Mama Life - AD - Gifted
Earlier this year I was contacted by the brilliant Sous chef, an independent family business based in London, providing the very best cooking ingredients and beautiful products from all around the world. If you're a budding chef or know someone that is, then Sous Chef is well worth checking out for some unique ingredients and gifts that are well priced, well sourced and something a little different from the norm.
As a review opportunity, I was sent an ingredient to play with, as well as an item from their beautiful homeware collection. The ingredient I was sent was Yuzu juice, used in Japanese cooking and across Eastern Asia, but becoming more and more popular in the UK. Real Yuzu juice like this is pretty strong and a little goes a very long way, making this last a long while and give lots of opportunity for experimenting with food, drinks and condiments too.
This bottle from Sous Chef costs £11.50 for 200 ml, and after trying out in lots of ways, some more successful than others (as I quickly learnt that you really don't need that much), this has loads left and will see us through BBQ season this year. For a few tried and tested ideas on how to use Yuzu juice in day to day eating, read on...
3 Ideas for using Yuzu juice
Adding to seafood - As a seafood lover, I'm used to using a squeeze of fresh lemon, but a quick drop of Yuzu juice is the perfect accompaniment for fish dishes or salads. You only need a little as it is pretty strong, meaning the bottle will last a long time!
Make a salad dressing - whatever your go to recipe for salad dressing is, a splash of Yuzu will just give it a little zing. You could also mix a drop with mayonnaise for things like chicken wraps or dips with your meal.
Add to drinks & cocktails - If you're a fan of mixing up cocktails, you might want to try Yuzu juice for a bit of zing to your creation. I actually quite like just a drop in a glass of coke too! Perfect for a hot summers day.
Mizumi Ramen Bowl
To accompany my Yuzu juice, I was also sent this beautifully glazed Ramen bowl from Japan in my favourite colour. I'm a big fan of ceramics, particularly with the drip style glaze like this bowl and it's quickly become a firm favourite, coming out at every family meal time, usually filled with things like pasta or salad. These gorgeous bowls are £16 each but you can buy as part of a set, so do have a browse on the site if you're in need of some stunning new crockery.
I've only recently got back into cooking properly and enjoying following recipes as Adam has always taken the reins when it came to cooking, especially once the kids came along. Now though, I'm really enjoying looking for recipes, seeing what I can adapt for the ingredients I have and seeing my family tuck into something I've created. Getting the chance to review these items has definitely inspired me to be more brave and look outside of the UK supermarket aisles for ingredients, I have even been looking at Japanese recipes to try out as the kids love a bit of spice and anything with noodles!
To see more from Sous Chef, please pop over to their website - https://www.souschef.co.uk/ to see all they have to offer, as well as brilliant gift ideas, meal ideas and inspiration galore.
