Category Archives: Japanese Gastronomy

美食, 野菜, 豆腐, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Miso, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tofu, 味噌

Japanese Gastronomy: Vegan Red Miso Dressing

April 5, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

This posting has been prompted by vegan and vegetarian friends who wanted to get some information for a red miso dipping sauce.
Although this particular recipe is more a dressing than anything else, it could be used as a dipping sauce if you mixed in fresh cream. The cream will solidify when combined with oil.
Unfortunately it will not qualify as a vegan recipe, then.
I wonder if soy milk cream exists!

INGREDIENTS:: for 60 ml/cc of dressing

-Red miso: 1.5 tablespoons
-Soy sauce: 1/2 tablespoon
-Rice vinegar: 1.5 tablespoons
-Sugar: 1 tablespoon
-Salad oil of your choice: 3 tablespoons
-Ground sesame seeds: 1.5 tablespoons
-Freshly grated ginger: a little
-Freshly grated garlic: a little

RECIPE:

-First mix miso, soy sauce, sugar, ground sesame, grated ginger and garlic until you obtain a smooth mixture. Add oil and rice vinegar and stir well.

-Serve it on fresh vegetables and tofu salad!

-Great for taste and look on freshly boiled or steamed vegetables!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

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

Crustaceans, 美食, 観光, 魚海の幸, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Ise Ebi, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Spiny Lobster, Tourism, 伊勢海老

Japanese Crustacean Species 5: Spiny Lobster-Ise Ebi-伊勢海老

April 5, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

ISE-EBI-1

Ise Ebi/伊勢海老, or Japanese Spiny Lobster is one the Spiny lobster varieties so popular all over the World.
The Japanese variety is smaller, or more precisely is more popular under a certain size.

Also called Kamakura Ebi, it is caught off the shores of Chiba, Wakayama, Mie and Shizuoka Prefectures.

The best specimens are aught in Winter, although imported lobsters can be found in other seasons.

The annual catch is fairly stable at 1,000 tonnes a year.
Imprted specimens account for 10,000 tonnes, mainly from Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
In that case they are also called Minami/South Ebi.

The Japanese appreciate their lobsters raw.

ISE-EBI-SASHIMI

As o-tsukuri/sashimi plate they are quite spectacular!

ISE-EBI-SASHIMI2

For a closer look!

Another extravagant to serve as sashimi is to have them slightly seared outside and raw inside!

They are natuarally very popular as a sushi nigiri!

If they are small enough they can be served as another extravagant sushi grilled whole over a single ball of rice/shari!

And the larger specimens can be prepared western-style in gratin!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/16): Vegetarian Te-mari Sushi. Bento!

April 4, 2012 dragonlife 8 Comments

Te-Mari Zushi/手丸り寿司 means hand-made sushi balls in a spherical shape originally designed for geishas to eat easily. Mine are a bit bigger than the ones found in Kyoto. After all I’m of the male gender!

The Missus made three types, all with local vegetables and rice:
From left to right: Home-pickled (amazu sweet vinegar) myoga on sushi rice seasoned with black sesame seeds, boiled stick broccoli on sushi rice seasoned with hijki sweet seaweed, minced pickled red cucumber and black sesame seeds and lotus root home-pickled in umeboshi amazu over plain sushi rice.

The side box contains at least three desserts:
Left to right: on top sweet Japanese-style candied green peas above home-made kumquat compote, boiled broccoli and mini tomatoes in the middle and tamagoyaki containing cheese and parsley!

Once a again a very colorful and really yummy bento!

