Tag Archives: 農業

Crustaceans, 由比, 美食, 静岡市, 観光, 魚海の幸, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Sakura ebi, Sakura shrimp, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism, Yui, Yui Harbor

Sakura Ebi/Cherry Shrimps Catching in Yui. Still Hard Work!

June 26, 2012 dragonlife Leave a comment

Large painting of a sakura shrimp at the Yui Harbor Fisheries Association Building in Yui, Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City

Yui fishermen will tell you that life has become a lot easier with the advent of technology including motorised boats, radar, radio, machine-cotrolled nets and syphons, but they agree it is still a toil to go out every evening during the two seasons in Spring and Autumn.
Now, how hard was it not so long ago?

pulling the nets by hand!

Now, if you stroll along the street running along the shore of Yui, you will discover some vending machines adorned with copies of all paintings on the life of Yui Cherry Shrimps Fishermen which will give you a good idea of the hard toil local fishermen had to go through!

Pulling up the nets full of sakura shrimp.
It has always been a team work!

Pulling the boats to shore by hand!

Unloading the baskets full of Cherry shrimps.
The fishermen used to spend half of the night separating the shrimps from small fish.
Only ten years they started syphoning up the shrimps directly from the nets inti the the boxes.
A lot of damage to the quality as they dropped baskets inside the nets and shoveled their contents into boxes.
Now the job is far more efficiently done with very little damage.

Every morning after the cheery shrimps had been sorted out the fishermen had to auction their catch.
Now it is all taken care of by the Association and fishermen can hit the sack after midnight!

in the old days, fishermen gathered around food and drink before sleeping in daytime!
Now, they can sleep between midnight and noon!

Now the habor is completely walled in and the ships do not have to pulled upshore everyday except during the off seasons when they are being scrapped and repaired.

And now the Association is taking care of allotting the departure times and destinations everyday!

If you happen to be in Yui make a point to visit the new Yui Harbor fisheries Association Building where you will discover some interesting photographs!

It is located the new part of the harbor!

People there are shy but I’m sure you will find an old hand willing to relate old times!
All these pictures were taken back in 1963!

Pulling the boats upshore!

Unloading the Cherry shrimps!

Boats coming back to harbor!

Unloading the catch!

Blood, sweat and tears!

Traditional Fisherman’s gear!
Now they wear what they want under waterproof overalls and boots!

The beavhes have now been replaced with a safe harbor!

But for all the great improvements my old samurai friend will be the first to tell you this is still bleedin’ hard work!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, 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!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

美食, 野菜, 観光, 農業, Food, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Fujieda City, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Restaurants, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

French Gastronomy with a Japanese Twist: Foie Gras Matured with Mirin White Lees, Chouchou Farm Kankankan Musume Corn Vychissoise at Pissenlit!

June 20, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

Service: Excellent and very friendly.
Facilities: Great cleanliness overall. Superb washroom (mouthwash and toothpicks provided!)!
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive, very good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products, especially organic vegetables and Shizuoka-bred meat.

When it comes to French gastronomy in Japan, great chefs in this country have a welcome tendency to experience with local products and ingredients to create entirely new delicacies that would have gastronomes running back home, in France!

To cut a long story short, on Saturday last week I had to visit Chef Touru Arima/有馬亨さん to bring him a couple of souvenirs from my recent trip to France and I just could not escape the temptation to have lunch there in spite of my tired stomach!
For once I skipped the wine and ordered a home-made ginger ale concocted with local ginger!

Actually the very reason for opting to saddle myself with another great meal was the unusual offering on the carte blackboard menu:
杉井酒造さんのみりん粕に着けたフォアグラ！
Sugii Shyuzou san no Mirin ni tsuketa Fowagura
Foie Gras matured with Mirin (sweet sake) white lees (“mout” in French) brewed by Sugii Brewery (In Fujieda City)!
I was simply doomed!

While Tooru was preparing the composite salad (I certainly needed a lot of greens to counterbalance the foie gras!) I was offered a slice of one of his succulent cake sale/salted pound cake created with local organic vegetables!

I did order a “simple salad” and this is what I ended up with!

