japanese coleslaw

This is the perfect accompaniment to Korean fried chicken or any fried food for that matter - Japanese Coleslaw. Recipe is from 'A little taste of Japan' cookbook which my lovely cousin brought back for me on a recent overseas trip (cousin, you know me too well!) Recipe has been abridged slightly as I was making this at the last minute before we were heading over to our friend's place for the fried chicken.

Finely shred 200g Chinese cabbage and put in a large bowl. Coarsely grate 1 peeled carrot and 150g peeled daikon and thinly slice 2 spring onions on the diagonal.

For the dressing, place 125g Japanese mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar, 1 tbsp sake, 1/2 tsp wasabi paste, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp caster sugar in a jug and mix until smooth. Season to taste with salt and ground white pepper. Add to the cabbage mix and toss well. Serve immediately.

Unlike your regular Australian coleslaw, this version isn't quite so heavy on the mayonnaise and ends up being somewhat refreshing when you eat with fried food. Eat quickly though because within the hour, the daikon will start sweating a little and leave a soppy mess at the bottom of the bowl.

wholemeal maple syrup scones

It's been awhile since I've done any baking and the one thing I always make when I haven't been baking for awhile are scones - quick, easy and doesn't require all that many ingredients. Perfect for afternoon tea or a mid afternoon snack, otherwise served as a breakfast item as I found it in the Dulcie May Kitchen cookbook.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. In a large bowl, sift together 1 3/4 cup plain flour, 1/2 cup wholemeal flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp caster sugar and 1/2 cup rolled oats. Rub in 160g softened unsalted butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in 6 tbsp maple syrup and 3/4 cup milk until the mixture is just combined. Place the dough on a floured surface and gently press out into a slab about 3 cm thick. Using a cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on the baking tray. Brush the top with beaten egg.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. I gave these scones two coatings of the egg wash so turned out quite brown after about 20 minutes.

 Serve with your favourite jam.

Managed to get 10 scones out of this recipe and by golly, they are good when they come out of the oven. The maple syrup gives these scones just the right amount of sweetness and the wholemeal flour adds that bit of texture. I've kept these in the fridge for the week and just heated one up, still good! The Dulchie May Cookbook has loads of other recipes which look awesome; Morning Glory muffins will be next on the list!