Umeboshi is pickled plum. It's sour, but has lots of enzymes and stuff so great for the digestion. In fact, mention umeboshi to any Japanese person, and they will tell you their mouth starts to enzyme up...It also has preservative qualities, that's why you often see umeboshi in the middle of the rice in Japanese bento. It preserves the rice, and also looks nationalistic.

Tastes great on any salad, especially iceberg lettuce, or as a dipping sauce fish-grilled, barbequed, steamed or baked. It's also great on Pastabilities Duck Ravioli.

1. Calamari Salad

Clean calamari, slice into squares or thin slices and parboil very quickly. Allow to cool. Arrange on a bed of greens--small rocket leaves, spinach, or microsalad is nice, and dress with Kei's Kitchen Umeboshi Dressing. 

2.  Pasta with Baked Eggplant and Chopped Chives    

Oven bake eggplant or grill on a barbeque. Boil some spaghetti or linguine and arrange baked eggplant on top. Garnish with chopped chives and pour on Kei's Kitchen Umeboshi Dressing.

3. Seaweed Salad

Seaweed salad is available freeze dried in packs (see right). Refresh in hot then cold water until the volume expands. Rinse and drain thoroughly. Pour on Kei's Kitchen Umeboshi Dressing just before serving, and for a little extra, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  

4. Hiramasa Kingfish Carpaccio

Hiramasa Kingfish is farmed, so available all year round. Slice hiramasa kingfish fillets as thinly as possible and arrange on a platter. Cover with red shiso or other microbuds and pour on Kei's Kitchen Umeboshi Dressing.

5. Thai Japanese Fusion Som Tum

Make a Thai papaya salad (Som Tum) by shredding green papaya (or celery if you can't get green papaya) and you can use prawns like a real som tum, but not the garlic. Instead of tamarind, lemon juice, fish sauce etc. which makes up the usual Som Tum dressing, dress with Kei's Kitchen Umeboshi Dressing. You get the mixture of sour, salt and sweet, and it's a little different but nice.

Kei's Kitchen Umeboshi Dressing keeps for over one year in the fridge.