Seared bonito, home-smoked salmon, inca mezame potatoes and all kinds of local organic vegetables!

It also included tasty scrumptious mushroom and home-made sausage fillings!

Most organic vegetables came from Shizen no Chikara farm in Shizuoka City!

The important detail: the bed of soft couscous!

The star of the day!

The beautiful pain de foie gras with Hungarian foir gras matured in the white lees of mirin brewed by Sugii Brewery in Fujieda City and seasoned with coarse pepper!

The soft pancake made with inca mezame potatoes!

Fig jam and a true beauty of a vychissoise concocted with kankan musume corn grown in Iwata City by Chouchou Farm!
I had a hard time savoring the whole at a slow pace, I can assure you!

For once I just had to skip dessert!

To be continued… (expect more regular visits!)

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
Entirely non-smoking!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

美食, Dessert, Desserts, 豆腐, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tofu, Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian cuisine, Vegetarian terrine

Vegan Japanese Dessert: Tofu Wagashi with Kinako!

June 14, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

For the pleasure of vegans and vegetarians alkie tofu can be prepared into delicious, healthy and simple desserts!
Here is a suggestion making use of soybeans in two forms: tofu and kinako (grilled soy bean powder)!

INGREDIENTS:

-Tofu: 1 standard pack
-Kinako (Grilled soy bean powder): plenty
-Salt and sugar: as appropriate

For the syrup:
-Granulated sugar: 100g
-Water: 100 cc/ml/1/2 cup

RECIPE:

-Cut tofu into small one bite cubes. Drain water from tofu. take excess water with kitchen paper.
In a saucepna pour water and sugar and sugar. Heat until the mixture has reached a syrup texture. Do not make caramel! Switch fire and let cool. Chill the syrup for a while inside refrigerarator.

-In a large enough vessel drop the tofu in carefully. Pour the syrup over the tofu. Chill inside refrigerator for 1 hour.

-Take tofu out of the refrigerator. Add salt, sugar and kinako. Mix in carefully with a spatula to cover the whole tofu with kinako.

-Place on a serving dish and sprinkle with plenty more kinako!

-Serve with a small wooden spoon!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

美食, 野菜, 豆腐, 農業, Food, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine

Vegan Japanese Gastronomy: Sweet and Sour Fried Tofu and Mushrooms

June 13, 2012 dragonlife 4 Comments

For the pleasure of vegetarians and vegans tofu can be prepared as a hot and very satisfying dish all year round!
A typical example is Agedashidofu/揚げだし豆腐, tofu first deep-fried and then served in dashi.
As for the dashi use seaweed/konbu dashi!

INGREDIENTS: For 3 people

-Tofu: 2 standard blocks
-Cornstarch: as appropriate
-Shimeji mushrooms: 1 standard pack
-Enoki mushrooms: 1 standard pack
-Nameko: 1 bunch

Note: you can adapt with any ind of mushrooms.

-Seaweed/Konbu dashi: 600 cc/ml/3 cups
-Salt: a little
-Soy sauce: 3 tabelspoons
-Mirin/sweet sake: 1 tablespoon
-Japanese sake: 1 tablespoon
-Grated ginger: 1 tablespoon
-Yuzu koshio: a little
-Cornstach dissolved in water: as appropriate
-Grated daikon: as appropriate
-Chopped leeks: as appropriate

RECIPE:

-Wrap tofu in kitchen paper and leave it for an hour for excess water to be absorbed (about an hour).
-Place tofu on a dry wooden cutting board. Place a plate and weight on top and enough water will come out. Dry in kitchen paper.

-In a large pan pour the dashi, salt, soy sauce, mirin, sake, ginger, and yuzu kshio.
Bring to light boil.
Drop the mushrooms in.

-When the mushrooms are cooked to satisfaction pour the cornsatrch dissolved in water. Stir until you have obtained a smooth texture. Keep hot.

-Cut the tofu in adequate large bit sized cubes (you could have done it beforehand and take out excess water)>
Roll them in cornstarch. Shake away excess cornstarch powder.

-Fry tofu cubes in shallow oil until they have attained a very light bron color.
Take ou and pace in a dish.
Pour the sweet and sour mushrooms all over.
Decorate/season with grated daikon and chopped leeks.
Serve immediately!

