping sauce, sticky glazed chicken yakitori straight off the griddle, and warm edamame dressed with sesame and yuzu. Three little dishes, one big impression.

Prep: Less than 30 mins
Cook: 10 to 30 mins
Serves: Serves 2
Dietary: Egg-free, Nut-free
Saturday Kitchen Chef photoBy Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen Live

Nutri-Score B rating for Japanese style small plates

These Japanese small plates earn a Nutri-Score of B. Lean prawns and chicken thigh provide plenty of protein, edamame adds fibre and plant protein, and the dishes are steamed or griddled rather than deep-fried. Keep an eye on the soy sauce and honey if you are watching salt and sugar.

Approximate nutrition per serving (all three plates): 780 kcal | Fat 32g | Carbohydrates 55g | Sugars 18g | Fibre 6g | Protein 52g

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Ingredients

For the prawn gyoza

  • 200g/7oz raw king prawns, peeled and very finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2cm/¾in piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sake
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • ½ tsp caster sugar
  • ½ tsp ground white pepper
  • 10 gyoza wrappers
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the gyoza dipping sauce

  • 4 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2–3 tbsp black vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp chilli oil

For the yakitori glaze

  • 100ml/3½fl oz light soy sauce
  • 100ml/3½fl oz mirin
  • 50ml/2fl oz sake
  • 1½ tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2cm/¾in piece fresh ginger, sliced
  • 1 spring onion, chopped

For the chicken yakitori

  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
  • 4 spring onions, cut into 3cm/1¼in pieces
  • 2 bamboo skewers, soaked in water
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Togarashi, to sprinkle
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges

For the edamame dressing

  • 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp runny honey
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
  • ½ garlic clove, finely grated
  • 1 tsp yuzu juice
  • Chilli oil, to taste

For the dressed edamame

  • 200g/7oz frozen shelled edamame beans
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced
  • Pinch salt

Customise

Ingredient swaps that hold up beautifully in these Japanese small plates:

  • Swap black vinegar for balsamic or rice vinegar with a drop of soy sauce if you cannot find it.
  • Replace yuzu juice with equal parts lemon and lime juice for a similar citrusy brightness.
  • Use chicken breast instead of thighs for a leaner yakitori — just watch it closely so it stays juicy.
  • Swap sake for dry sherry in both the gyoza filling and the yakitori glaze.
  • Substitute gyoza wrappers with wonton wrappers if that is what your supermarket stocks.
  • Replace runny honey with maple syrup if you prefer.

Method

Get ahead: mix the gyoza filling (10 minutes)

  1. Mix the prawn filling. In a mixing bowl, combine the finely chopped prawns, spring onions, garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce, sake, sesame oil, cornflour, caster sugar and white pepper. Really work it together with a spoon — the cornflour helps the filling bind so it stays juicy inside its wrapper. You can do this a few hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge.
  2. Fill and pleat the gyoza. Spoon a teaspoon of filling into the centre of each gyoza wrapper — resist the urge to overfill, or they will burst. Dip a finger in water and run it around the edge, then pleat and press the wrapper closed. Lay them on a floured board while you make the rest, and they will not stick.

Start the glaze (15 minutes, runs alongside everything else)

  1. Simmer the yakitori glaze. Put the soy sauce, mirin, sake, caster sugar, crushed garlic, sliced ginger and chopped spring onion into a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble away until it turns thick and syrupy — it will coat the back of a spoon when it is ready. Keep an eye on it near the end, as sugary glazes can catch quickly. You can make this ahead and warm it through later.
  2. Mix the dipping sauce. While the glaze reduces, stir the light soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil and chilli oil together in a small bowl. Taste and adjust — more vinegar for tang, more chilli oil for a kick. Set it aside; it will keep happily until serving.
  3. Whisk the edamame dressing. In another small bowl, mix the Japanese soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, honey, grated ginger, grated garlic, yuzu juice and a little chilli oil. Give it a good whisk so the honey dissolves completely. Done — one more sauce ticked off.

Pan-fry the gyoza (10 minutes)

  1. Fry the gyoza bases. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan with lid over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the gyoza flat-side down and let them fry undisturbed until the bottoms turn golden and crisp. That crispy base is the whole point, so give them time.
  2. Steam them tender. Carefully pour 100ml/3½fl oz of water into the pan — it will spit and steam, so stand back — then clap on the lid straight away. Steam for a few minutes until the wrappers turn tender and translucent and the prawn filling is opaque and cooked through. Lift the lid and let any leftover water evaporate so the bases stay crisp.

Grill the yakitori (10–12 minutes, while the gyoza rest)

  1. Heat the griddle and skewer the chicken. Preheat a griddle pan over a high heat. Thread alternate pieces of chicken and spring onion onto your soaked bamboo skewers — soaking them first stops them burning. Brush the skewers lightly with vegetable oil.
  2. Cook the skewers. Lay the skewers on the hot griddle and cook for 8–10 minutes, turning regularly so they colour evenly on all sides. Those charred lines are exactly what you want.
  3. Glaze and finish. When the chicken is almost cooked through, brush on a thin layer of the yakitori glaze with a pastry brush. Keep turning and brushing with more glaze in layers — building it up like this gives that gorgeous sticky, lacquered coating. Sprinkle with togarashi and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Dress the edamame and serve (5 minutes)

  1. Cook the edamame. Drop the frozen edamame beans into a pan of boiling salted water and cook for a few minutes until just tender. Drain them really well in a colander — soggy beans dilute the dressing.
  2. Toss while warm. Toss the warm beans straight into the dressing so they soak up all that sesame-ginger flavour, then add the toasted sesame seeds and sliced spring onions and toss everything together. Warm edamame drinks up dressing far better than cold.
  3. Plate it all up. Arrange the prawn gyoza on a serving plate with the dipping sauce alongside in one of your small dipping bowls. Serve the chicken yakitori and dressed edamame alongside as your spread of Japanese small plates — and enjoy your date night in.

Additional Notes

  • Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling so they do not scorch.
  • The yakitori glaze, dipping sauce and edamame dressing can all be made ahead — the flavours improve as they sit.
  • You can fill and pleat the gyoza in advance; keep them covered on a floured tray in the fridge until ready to cook.
  • This menu is egg-free and nut-free, making it a safe choice for guests with those allergies.

 

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