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Baird Beer, Bars, Beer, 美食, 観光, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Numazu City, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Bryan Baird’s Newsletter (2012/04/04): Three Spring Seasonal Releases

April 4, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Baird Beer & Taproom Events Bulletin

Three Spring Seasonal Releases

Dear Taproom Friend & Baird Beer Enthusiast:

April in Japan coincides with the new school and business year. The scene around Tokyo is of thousands of newbusiness suit-cladded shain (company employees) shuffling around apprehensively from one orientation meeting to another. When they are not attending indoctrination rallies, they are busy carrying out their first corporate assignment: organizing and reserving space for the company Hanami party. Hanami parties in Japan, of course, involve consumption of copious amounts of alcoholic beverages. It is one of our spring seasonal missions at Baird Beer to class up the alcohol beverage scene at Hanami parties. In addition to our terrific lineup of year-round beer, this year we are releasing three wonderful seasonal brews tailored especially for this rite-of-passage month: Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale, Pawa-Hara Golden Ale, and Temple Garden Yuzu Ale.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Releases:
*Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale (ABV 8.5%):

The inspiration for this refreshing, effervescent yet potent brew is the renowned Belgian classic, Duvel. The key attributes of Duvel are light body, high alcohol, and spritzy effervescence. We aim for the light body and strong alcohol through a high starting gravity (18 Plato) that contains a large amount of Japanese korizato sugar (25 percent). High attenuation and natural carbonation through secondary fermentation in package provide the sprite, refreshing character. A touch of spicy-floral hop flavor and aroma (Sterling, Saaz, Styrian Golding) helps to round out the character.

Bureiko jikan (literally, “time for impertinence“) is a classic Japanese cultural construct: it is a time when, generally fueled by alcohol, the strict bonds of hierarchical relationships melt away and individuals on the lower rungs of those relationships can let their true feelings and frustrations out without threat of later recrimination. It is a cathartic venting mechanism that effectively perserves the hierarchical system of relationships here. So, invite your boss or senpai out for a Baird Beer, order up a glass of Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale, and let it fly!

Bureiko Jikan Strong Golden Ale is available for immediate release in both kegs and bottles (630 ml).

*Pawa-Hara Golden Ale (ABV 6.5%):

Recently I have heard of a new and interesting Japanese cultural construct which is essentially the polar opposite of bureiko jikan. Japanese call it pawa-hara which is short for “power harassment”. This is a situation in which someone on the top rungs of the hierarchical relationship ladder invites underlings out for a drink and bite with the express intent of bullying and berating them. Alcohol, it seems, fuels this newly coined social custom too.

Well, if this is going to take place, we feel there needs to be a good beer suitable to the occasion. Our answer: Pawa-Hara Golden Ale. The recipe is exactly the same as Bureiko Jikan, only the original gravity (14.2 Plato), alcohol (6.5%) and hop bittering units (20) have been lowered somewhat. The result is a beer of seductive but not overwhelming strength; ideal for buttering someone up for the lambasting to come!

Due to its experimental social nature, and the fact that it is a small batch yielding only a minimal number of kegs, Pawa-Hara Golden Ale will be available on draught exclusively at our Taproom pubs. If you are a person in a position of power and need to berate the troops a bit, come on in to a Taproom — we got the elixir you’ll need!

*Temple Garden Yuzu Ale (ABV 5.5%):

This lovely spring ale is brewed with wonderfully piquant and aromatic yuzu fruit that is local and fresh. To put it simply, this is a sublime fruited ale. Because it is our policy to use only fresh fruit in season, and mostly local fruit, we can only brew Temple Garden once a year. Sadly, our supply of yuzu fruit was very limited this year enabling us to brew only two small batches. This has yielded only a very small quantity of kegs and no bottles. We apologize to all good Baird Beer retailing accounts that are unable to procure Temple Garden Yuzu Ale this year. We will do our best to find and procure more yuzu fruit next year and turn it into a far greater volume of this one-of-a-kind ale.

Cheers,

Bryan Baird

Baird Brewing Company
Numazu, Japan
HOMEPAGE

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Japanese Crustacean Species 4: Alaskan Pink Shrimp-Pink Shrimp-Amaebi-甘海老

April 3, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

AMAEBI-1

Amaebi (甘海老 in Japanese) or by its Latin name Pandalus borealis (also called Pandalus eous) is a species of shrimp found in cold parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Many different English names are used, with little consensus (deep-water shrimp, cold-water shrimp, northern shrimp, Alaskan pink shrimp, pink shrimp, northern red shrimp, Greenland prawn (UK)). Often the word shrimp is replaced by prawn, albeit incorrectly.

