Beef Cheek and Wild Boar by Yasushi Imaizumi

Because of my work and my love for food, whatever gastronomy, I’m blessed with friends in Japan and elsewhere who are always keen to share their experiences.
Yasushi Imaizumi is a very old Japanese friend for whom I also work regularly as a trouble shooter for his fashion clothes company.
As he extensively travels all year round in Japan and abroad, he cooks a lot back home.
A few days ago, he came to my working place with a tupperware full with sauce he had just made.
Only later, I found out that the pasta sauce had been made as a second part of a whole dinner he cooked himself at home.
In the picture above is Beef Cheek stewed in beer as served at the Restaurant in Nao Jima Setonaikai, a restaurant restaurant produced by Stella Maris.
He served his own fried potatoes, and fresh pasta and the meat topped with a julienne of onion, celery and carrot with olive oil.

Now, the sauce for the pasta back (my) home was made with wild boar (70%) stir fried in olive oil with beef (20%) and pancetta (10%).
stir fried [sofuritto] with onion, celery, carrot,, red wine, beef bouillon, Banyuls, basil, nutmeg, tomato, salt and pepper about 2 hours, later seasoned with Parmigiano Reggiano.

Very hearty, delicious and extravagant!

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope

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

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Morimoto Brewery/Sayogoromo Chouki Ikusei Shikomi Junmai

Hidetoshi Morimoto, owner and brewmaster at Morimoto Brewery in Kikugawa City, is at it again! That is, he just will not “follow the lines” and call his brews as others, more traditionally-minded, would…
This sake, which should have been simply called a “Yamahai” finds itself slated as “Chouki Ikusei Shubo Shikomi Junmai, meaning a “junmai which has nurtured for a long time in my sake factory”!
Well, I don’t mind Hidetoshi’s idyosincracies as long as he creates these marvels!

Rice milled down to 60% (koji/fermented rice) and 65% (plain rice)
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees/genshu/no water added
Bottled in May 2010
Contents: 1.8 l

Clarity: very clear
Colour: transparent
Aroma: Fruity, complex, sweetish. Banana, vanilla with memories nuts and coffee beans.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Dry attack backed with some alcohol. Warms up the back of the palate.
Dry pineapple.
Disappears fairly quickly with memories of nuts, macadamia nuts and custard.
Stays very dry with food with more pineapple.
Surprising “gap” between aroma and taste.

Overall: A typical sake from Morimoto Brewery!
Hidetoshi Morimoto cares little about “pleasing people”… His sake, in spite of making use of Shizuoka yeast are “off the norm” in this Prefecture.
A sake for all seasons and all meals, although eminently enjoyable on its own.
Definitely on the “macho side”, uncompromising!


The Japan Blog List

———————————
Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
——————————–
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

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日本語のブログ
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Shamo Chicken from Umegashima at Pissenlit

Service: excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable, good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products.
no-smoking-logoentirely non-smoking!

This is the “second part” of my previous lunch at Pissenlit.
As it is not fit for vegans or vegetarians, I kept separate, although organic vegetables do figure in this great gastronomic experience!

As for the meat, it is roasted chicken.
But the chicken is very special: Of the shamo/軍鶏 variety, it is some some of the best chicken available in this country.
Moreover, it was kept in a natural habitat in Umegashima, up in the mountains near the source of the Abe River, and fed only with natural food.

As for the vegetables, they are all organic.
The onions on the zucchini slice are confit, and the sauce is Provencal in concept with high quality EV oil and local tomatoes, garlic, and so forth.

The chicken breast with its skin roasted to crunchy perfection was placed atop a grilled slice of aubergine with Okahijiki, Komatsuna and Morokko Ingen/large string beans, all organically grown in Mishima City by Mr. Hideyaki Hirooka.

An “internal” view of the dish!

PISSENLIT
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

RECOMMENDED RELATED SITES:
Warren Bobrow, Bread + Butter, Zoy Zhang, Hungry Neko, Think Twice, Frank Fariello, Mangantayon, Hapabento, Elinluv Tidbit Corner, Tokyo Terrace, Maison de Christina, Chrys Niles,Lexi, Culinary Musings, Wheeling Gourmet, Comestiblog, Chronicles Of A Curious Cook, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Palate To Pen, Yellin Yakimono Gallery, Tokyo Terrace, Hilah Cooking, More than a Mount Full, Arkonite Bento, Happy Little Bento; 5 Star Foodie; Jefferson’s Table; Oyster Culture; Gourmet Fury; Island Vittles; Good Beer & Country Boys; Rubber Slippers In Italy; Color Food daidokoro/Osaka;/a; The Witchy Kitchen; Citron Et Vanille, Lunsj Med Buffet/Estonian Gastronomy (English), Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Chrisoscope

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

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Hatsu Kame Brewery/Futsushu

Sake can be truly extravagant in Shizuoka Prefecture, when you realize that futsushu/regular sake accounts for only 18% of its total production as compared to over 60% nationwide.
Not only this but futsushu made here uses rice that has been polished down to 70% and even less!

Hatsukame Brewery/Futsushu
Rice milled down to 65%

Clarity: very clear
Color: transparent
Aroma: discreet, fruity, almonds, nuts
Body: velvety
Taste: Sweetish attack. Shortish tail. Fruity: almonds, nuts, bitter chocolate.
Keeps well with any food.
Overall: Pleasant on the palate and tongue. Eminently drinkable.
Simply extravagant for a futsushu.
Great with food. Drinks up very quickly.
Can be savoured chilled, at room temperature or lukewarm (“nurukan”).
Certainly qualify for more than as futsushu/regular.


The Japan Blog List

———————————
Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
——————————–
Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

—————————————-
日本語のブログ
—————————————-