January 5th, 2010. Tuesday, isn’t it? Back to the office. Usual break before late evening work. Hungry, but can’t eat too much as dinner will be waiting for me at 9:30 back home.
Only one option: the quick snack at Yasaitei. Becoming too much of a habit….

What would you expect me to order, then?
Vegatables sashimi!
Boring, you might say…
Totally agree, but boredom is so tatsy sometimes!

In the front, “the usual stuff” you might say:
Celery (grown in Shizuoka Prefecture), red radihes and myoga ginger sprouts.
Now, what is that leafy thing on the left in the background?

Common Ice Plant or Crystalline Iceplant? In Japanese? Ice Plant?
The French actually use it in their cuisine under the name of ficoïde glaciale.

Wikipedia will only say that Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is a prostrate succulent plant that is native to Africa, Western Asia and Europe. The plant is covered with large, glistening bladder cells, reflected in its common names of Common Ice Plant, Crystalline Iceplant or Iceplant.
Its leaves are edible, as with other some members of the Aizoaceae family. It is also cultivated for ornamentation (hum!).

And I can tell you they are worth discovering, be vegan, vegetarian or omnivore!

Now, for the second half of the plate: Juicy daikon and crunchy succulent cucumber backed with shiso/perill leaf and sliced winter onions (sweet!)

The dressing was the “usual” sesame oil with rock salt and dark miso.

But I needed a little more (with the second glass of Doman shochu!):
Mukago/零余子！
Now, unfortunately, it might be difficult to find that little thing outside Japan, but note it down on your notebook!

Mukago

A bit difficult to explain. An aerial tuber?
The fact is that it is some kind of fruit/nut/seed (I don’t have a clue here!) produced by yama imo or glutinous yam in Japanese, as one form of natural reproduction.
These mukago are succulent either boiled, or as in this case deep-fried.
Can’t stop eating them once started!

YASAITEI
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa-Cho, 1-6-2 Green Heights Wamon 1-C
Tel.: 054-2543277
Business hours: 17:30~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Reservations highly recommended
Seating: 6 at counter + 20 at tables
Set Courses: 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 yen
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES
Not-Just-Recipes, Bengal cuisine, Cooking Vegetarian, Frank Fariello, Gluten-free Vegan Family, Meatless MamaFrank Fariello, , Warren Bobrow, Wheeling Gourmet, Le Petit Cuisinier, Vegan Epicurean, Miss V’s Vegan Cookbook, Comestiblog, To Cheese or not To Cheese, The Lacquer Spoon, Russell 3

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-