You may also place the lot over freshly steamed rice!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Japanese Gastronomy, vegetables

Shizuoka Agricultural Products: Stick Ginger at Hatada Garden

March 24, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Toshikatsu Hatada/畑田敏克, the 7th generation of the Hatada Family!

With Chiba and Inbaraki Prefectures, stick ginger (or leaf ginger/ha shyouga/葉生姜 in Japanese) is a specialty of Shizuoka Prefecture, and the best are said to be cultivated in Kunou/久能, Suruga Ku, Shizuoka City near the sea where the sandy soil is most propitious!

Yesterday morning I found the whole family and their employees hard at work cleaning, sorting, cutting and packaging the leaf ginger harvested that morning.
Father, Mother, son and 4 staff, including a full time are not too many to harvest the vegetable grown on 1,500 tsubo/4,000 square meters in greenhouses.

Toshikatsu’s fater hard at work!
Toshikatsu’s grandfather first grew leaf ginger 34 years ago!

Ready for packaging. Beautiful, aren’t they?

For a closer look!

The root extremity will be snapped off (not cut!).

The snapped off extremities will not be thrown away. They are just too good! Their filaments and other unwanted parts can easily be pared off before the pieces of fresh ginger can be served in many ways, cooked or raw.
Toshikatsu recommend them fried rolled into tasty bacon!

Toshikatsu makes his own jam with the snapped off extremities of the fresh ginger and honey only. A true health food!

Or pickle them in amazu/sweet vinegar! I was offered that lot! a beauty!

The leaf ginger are carefully selected before delivery.

They usually harvest enough to prepare 100 boxes daily, but they have been asked to limit their delivery to forty daily boxes by their Association due to the recent earthquakes in north east Japan.

Half the boxes will be delivered immediately to Tokyo and the other half to various parts of Shizuoka Prefecture.

The inside of the leaf house greenhouses are hot!
I was advised to take off as many clothes as possible before entering.
40 degrees Celsius! No wonder!
The temperature is controlled by automatic ventilators, but Toshikatsu has to visit the greenhouses every morning and lift the second vinyl sheets where, if one is not careful, the temperature might go into the 70’s!

As for fertilizers, Toshikatsu uses only organic fertilizer, liquid or solid.
Pesticides will be spread at the the bare minimum only once a year.

The care for the health and quality of the vegetables will mean an unavoidable number of them rotting away that have to be taken out at once.

Toshikatsu does not market the rhyzomes (roots) that are found in markets all over the world, but use them for planting.

Choosing the right rhyzomes requires a lot of experience, good eyes, nose and ears (the snap sound is the best indictaion of their health!)!
The ryzhomes will be divided and planted from January to April to produce crops from March to July.
I can assure that the planting alone is back-breaking work!

Toshikatsu and his family grow “leafy” leeks between July and December inside the same greenhouses.
They also grow all year round tomatoes on 300 tsubo/1,000 square meters inside green huses, maily Momotaro and Chuudama varieties.
I certainly intend to come back soon to have a close look at those tomatoes!

Now, I took two batches of those freh leaf ginger with me to introduce them to restaurants of my own choosing. Two gastronomic articles are coming very soon!

Toshikatsu Hatada/畑田敏克
Hatada Garden/畑田農園
422-8015 Shizuoka Shi, Suruga Ku, Naka Hiramatsu, 212/静岡市駿河区中平松２１２
Tel/Fax: 054-238-3484
Mobile Phone: 09014137499
Corporate and individual orders accepted!

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Japanese Vegetables 4: Sweet Potatoes/Satsuma Imo/薩摩芋

February 24, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

satsuma-1

Yams or “Satsuma Imo” were first introduced to Japan in the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) in 1604 by the Chinese. They were then introduced in Kyushu in 1609, an area that grows 80% of the total Japanese production.
Ssweet potatoes should not be confused with yams or yama imo/山芋 in Japanese.

