Martha Kurihara

Often referred to as "Japan's Martha Stewart", Harumi Kurihara is Japan's most famous housewife. She has authored over 40 cookbooks and sold a total of about 15 million copies. Aside from her own brand of kitchenware and linens, there are actually four restaurants in Japan that cook her food exclusively.

And her recipe for success? Simple, natural, traditional and not so traditional gourmet cooking. She makes high-end and homestyle cuisine available to the wannabe chef who wants to stay as far away from a microwave as possible, and not suffer from endless ingredient searches and hours over a stove.

Here's a recipe/excerpt from her Celebration of Contemporary Cuisine.
If you try it, you just might like it.


Recipe: Soy Egg Appetizers (Shoyu Tamago no Zensai)

"I love appetizers and party food. As well as enjoying choosing the tastes and colours of the food itself, I take great delight in deciding on which plates to display it. These eggs are just so simple to prepare but are stunning to look at, with different coloured toppings. You can experiment with other ideas, such as pickles, olives and cress. I happen to love any kind of egg cooking, but this is one of my favourites."

(Serves 4)

6-8 small hard-boiled eggs
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar


Suggested toppings:
salmon roe
cream cheese
olives
cress
pickles



1. Shell the eggs. Mix the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar together, making sure the sugar dissolves. Put the eggs with the marinade into a large plastic bag. Leave to marinate for 2-3 hours, moving the eggs around in the bag from time to time to ensure an even colour.

2. Remove the eggs from the bag and cut them in half lengthways. Place on a serving dish and decorate the yolk with a teaspoon of salmon roe, cream cheese or any other topping you choose. Serve as finger food or with salad leaves as a starter.