With his new cookbook, American Tim Anderson, chef at Nanban in Brixton and youngest ever MasterChef winner, is on a mission to prove how simple Japanese cooking is. Have a go yourself with these recipes from JapanEasy: Classic & Modern Japanese Recipes To Cook At Home, which is out now, priced £20

Curry rice (serves 2-4)

1 onion, cut into small chunks

2 carrots, peeled and cut into wedges

400g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

1/2 cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets

4 portions of cooked rice (300g uncooked)

For the curry sauce:

4tbsp oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced

1 green chilli, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tomatoes

1/2 Golden Delicious or similar apple, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 banana

30g mild Madras curry powder

2tbsp garam masala

750ml chicken or beef stock

60g butter

6tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour

2tbsp ketchup

2tbsp soy sauce

Salt

For the sauce, combine the oil, onion, ginger, chilli, garlic, tomatoes, apple, banana, curry powder and garam masala in a food processor and blitz to a paste. Pour this into a saucepan and cook on a medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mixture begins to caramelise and the spices become aromatic. Add the stock and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a separate saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook on a low heat for about eight minutes, stirring constantly, until the roux thickens and turns a golden brown colour.

Ladle the curry mixture from the other pan into the roux, a little at a time, whisking constantly to incorporate. Add the ketchup and soy sauce.

Cook the mixture until it's quite thick, then transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree until very smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

Place the onion, carrots and potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, add the cauliflower and reduce to a simmer.

Cook for about 10 minutes, until everything is tender. Drain and return to the pan, and pour in the curry sauce. Bring everything back to a simmer and serve with the rice.