In Japan, it is also known as Akaebi, Hokkoku Akaebi/North Country Red Shrimp, Nanban Ebi or Tongarasahi.

The season in Japan is Winter, although it can be found all year round thanks to large imports from Greenland and Canada. Yearly domestic catch amount to 2,000 tonnes in Hokkaido and 800 tonnes in Ishikawa Prefecture.

It is a species famous for its sexual properties: the shrimps are hermaphroditic. They start out male, but after a year or two, their testicles turn to ovaries and they complete their lives as females. However, if there is a predominance of female Pandalus shrimp, the males will delay their transformation. Likewise should there be a shortage of females, the male shrimp will begin their transformation earlier, all for the sake of maintaining balance for procreational purposes.

They are called “Ama Ebi/Sweet Shrimp” in Japanese as they will turn very sweet after a couple of days in the refrigerator, whereas they will show no sweetness at all when fresh!

They are great as sashimi on their own, in salads or as part of a larger sashimi plate!

Of course, as sushi, they are a superb morsel!

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Potato Gastronomy: The Real Potato Chips!

April 3, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

Now, what are real potato chips?

Not the French fries, which are actually Belgian fries.

And not the poor imitations you wolf down with untold amounts of salt and preservatives!

Real potato chips, as known in Great Britain or France (!) are made with potatoes, real ones I mean, and they are easy to make and much, much healthier!

Now, what do you need?
Potatoes, of course, a (very) little salt and good oil.

How do you prepare them?

Your potatoes, being old or not, can be used with a simple technique.

If they are old, no problem.
If you brush them (with a real hard brush) under clear water, you will be able to reduce their outer layer to a very thin skin that is edible (actually most of the really beneficient matters are contained in their skin!).

Cut them as thin as possible (with their skin!).

Important: slices of different thickness should not be fried together.
Try to separate them as shown on above pic and fry them separately.
Great fun if you have the kids around!

Clean potato slices in cold running water. This is an important step unless you want them to stick together, turn black and make a mess!
Dry them thoroughly inside a large clean cloth (or the water will fly upon frying!).

Heat frying oil to 170 degrees Celsius.

This is how your chips should look just before frying!

Use long wooden chopsticks to prevent chips from sticking to each other.

Your chips will change colour and, if the oil is at proper temperature, swell nicely!

Once you are satisfied with their colour, take them out of the oil and let them rest for a very short while over a fine mesh to get rid of excess oil. Sprinkle a (very) little salt for taste. I personally like some parmegiano and pepper instead of the salt!

Don’t forget the “wrong shapes”! They make for great chips, too, especially with the kids!

I usually serve the round chips with oven-baked chicken or guinea fowl!

Did I mention vegans can eat these?

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The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India
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Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/15): Wild Onions E.T. Bento!

April 3, 2012 dragonlife 10 Comments

Now, why the heck should I call a bento, “Wild Onions E.T. bento”? LOL
If you look carefully at the photo you will understand. I shall explain in good time!

For once, we shall start with side dish, an enormous salad!

The Missus said she included 7 vegetables.
Let’s see: Qing geng cai/Green pak choi sprouts, lettuce, chopped red pepper, green pepper, cucumber, red onion, and mini tomatoes. That’s right, seven!
She placed plenty of shabu shabu thin slices of pork sprinkled with golden sesame seeds. I used gomadare/sesame dressing I have at the office to season it all.

Now, for the wild onions E.T.!
First of all, the Missus mixed the plain steamed rice with myoga pickled in sweet rice vinegar.
She then decorated the bed of rice with “sleeping” ノビル/野蒜/nobiru, wild onions!

