Three vegetarian recipes with French-Japanese inspiration

Zakuro means pomegranate in Japanese, a fruit symbol of unity and sharing for Go Sato and Atsuko Sakamoto. The Franco-Japanese chef and his mother chose this name for their restaurant opening in 2021, a izakaya nestled between Bourse and Opera, in the 2e district of Paris. It is also this name that the duo chose for their first work (Zakuro, Imho editions, 2023), a book of comforting family recipes evoking their original Japan. There are traditional dishes like chicken karaage, kakuni pork or korokke – a potato croquette mixed with ground beef. But also classics revisited with a Western… and vegetarian twist.

Japanese curry (vegetarian)

Ingredients for 4 persons

The garnish:

  • 2 carrots
  • ½ zucchini
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 (large) onion

The curry :

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 grains of cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger
  • ½ teaspoon Indian curry
  • 100 g Japanese golden curry roux, spicy
  • 100 g Japanese golden curry roux, mild

Dressing:

  • 4 servings of cooked Japanese rice
  • Oil

The preparation

Peel the potatoes, cut them into small wedges and cook them in boiling water. Check their cooking with the tip of the knife. Reserve them.

Heat a little oil in a large pot. Sear the carrots, onions, then the zucchini at the end so as not to burn them. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring constantly. Once the vegetables are nicely colored, moisten them with water.

Leave to simmer for 10 minutes, then add the Indian curry and cardamom.

Once the mixture is diluted, turn off the heat then add the Japanese curry roux.

Leave to simmer to obtain the desired consistency.

If the curry is not strong enough, add curry cubes. If it is too strong, add water.

Add the potatoes at the end to prevent them from falling apart.

Trick :

Put the Japanese curry roux in a small strainer and immerse it in the pot and stir with a whisk or spatula to melt them without lumps.

Creamy Corn and Potato Stew

Ingredients for 4 persons

  • 300 g onions
  • 6 new potatoes
  • 400 g of whole milk
  • 150 g liquid cream with 30% fat
  • 350 g canned corn
  • 20 g dashi powder
  • ½ broccoli
  • 30 g of oil
  • ¼ bunch of spring onions
  • Salt pepper

The preparation

Chop the spring onions and set aside. Wash and cut 20 small pieces of broccoli.

Cook the broccoli in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then stop cooking in iced water and set aside.

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