coconut mustard tofu with an asian inspired noodle salad.

a colourful combination of an asian inspired cucumber and carrot salad drizzled with soy vinaigrette, topped with sesame tofu marinated in maille coconut mustard and toasted panko breadcrumbs. 

steamed pork dumplings.

i absolutely love the type of meals with lots of little dishes - dim sum, tapas and sushi especially. i recently bought a bamboo steamer basket as i've always wanted to try making my own dim sum. i loved the idea of making something again with the stack of rice paper wrappers i bought in chinatown - having made vietnamese summer rolls the other week. so this is a bit of a mix and match of my favourite asian inspired flavours to make these steamed pork dumplings.

i bought this bamboo steamer set with two tiers from amazon for £9.99. i could've maybe picked one up at a local chinese supermaket - though the three near me all close around the same time i finish work :( so what next?

vietnamese summer rolls with a peanut and chilli dipping sauce.

somewhere along my instagram news feed amongst tasty tapas, carefully decorated cupcakes and plates brimming with full english breakfasts, i remember coming across a picture of some vietnamese summer rolls. i looked up a few recipes straight away and learnt that i needed to search for a pretty key ingredient... rice paper wrappers. so when i headed to london the other weekend something i remembered to search for some in a soho supermarket :)

i based my recipe on one i found on the channel 4 food website by simon rimmer; there are a few altered ingredients and these quantities feed 2 greedy people around four rolls each :) he also includes a sauce though i made this peanut and chilli dipping sauce recipe up myself after a little experimentation.

the rice paper wrappers should look something a little like these. but what else will you need?

sticky sesame cod with japanese style broth.

lately i've been dreaming about the sesame seed, sesame oil and soy sauce combo - i just can't get enough of it. this recipe was inspired by bbc good food - slightly changed and using soya beans instead of peas. well they are more japanese afterall :) 

i used to just nibble on soya beans as a snack with a sprinkle of salt - then they somehow seemed to disappear from most supermarkets! so when i was reunited with them again in the freezer aisle my love for them was of course rekindled. so onto the recipe...