The wild onions come from Mr. Onuma’s garden in Okitsu, Shimizu Ku, Shizuoka City!
The Missus boiled them and then wrapped them in their own leaves twisted back around their own stems before seasoning them with a dressing made of miso, amazu/sweet vinegar and mayonnaise. She finally put eyes on their “faces” with black sesame seeds!

As for dessert, kumquats/kinkan/金柑, also from Mr. Onuma’s garden.
The Missus prepared them as compote with sugar, honey and Cointreau Orange Liqueur!

An extravagant bento? Yes!

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Japanese Crustacean Species 3: Squiila-Mantis Shrimp-Shako-蝦蛄

April 3, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

A tropical squilla!

Squillae as found on Japanese markets.
Note the dun color as they come from dark northern seas!

The Squilla or “Shako” (蝦蛄in Japanese) is a delicacy that appears on the sushi bar counters from April to Summer, although different varieties can be found in Hokkaido markets (Otaru City in particular) almost all year round.
You will discover it under names such as “Shaku” and “Gazaebi”.
They are actually caught in almost all Japanese seas, but the best are supposed to originate from Hokkaido.

Served boiled or steamed on their own, they make for a great snack!

Like any crustaceans, they can be eaten in many ways.
The Japanese favor the small kind with a violet back. I had the opportunity to buy some very large specimen in Otaru, and eat them just boiled and served with rice vinegar mixed with a little Japanese mustard, or in salads.
They almost disappeared from Tokyo Bay in the 1960’s but reappeared in the 1970’s. Most fishermen in the Kanto (Eastern Japan) area will place them in boxes themselves to sell them directly at fish markets. The market value can vary wildly, but look for the genuine harbor markets and buy them yourself.

Simple nigiri with boiled/steamed squilla

Naturally, they are most popular as nigiri sushi. Customers jokingly ask for “garage” (in English) as “shako” also means (different kanji, of course: 車庫) “garage”!

Seasoned with “tare” sauce.

An unusual offering with grilled squilla!

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Japanese Gastronomy: Vegan Japanese Simmered Egg Plant

April 2, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Egg plants or aubergines, originating from India, are very popular in Japan and chefs have come up with many simple and succulent recipes in this country!

Here is a very simple one to satisfy the priorities of a vegan or vegetarian.
It makes for a great snack with your drink!

Japanese Simmered Egg plant/Nasi no Ni Komi/茄子乃煮込み

INGREDIENTS For 3 egg plants

Egg plants: 3 shortish and round
Soy sauce: 2 tablespoons
Sugar: 3 tablespoons
Dry short chili (鷹の爪): 1
Sesame oil: as appropriate

RECIPE

1)
Take/cut off the sepals and puncture the egg plant with a tooth pick in dozen places.

2)
In a wok or saucepan drop the egg plants and add soy sauce, sugar and chili. Switch the fire on to hot.
Rool the eggplant in the juices regularly.

3)
Once the liquid has reduced to half, turn the fire down to medium.

4)
Once the liquid has been absorbed by the eggplant add the sesame oil and roll the eggplants in them.
Switch off fire and serve!

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Japanese Crustacean Species 2: Large Sweet Prawn-Botan Ebi-牡丹海老

April 1, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

Botanebi/”Botan” Prawn, or “Pandalus nipponesis” for the specialists, is a large prawn found in all seas of Japan, especially off Hokkaido Island, at depths varying from 300 to 500 metres. They are caught at 200~300 metres depth in Suruga Bay and along the Western coast of Izu Peninsula In Shizuoka Prefecture. Once abundant, they have become scarce and only small specimens are found, whereas Hokkaido produces up to 20cm-long prawns.

They are known under different names: “Toyamaebi and Kijiebi”.
It is not a cheap morsel in Sushi bars. But it is interesting to note they are essentially eaten raw as like “Amaebi”. They become very sweet after some time in the refrigerator.

They make for big servings as sushi nigiri!

Now, if you are lucky enough to find them fresh with their eggs, ask your chef to dress them as above for sashimi…

as sushi nigiri,…

or even better, put the eggs on top of a “gunkan nigiri”!

