Omusoba.

Omusoba is another one of those Japanese fusion dishes where the title says it all...well almost... Omusoba is a combination of an omelette (the "Omu" bit) plus a mixture of Yakisoba stir fried noodles (the "soba" bit, short for "yakisoba") and vegetables. Thus, Omu + soba = Omusoba!

Omusoba is said to have its origins in Osaka where it is usually made with vegetables and pork but I prefer to use only vegetables as the dish is nourishing enough without meat and that way, it makes an ideal warming, comfort food for a meat free day. But if you need a little meat in your daily nutrition, then feel to use some minced or finely cut strips of pork.

This dish is really very easy to prepare. There are no exotic ingredients - you can find dried noodles in just about every supermarket these days. Fresh noodles might be a little more difficult to source but most Asian supermarkets will stock them and you can find them easily online. If you don't already have some, I would recommend you buy some Japanese Bulldog brown sauce and some Kewpie brand Japanese mayo - you'll probably find they're a little more expensive than regular brown sauce and mayo but they will give you an authentic Japanese flavour to the dish. Maybe the one thing you will struggle to get hold of is Japanese aonori (powdered seaweed) - but don't worry, this is only a garnish and you can easily use a substitute - some seaweed flakes or even some finely chopped spring onions.

As for cooking tips, here goes:

First, you're going to stir fry all the veg so it needs to be cut so that it will cook quickly. This means cutting the hard core out of the cabbage and slicing the carrot into matchsticks so it will cook quickly.

Second, the omelette in an Omusoba doesn't have to be wrapped completely around the stir fried vegetables - all you need to do is fold the edges of the omelette over the veg and then invert the omelette onto a serving plate - watch the video tutorial and you'll see what I mean.

If you like the odea of a little Omusoba in your life, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Omusoba or scolling to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.

Happy stir frying! Kurumi XXXX.

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ingredients (2 servings)

60g / 2oz bean sprouts, rinsed

1/4 sweet pointed cabbage

1/2 medium onion

1/4 bell pepper

3 cm / 1.5 in carrot, peeled

2 packs of yellow dried noodles*

4 tbsp Bulldog brown sauce

1 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 eggs

salt & pepper

Bulldog brown sauce

Japanese mayo

For the topping: dried seaweed flakes (aonori) or some shredded nori seaweed or a finely chopped spring onion

*I used a packet of dried yellow noodles from my local supermarket but you can also use fresh Yakisoba noodles which usually come with sachets of brown sauce. You should be able to find these in a Japanese, Chinese or Korean supermarket and of course, online.

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how to:

slice off the core of the 1/4 of pointed cabbage. chop the rest into small pieces for your stir fry

finely slice the 1/2 onion and 1/4 bell pepper

likewise, finely slice the carrot and then cut the slices into matchsticks

next, to prepare your noodles, bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil. cook the dried noodles according to the packet. obviously, you can skip this if you've bought some fresh noodles

when your noodles are ready, move on to your stir fry. heat 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium frying pan. add the onion, bell pepper and carrot and stir fry for 2 minutes. then, add the bean sprouts. season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. stir fry for 1 minute more

now, add your noodles and 4 tablespoons of Bulldog brown sauce. mix everything together well and stir fry for another 1 - 2 minutes - by now, all the vegetables should be cooked.

now to make your omelettes. heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a medium frying pan.

break 2 eggs into a bowl and lightly whisk. then, pour the omelette mix into the hot frying pan. spread the omelette mix around the pan so you get a nice, regular omelette

when the omelette is almost set on the bottom but still a little soft on the top, pile 1/2 of the stir fried noodles and vegetables into the middle of omelette

next, using a slice, gently fold the edges of the omelette over the stir fried noodles. lift the pan and carefully invert to tip your now finished omusoba out onto a plate

finally, season with a good drizzle of Bulldog brown sauce and Kewpie mayo and top with some powdered seaweed (aonori)

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