Cream cheese egg roll

Makes two rolls
You won't find this dish in any sushi bars in Japan but I wanted to illustrate how easy it is to combine Japanese food ideas with more familiar western ingredients. Cream cheese and roasted peppers are a great combination. Combined with the sweet omelette and you have an amazing quick snack that looks good and can be served and eaten with chopsticks.
For the omelette Oil for frying 3 eggs 2 teaspoons sugar 30ml (2 tbsp) dashi or 1 tbsp sake and 1 tbsp mirin For the fillings 3 peppers (use 3 different colours for maximum effect) 250g (1 cup) cream cheese Small bunch chives	First of all brush the peppers with a little oil and roast them in a hot oven for about 45 minutes until the skin is loosened and starting to blacken. Place them in a bowl covered with cling film to cool. When cool, peel them, lightly scraping off any seeds as you do so. Do not be tempted to wash them with water as you will lose valuable flavour.
	Combine the omelette ingredients in a bowl. Whisk them lightly to break and combine the eggs. Place a medium sized non stick pan on to a medium heat and add a little oil. Wait a couple of minutes for the oil to heat up and then add about one third of the mixture. Swirl the egg around the pan to coat the bottom and let it cook through. Allow the egg to cook completely through. As the omelette is so thin it won't need turning. If it does turn out thick flip it over with a spatula and allow it to cook the other side briefly. Turn out onto a work surface and allow to cool. Repeat for the next roll. If your omelette breaks up don't worry - just use it in the leftover egg nori roll recipe.
	Make the cream cheese filling by chopping the chives and mixing them with the cream cheese in a bowl.
	Lay the omelette on a sushi mat (see glossary) and add half the peppers.
	Top with half of the cream cheese and roll. Keep the rolls refridgerated until you want to eat them. To serve cut them into equal lengths with a sharp knife.

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A Sushi mat is a device for rolling sushi. It is usually made from bamboo and they are very cheap to buy. Sushi can be rolled without it but but some things like spinach or delicate things like egg rolls can't. If you can't find one locally buy one online.
Dashi is the basic stock for Japanese soup making. It usually contains bonito or dried tuna flakes which gives the stock it's depth of flavour. As a vegetarian substitute for tuna flakes it is usual to use dried shitake mushrooms instead. This will lead to a more subtle stock with a slight colouration from the brown mushrooms. These mushrooms can be found in all Asian stores.
Sake is a Japanese rice wine. The quality can vary enormously but for cooking purposes I would buy quite a cheap one to start with. If you like to drink it buy a big bottle.
Mirin is a sweetened sake with a similar taste to a sweet sherry. It is used a lot in Japanese cooking and used in many recipes in this book so it is worth seeking out a bottle. Lots of supermarkets now stock mirin and you will more than likely find it in your local Asian grocer. It can be quite expensive but no more than a good sherry.