They have been recognized in this country for a long time for both their nutritional and pharmaceutical values.

satsumabeni_haruka

FACTS:

-Season: September~November

-Analytic data (as per 100g):
Energy: 132 kcal
Water: 66.1 g
Proteins: 1.2 g
Carbohydrates: 31.5 g

Inorganic qualities:
Natrium: 4 mg
Potassium: 470 mg
Magnesium: 40 mg
Iron: 0.7 mg
Copper: 0.18 mg
Manganese: 0.44 g

Vitamins:
B1: 0.11mg
C: 29 mg
E: 1.6 mg

Dietary fibers: 2.3 g

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with burdock root, or shiitake, or carrot, or spinach, helps combat colds, helps enhance skin health, helps combat lung and intestine cancer.
-Combined with devil’s tongue tuber-elephant foot tuber/konnyku, or hijiki sweet seaweeed, or beansprouts, or apple, helps combat cancer, constipation, obesity, and artery hardening.
-Combined with Judas Ear mushroom, or shiitake, or seaweed, or hijiki sweet seaweed, helps lower blood cholesterol, helps combat obesity and diabetes.
-Combined with strawberries, or lemon, or pimentos, helps combat stress, helps skin rejuvenation and intensifies appetite.

VARIETIES

There are over a hundred species in Japan, but the most popular edible ones (not the ones exclusively used for making shochu) have red skins and light yellow flesh.

Beni Azuma/ベニアズマ, mostly eaten in Eastern Japan. Turns very sweet upon cooking.

Naruto Kintoki/鳴門金時, popular in Western Japan. Considered elegant and sweet.

Tosabeni/土佐紅, also attributed “No 14 value (top)”, is very sweet and is a “brand name” sweet potato.

Cheese cake combination with Tosabeni Sweet Potato!

Manamusume,/愛娘 another “No 14 value” brand sweeet potato.

Gorou Shima Kintoki/五郎島金時, particularly popular as baked sweet potato.

Kougane Sengan/黄金千貫, considered as the top shochu sweet potato.

Tanegashima Mukashi Mitsu Imo/種子島昔蜜芋, a sweet potao with a beautiful orange colour and elegant taste.

Tanegashima Murasaki Imo/種子島紫芋, as above, but with a beautiful purple colour.

Annou Imo/安納いも, rich in carotens, with a beautiful orange colour and very sweet.

Annou Imo cuisine!

Purple Sweet Road/パープルスイートロード, an interesting name for a sweet tasty hybrid.

The same as above as hyokan Japanese jelly!

satsumatanegashima

A favorite “Tanegashima Gold Imo” grown in Taneko Island south of Kyushu. It has the particularity of being red when raw before changing to a rich golden color when cooked. Among other varieties, the violet sweet potatoes are getting increasingly popular.

yummy
Tanekoshima sweet potato (deep yellow), “common sweet potato” (light yellow) and Murasaki/Violet potato.

A great combination of the three above as a cold salad with mayonnaise or cream-based dressing.

TIPS:

-Choose specimens with nice color and a “fat/roundish” aspect!
-Plunge yam in cold water as soon as you have cut them. They will not lose their color!
-Boil, bake or steam long enough before taking skin off. Discard skin!
-Leaves can be eaten!

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Vegan Sashimi at Yasaitei (18/02/2011)

February 20, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

It has been some time since I paid my last visit to Yasaitei.
I do have to show up there regulaly as they use only seasonal vegetables and other products, be they from the land or the sea!

My vegan and vegetarian (I’m not!) friends know this is a place where they can expect a full meal (thinking ofdevising one for the next article!) according to their priorities! Even the shochu and sake are OK!

All vegetables, from the very snack coming with the first drink!

Yasaitei might be an unpretentious izakaya, but it is a very elegant one!
The chopsticks are of great quality and the paper tablecloth is always decorated with seasonal motifs. Rape flowers/na no hana/菜の花 in this case!

So here is the vegan vegetable sashimi of the day!
Great colors as usual!

Ice plant, myoga (almost completely hidden as it was used as a support), celery, red cabbage (in Japanese, although it is dark violet) and mini radishes.

Daikon (sweet and juicy!) supported by chopped winter onion and a leaf of perilla/shiso. (Yellow carrot at the back.)

A side-view of the daikon support.

Cute urui/hasta montana and crunchy cucumber!