And one more thing, if they are fresh again, don’t forget to ask for the heads deep-fried!

Incidentally, botanebi change sex (gender) with age to end up as big juicy females!

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Japanese Crustacean Species 1: White Shrimp-Shiro Ebi-白海老

March 31, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

Having obtained more information and species, I decided to restart the Series on Crustaceans for the sake of secure information! I might end amending this series every 2 years!

Deep-fried white shrimp

Shiroebi or White Shrimp is not as known as other shrimp/prawn varieties. However, it is a very popular crustacean in Japanese cuisine.
Also known under the the names of “Shiraebi, Hirataebi and Bekkoebi”, it is mainly caught between depths of 40 and 200 metres off the coasts of Toyama Bay on the other side of Japan and Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture.

It is mainlly served as sashimi with some ponzu and grated fresh ginger or freshly grated wasabi in Shizuoka Prefecture.

It is popular as sushi although one needs large specimen as the biggest are only 7 cm long.
One popular way to serve them as sushi in the Kansai area is as oshizushi/preshed sushi, either raw or marinated with seaweed as shown above.

One easier way to serve it sushi is gunkan/mothership and it allows for great decoration with flying fish roe and grated ginger for example!

Shiroebi appears on our tables between April and November in many guises:
The picture above shows on the right the shiroebi in its natural flesh whereas on the left it has been kept between two sheets of wetted seaweed for a while as “kombu-jime”, another very popular way to prepare all kinds of sashimi/sushi.

White Shrimps also enter in the preparation of a kind of “Tamagoyaki”/Japanese Omelette when they are first processed into a paste and mixed thoroughly with beaten eggs, sieved and then cooked.

The Japanese also love them as soft sembei/rice crackers.

An original recipe that will please Japanese and expats alike: Shiro Ebi Hamburger!

The annual catch has exceeded 600 tonnes in recent years, half of them in Toyama.
They are also exported whole.

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Vietnamese Gastronomy: Dinner at Annam in Shizuoka city (Spring 2012)

March 30, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Service: Very friendly, smiling and attentive
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Superb separate washrooms.
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive.
Strong points: Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine prepared and served by Vietnamese staff. Great use of local products. Vietnamese shochu!

Last night the Missus finally convinced me to pay a long overdue visit to Annam Restaurant in Shizuoka City!
Well, the Missus’ nickname is “Dragon” and dragons have always been welcome in Vietnam…
That said, Annam is not only the sole true Vietnamese Restaurant in the Prefecture, it is also a top-class establishment!
So what did we have for dinner?

Bain Seo, the Vietnamese equivalent, but a lot lighter, of a Japanese okonomiyaki!
Crispy and light, you break or cut it as you like and you wrap it in lettuce!

Soft shell crab sauteed with vegetables and herbs.

The edible shell is so soft and add so much to the bite and savors!

Fried pork fried in yakiniku style, deep-fried minced pork spring rolls and hot bifun rice vermicelli and chopped vegetables greens salad.

Lovely and crispy spring rolls!

And the vermicelli were as good as any pasta, and so much lighter!

A new item on the menu: Vietnamese style deep-fried chicken wings with pickled vegetables!

The chicken wings are first cooked tender before being battered (I mean dip in batter!) and deep-fried for a happy marriage between crispiness and tenderness!

We decided to skip dessert in favor of a mini pho soup.
Beef pho soup for me!

Chicken pho soup for the Dragon!

Looking forward to sampling their next summer menu!

