Celery and Furikake? Not a combination we would’ve thought of, which is why we’re excited about this recipe by Haan Palchu-Chang for the Globe and Mail. Haan apparently got the idea for this interesting Celery dish when “searching for a snack that would satisfy the cravings of cocktail-swilling clients that went beyond the lazy route of simply deep-frying something.”
What is Furikake, you might ask? It’s a dry Japanese seasoning meant to be sprinkled on top of cooked rice, veggies, noodles… anything that could do with a bit of a flavour boost. It’s been called the salt and pepper of Japan by Gourmet Traveller. Usually, it contains roasted sesame seeds, nori and bonito flakes, along with salt and sugar, but there are hundreds of variants that could also have wasabi, roe, and others. It’s delicious, and if you haven’t tried it, you could probably pick up a bottle of it at your local Asian grocery. Here’s Haan’s recipe:
20 minPrep Time
20 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2tsp water
- 4tbsp furikake (recipe follows)
- 4 celery sticks cut into batons about 7cm x 1.5cm
- Soy sauce to taste
- 50g nutritional yeast
- 50g bonito flakes
- 40g sushi nori , torn into bite size pieces
- 5g salt
- 40g dried anchovy
- 30g sunflower seeds (crushed into powder in mortar & pestle, coffee grinder or blender)
- 25g black sesame (crushed into powder in mortar & pestle, coffee grinder or blender)
- 25g white sesame (crushed into powder in mortar & pestle, coffee grinder or blender)
Instructions
- First, make the furikake. Put the nutritional yeast, bonito flakes, sushi nori, salt and dried anchovy into a food processor and blend until it is a quite fine powder. Mix with rest of ingredients.
- Make a paste of seseame oil, water and furikake. Mix in the celery batons, making sure to coat the sticks evenly. Taste: the dish should be quite salty and very umami with a lovely refreshing undertone of the celery. Add soy or more furikake to get the salt level you desire.
- Let sit for 10 minutes and then serve as a snack at a cocktail party or just before dinner.
A Chinese-Romanian chef, Haan grew up in Toronto and studied at the North West Culinary Academy of Vancouver. He’s worked at stellar restaurants like Maenam in Vancouver, Enoteca Sociale in Toronto, and Kokkeriet and Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen. He currently consults out of Toronto. Need more easy Celery ideas? Check out our recipes section.