Always wondering what is going to be on offer next time!

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 + 14 at tables
Set Courses: 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 yen
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Japanese Vegetables 3: Tomatoes

February 19, 2011 dragonlife 11 Comments

tomato1

Tomatoes have appeared on our tables for so long that we have almost forgotten they came from South America. The Spanish and the Portuguese ignored them. The British studied them. The French brought them to Europe under the name of “Love Apple”, a name still existing in Italy. So it is said,…

FACTS:

-Season: All year round for greenhouse tomatoes, June=September for open-air tomatoes

-Analytic data (as per 100g):
Energy: 19 kcal
Water: 94.0 g
Carbohydrates: 4.7 g

Inorganic qualities:
Natrium: 3 mg
Potassium: 210 mg
Magnesium: 9 mg
Phosphorus: 26 mg

Vitamins:
A Beta caroten: 540 microg
B1: 0.05mg
B2: 0.02 mg
B6: 0.08 mg
C: 15 mg

Dietary fibers: 1.0 g

Licopin (Ricopin), Pectin, Luchin (Ruchin).
Licopin is a carotene variety particularly beneficial in fights against allergies and ageing. The Potassium and Vitamin C and Pectin help control cholesterol in blood.
Luchin reinforces capillary veins and arteries.
Recent researches in Germany and China have proven that tomatoes help control high blood pressure.

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with Potatoes, or Broccoli, or garlic, or onion, helps combat ageing.
-Combined with cabbage, or chilies, or spinach, helps combat cancer and helps blood flow.
-Combined with lemon, or cauliflower, or pimentoes, or parsley, helps lower blood pressure and improve blood flow.
-Combined with vinegar, or oranges, or apples, or strawberries, helps recovery from illness and injury, helps combat stiff shoulder.

Who said that the Italians look healthier than everybody else? LOL

VARIETIES

tomato-fruit

“Fruit Tomatoes”

This summer-maturing fruit can be bought all year round with the interesting consequence that tomatoes ripened in winter are sweeter than their summer cousins as they contain less water, earning themselves the name of “fruit tomatoes”, a great oxymoron, if there was one!

Thanks to consumers’ insatiable appetite for novelty, tomatoes are grown into all kinds of size, shape and colour.
Just to cite a few, the following are the most popular in Japan:

tomato-momotaro

“Momotaro Tomatoes”

-Momotaro (after the Japanese “Peach Boy” tale), which becomes “Fruit tomato” in winter.

“Momotaro Tomato/Gold Variety”

tomato-midi

“Midi Tomatoes”

-Midi Tomato (sometimes called “Plum tomatoes”), a larger cousin of the “Mini tomato”, is very sweet and very high in nutrients. Its aroma has a particularly long life.

tomato-italian
“Italian tomatoes”

-Italian Tomato: mainly used for cooking, it may often come in a comparatively elongated shape.
It contains less water and reveals both large amounts of sweetness and acidity, making it very conducive to long cooking with the extra bonus of actually improving in taste upon heating.

“Sicilian Rouge”, both for cooking and salads.

tomato-mini
“Mini Tomatoes”

-Mini Tomato: one-bite sized, it is also called “Petit tomato”. It contains twice as many Vitamin C, and it is very rich in beneficent ingredients.

tomato-yellow-mini
“Yellow Mini Tomatoes”

-Yellow Mini Tomato: characteristic for a lot of sweetness and very little acidity. Very handy for children who dislike vegetables!

rubbins

“Ameera Rubbins”

-Ameera Rubbins: with its larger Ammeera tomato, it used to be grown exclusively in Shizuoka Prefecture. They are the sweetest of all, tasting like strawberries, and very firm, making them ideal for decoration, notwithstanding their nutrient value. The smallest variety called “Rubbins” used to be grown by only two farmers near Iwata City!
Recently a yellow version is being grown experimentally.

tomato-micromini

“Micro Mini Tomatoes”

-Micro Mini Tomatoes: increasingly popular, they are only 8~10 mm and look somewhat like redcurrants. Very tasty with a beautiful acidity, the Japanese use them not only in salads, but also as the final touch on a plate of sashimi!

“Fruit Yellow”, a small variety popular with kids!