Owner: Ms. Le Thi Hong Vinh
Chef: Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Mai

ANNAM
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Kooyamachi, 6-6, Mitduhisa Building, 2F
Tel.: 054-250-2266
Fax: 054-250-2323
Business hours: 11:30~14:00, 17:30~22:30
Closed on Mondays
Parties welcome
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

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Japanese Shellfish Species 12: Surf Clam-Ubagai-姥貝

March 30, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

UBAGAI-1

“Ubagai/姥貝” (Pseudocardium sachalinense) or more commonly called “Hokkigai/北寄貝” when served as sashimi or sushi have many names in English.
Member of the Trough Shells Groups, they are called Surf Clams, or more precisely, as pertains to the varieties eaten in Japan, either Japanese Surf Clams or Sakhalin Surf Clams as they are collected both along Japan and Sakhalin Islands shores. in Ainu, the original language of Hokkaido, it is called “poksey” or tutturep”.

8,000 tonnes are caught in Japan every year. 94% of fresh/live Surf Clams are collected in Hokkaido, Aomori, Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures.
About 4,000 tonnes are imported frozen from Canada.
They are popular dried, in soups or cooked with vegetables and rice.

Their “tongues” can be appreciated as sashimi, but are most popular lightly poached and cooled down.
The color is black when raw.

The tongue turns red when it is heated as bakes, steamed or boiled.

That is the way they are usually processed before being served as sushi nigiri, either straight, or with a few small incisions for better effect! Very satisfying and beautiful!

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Sushi: Shizuoka Chirashi Zushi at Ekimae Matsuno Sushi Restaurant!

March 29, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

Shizuoka Chirashi Zuzhi!

Service: Very friendly, attentive and informative
Facilities: Overall clean if a bit old-fashioned
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Mainly local fish and seafood. Local sake. Always ready to improvise!

Chirashi Zushi/散らし寿司 means “Decoration Sushi” in Japanese.
It can be considered as one of the oldest ways to make sushi in Japan!
The great advantage is the total freedom of design and inspiration!

Last Monday after having tasted many sake at the Shizuoka Sake: 2012 Shizuoka Prefecture New Sake Tasting Annual Meet, I and my good friend Marcus Grandon decided we had to eat something to help digest all that sake before we resumed work!
I had been wanting to eat Ekimae Matsunosushi Restaurant’s Shizuoka Chirashizushi lunch for a long time and this was the right occasion!

It is a full lunch indeed with small cockles miso soup.

Also featured are ginger and daikon pickles and a small dessert under the form of home-made kumquat compote!

The Shizuoka Shirashi zushi plate!
Let’s have a closer look and see what we can recognize!

Tuna, tamagoyaki/Jpaanese omelette, Soboro/sweet crumbled omelet, dried sakura ebi/Cherry shrimps, nori/dried seaweed.

Tuna, shirasu/boiled sardine whiting, tamagoyaki/omelet/ anago/conger eel, shimesaba/pickled mackerel, dried sakura ebi.

Tuna, freshly grated wasabi, shirasu, tamagoyaki, anago, shimesaba, soboro and nori!

And it is a different offering every day!

To be followed…

EKIMAE MATSUNO SUSHI/駅前松乃寿
Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Koya Machi, 3-3 (Just in front of Shizuoka JR Railway Station
Tel.: 054-252-0123
Business hours: 11:00~21:00
Closed on Wednesdays and 3rd Tuesday
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Must-see tasting websites:

Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Shizuoka Fruit, sushi, 弁当, 不知火

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (12/14): Irish Salmon & Shizuoka Dekopon Sushi Bento!

March 28, 2012 dragonlife 6 Comments

Using orange with the rice of sushi?
Yes, it is definitely a good idea when you consider it balances the saltiness of the fish so well!

It also makes for beautiful colors!
The Missus having prepared the sushi rice as usual mixed it with chopped parsley and shredded dekopon orange from Mr. Onuma’s Farm!

She then made a well in the middle to provide for a bed of lettuce on which she rested a couple of roses made up with smoked salmon just brought to us by an Irish friend decorated with pink pepper seeds and lemon.

As for the salad (no need for dessert with all the orange!) box, plenty of boiled of Brussels sprouts, boiled shrimps and cherry tomatoes with a little mayonnaise, and plenty of boiled black beans (for dessert?)

Very colorful and so tasty!

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