Taki Komi Gohan
In my house taki komi gohan usually consists of burdock(gobo) and mushrooms(kinoko) sliced, diced and added raw to the rice cooker with perhaps some carrots and anything from the garden depending on the season. I’ll eat it straight from the rice cooker with some chilli powder (togarashi) and occasionally I’ll get some nori out and […]
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Japanese sea bass(Suzuki )
Wild sea bass in all of its splendor … Thought mainly as a summer fish, the Japanese sea bass is also caught in winter time in various waters including Shizuoka with a different flavor and fat content. The specimen I have here is line caught and they have also been available farmed for about 25 […]
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Smelt (shishamo)
Shishamo are delicious little smelts which are usually grilled or fried and eaten whole. The taste and texture range is dynamic with the crunchy peaks of joyous bones precipitously giving way to the deep buttery delights of roe with addictive twists in between . Wikipedia claims the name is derived from the Ainu name for […]
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Oyster mushroom(Hiratake)
These mushrooms had me mesmerized the moment I opened the pack, which I don’t believe should have been a sealed airtight affair allowing for sweating and general degradation but perhaps this storage choice added to the aromas of the woods with sharp pine citrus highs and weighty juniper mid notes consummating the arrangement with fermented […]
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Pacific saury (sanma)
It’s amusing that these beauties are often exported to the U.K. Where they are used as fishing bait. They are revered in Japan as a delicious entry into autumn and have many festivals celebrating the start of the season such as this one in Tokyo I visited.http://www.gotokyo.org/en/kanko/meguro/event/meguro_sunma.html Thousands visited the Meguro sanma matsuri with eager […]
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Essential lingo
So you are comfortable raising the necessary digits indicating your group number as you enter the izakaya and IRASSHAIMASE!! is barked by the staff at you in unison, but sometimes we need to dig deeper beyond the basics of restaurant behaviour and although using the odd slang word will generate some good energy or amusement/bemusement, […]
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MOS Burger
MOS Burger Mountain Ocean Sun Burger is the second largest fast food franchise in Japan after, yes take a guess! Those guys… Born in Tokyo, 1972 they have thrown their unique taste as far as Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Their claim to fame was back in 87 when they unleashed the Mos […]
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Myoga
In Kochi myoga is used in a dish of bonito tataki and around the country it’s used in different, sometimes overlapping ways. It’s a summer bud in season June/July so that’s were the cues for its uses lie perhaps finely sliced and sprinkled over somen noodles or even pickled. It’s dynamic, bright herbaceous tang also does […]
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Sea eel /conger eel (anago)
Sea eel, unlike its fatty, rich tasting freshwater brother Unagi, anago is very lean with a delicate mineral flutter and engaging textural contrast which varies by cut. It is tasty done in the usual simmered sushi style but in that case i will always go for the juicy unagi instead. If you can get it […]
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Yellowtail(buri)
Japanese amber jack as they are also known will be mostly farmed and sometimes wild. Your fishmonger will let you know if Its a concern but both are equally delicious especially in the colder months when they put on a few pounds. Stewing, grilling,pan-searing, smoking and of course raw in sashimi are all excellent ways […]
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