“Fruit Gold”, sweet and rich in vitamins!

“Nitakikoma”, a Japanese variety which does not break away even after long cooking.

“Green Zebra”, Japanese name for green heirloom tomato

AGRI-TOMATO1

Heirloom Tomatoes grown in Shizuoka City!

“Green”, stays green when ripe
Great in tenpura!

“Cindy Sweet”, well-balanced and sweet

“Aiko”, Japanese variety. Exists both in yellow and red. Eaten cooked or raw.

“Tomato Berry”, small, sweet and well-balanced.

“Campari”, grown in Hokkaido, Japan, originally from Holland. Fruity!

“Amakko”, similar to “Campari”. Very sweet!

“Piccola Rouge”, Japanese version of an Italian Mini-tomato variety.

“First”. Appears in Winter. Grown in Iwata City, too! Beautiful pointed shape. Juicy!
Also called “Renaissance” in Shizuoka Prefecture.

“Piccola Canaria”, an orange variety of the Piccola.

“Black”, as it is called!

“Kisu”. Beautiful colour and very sweet!

“Zeitaku Tomato”, meaning “Extravagant Tomato” in Japanese! Fruity, juicy and sweet!

“Guppi”, a tasty tomato apt for cooking.

“Carrot Tomato”. High in carotens, taste similar to carrot. Appreciated raw.

“Orange Banana” from Russia! Very sweet!

“Evergreen”. Versatile, can be eaten raw, cooked or pickled.

“Strawberry Tomato”. A cousin of tomatoes. God balance between sweetness and acidity.
Also used as decoration.

“Tokutani Tomato”. Fruit tomato, especially grown in Shikoku Island. Brand Tomato. Very expensive!

Many more varieties are regularly imported!

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Vegan Japanese Recipe: Burdock, Lotus Root & Carrot Kinpira

February 18, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

There are vast treasures to explore for vegetarians and vegans in Japanese gastronomy.
Once such pleasure (rhyme with treasure) is Kinpira/金平!
Here is a recipe that can be built on at will depending on the available vegetables: Burdock, Lotus Root & Carrot Kinpira/gobou, Renkon to Ninjin no Kinpira/牛蒡・蓮根・人参の金平!

INGREDIENTS: 4 people~

-Burdock root: 1
-Carrot: 1/2
-Lotus root: 4~5 cm long piece
-Grated fresh ginger: 1 teaspoon
-Spices of your choice (include chili pepper!)
–Vegan Dashi: 1 cup
-Sesame oil: 2 teaspoons
-Mirin/sweet Japanese sake: 3 tablespoons
-Soy sauce 1+1/2 Tablespoons.

RECIPE:

-Clean the burdock root under running clear water, cut out in appropriate-sized thin sticks. Drain well. Peel carrot and cut in same size as burdock root. Peel the lotus roots, slice into 5 mm thick pieces, clean in fresh cold water and drain well.

-In a frypan (if possible, non-stick), pour the sesame oil, drop well-drained vegetables and fry.
When the lotu root pieces have started changing color, add dashi, spices of your choice, grated ginger, mirin and soy sauce, and fry on a low fire (10 minutes).
Once the juices have almost reduced stop fire.

Can be served hot, lukewarm or cold!

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Japanese Vegetables 2: lotus Roots/Renkon/蓮根

February 17, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

lotus-root1

Lotus roots come from a plant called Nelumbo nucifera, also known by a number of names including Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India, or simply lotus. This plant is an aquatic perennial. Under favorable circumstances its seeds may remain viable for many years.
A common misconception is referring to the lotus as a water-lily (Nymphaea), an entirely different plant.

Native to Greater India and commonly cultivated in water gardens, the lotus is the national flower of India and Vietnam.

The flowers, seeds, young leaves, and “roots” (rhizomes) are all edible. In Asia, the petals are used sometimes for garnish, while the large leaves are used as a wrap for food. In Korea, the leaves and petals are used as a tisane. Yeonkkotcha (연꽃차) is made with dried petals of white lotus and yeonipcha (연잎차) is made with the leaves. The rhizome (called ǒu (藕) in pinyin Chinese, ngau in Cantonese, bhe in Hindi, renkon (レンコン, 蓮根 in Japanese), yeongeun (연근) in Korean is used as a vegetable in soups, deep-fried, stir-fried and braised dishes. Petals, leaves, and rhizome can also all be eaten raw, but there is a risk of parasite transmission (e.g., Fasciolopsis buski): it is therefore recommended that they be cooked before eating.

