Even more Izakaya food

If you’re wondering about what snacks to serve with a martini, you will find endless inspiration in the world of Izakaya.

Izakaya can be roughly described as relaxed and usually low-cost Japanese gastro-pubs. I have written about them quite a bit before, mainly because of their warm atmosphere and inspiring array of tasty menu items that go very well with a martini.

Quite a lot of these dishes, such as this hot edamame with salt and soy sauce, were snapped in Yumi, Soho, one of a handful of Izakaya in London.

These olives and edamame I did at home though. They’re easy.

Here is some kimchi and cold broccoli with sesame sauce. Simple but effective. Also in Yumi.

Kimchi is a Korean dish consisting mostly of pickled cabbage with chillies.

Pungent and served cold, it can be an acquired taste to some in the West, but I love it. It has even been inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is reason enough to give it a try at least.

This is some homemade lightly pickled mackerel (shime saba) with tsukemono pickles, spring onions, sesame seeds, cooked beetroot, soy sauce, grated ginger and lemon slices.

I think the strong taste of shime-saba pairs well with a bold martini.

It goes very well with a fiery ginger martini.

Here is some Yumi chicken yakitori with raw egg dipping sauce. Absolutely amazing.

Yakitori skewers are a common feature in Izakaya menus.

They’re a delicious and fairly substantial snack.

Inspired by the Yumi selection I made some grilled courgette skewers at home. They were dead easy.

Rolling cut some courgettes into bite-sized chunks, grill them with some oil and soy sauce for about 20-30 mins, let them cool then thread them onto some skewers.

I put 9 pieces on each and fed them to some willing members of my family.

This is a Thai snack skewer, made of dried and seasoned fish. It has a sweet/umami/spicy taste and a texture like beef jerky.

More pre-packaged and possibly unhealthy snack food, but still tasty. Japanese peanuts coated in a squid-flavoured crunchy coating. It went well with a martini.

Here are some mussels in a garlic-cream sauce with chunky hunks of bread.

They can be slightly difficult to eat with a martini in one hand. It might be easier if you thread the mussels onto skewers first but that’s a bit of a faff.

It’s probably best to have a martini, eat the mussels, then have another martini.

You can see the recipe for these chilled scallops with paprika, seaweed-butter and lime canapés here.

You can probably guess that I love oysters.

I usually like them served as simple as they come.

Their rich oceanic flavour reminds me of being on the beach in the Hebrides when I was little.

Living in central London it has to be a very evocative flavour to transport me over 500 miles and three decades in just one mouthful…

Anyway, back to Izakaya, sushi is also often served at these establishments. Here are some rough-hewn sushi rolls I put together.

This is a rather large uramaki (inside-out sushi roll) and not exactly the neatest you ever saw…

Loosely based on a California roll recipe, mine contained crab sticks, cucumber, avocado and wasabi.

(These aren’t mine)

I also spread some of my seemingly ubiquitous seaweed butter on the nori instead of using the more conventional mayonnaise.

I also made some smaller cucumber maki, also with seaweed butter.

Cucumber maki have a simple taste and a satisfying texture combining crisp nori, soft rice and the crunch of fresh cucumber.

They also go well with Hendricks gin, which is flavoured with cucumber and rose.

If you make your own rolls the ingredient variations are endless so try some out for yourself.

Homemade sashimi is fairly easy to assemble.

Buy top grade fresh fish, gently but thoroughly rinse it in cold water. Pat dry then place in the freezer for about 45 minutes then slice into bite-size pieces and serve immediately with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Homemade sashimi might not resemble the expertly sliced morsels you’ll find in a proper sushi restaurant.

However, if the fish is good quality it should stil be very tasty.

I served some tuna sashimi on sushi rice with omelette and pickles. Simplicity is the key.

One of the nice aspects of Japanese Izakaya is the more relaxed, informal nature of the service and food.

Home-made style cooking is very popular at Izakaya, putting the emphasis on cosy comfort, relaxation and intimate care.

It’s more like being in someone’s warm, welcoming house rather than an intense fine dining experience, making it a very comfortable environment for a martini.