FACTS:

-Season (in Japan): September~December

-Analytic data (as per 100g):

Energy: 66 kcal
Water: 81.5 g
Protein: 1.9 g
Carbohydrates: 15.5 g

Inorganic qualities:
Natriu: 24 mg
Potassium: 440 mg
Calcium: 20 mg
Iron: 00.5 mg
Zinc: 0.3 mg
Manganese: 0.78 mg

Vitamins:
B1: 0.10 mg
B6: 0.09 mg

Dietary fibers: 5.7 g

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with liver, or beef, or pork, or chicken, helps revitalize human blood and organs.

-Combined with turnips, or daikon, or beansprouts, or trefoil, helps digestion and bowels.

-Combined with leafy vegetables, or potato, or apples, helps combat cancer and obesity.

-Combined with konnyaku, or celery, or lettuce, or green peppers, helps lower blood cholesterol. helps combat artery hardening and prevent heart diseases.

VARIETIES

Kaga Renkon/加賀れんこん

Very fine texture and high content in starch,
Best appreciated steamed.

Iwakuni Renkon/岩国れんこん

Large specimen with large holes.

TIPS:

-Choose specimens with a clear white cut section. There should not be any black spots.
-Use large specimen as they are easier to cut and use.
-To prevent oxydising, wrap cut specimen into wet kitchen paper.
-Add vinegar to water when boling them to keep them white.
-The easiest way to peel them is to use a potato peeler!

COOKING:

The stamens can be dried and made into a fragrant herbal tea called liánhuā cha (蓮花茶) in Chinese, or (particularly in Vietnam) used to impart a scent to tea leaves. The lotus seeds or nuts (called liánzĭ, 蓮子; or xian liánzĭ, 鲜莲子, in Chinese) are quite versatile, and can be eaten raw or dried and popped like popcorn, phool makhana. They can also be boiled until soft and made into a paste, or boiled with dried longans and rock sugar to make a tong sui (sweet soup). Combined with sugar, lotus seed paste becomes one of the most common ingredient used in pastries such as mooncakes, daifuku, and rice flour pudding.

Japanese popular Renkon dishes:

lotus-root-nimono

“NIMONO”

lotus-root-sumono

“SUMONO”

lotus-root-kimpira

“KIMPIRA”

“STUFFED LOTUS ROOTS”

“DEEP-FRIED LOTUS ROOT SANDWICH”

lotus-roots-chips

“CHIPS”

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Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian cuisine

Japanese Vegetables 1: Burdock Root/Gobou/牛蒡

February 15, 2011 dragonlife 12 Comments

Burdock root, greater burdock or edible burdock root is called “gobou/牛蒡” in Japanese.
Its Latin name is Arctium lappa.

Although it is a root vegetable with great nutritious and even medical properties, it is commonly eaten only in Japan and Taiwan.

This species is native to the temperate regions of the old world, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, and from the British Isles through Russia, and the Middle East to China and Japan, including India.

It is naturalized almost everywhere and is usually found in disturbed areas, especially in soil rich in nitrogen. It is commonly cultivated in Japan.

It prefers a fresh, worked soil, rich in humus, and should be positioned in full sunlight. Burdock is very reactive to nitrogen fertilizer. Propagation is achieved through sowing the seeds midsummer. The harvest occurs three to four months after the seeding until late autumn, when the roots become too fibrous.
In shizuoka it is more and more cultivated in organic fashion with natural/organic fertilizer and no pesticides.

Greater burdock was used during the Middle Ages as a vegetable, but now it is rarely used, with the exception of Japan where it is called gobō (牛蒡 or ゴボウ), Taiwan (牛蒡), Korea where it is called ueong (우엉), Italy, Brazil and Portugal, where it is known as bardana. Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow about 1 meter long and 2 cm across.

Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear. The taste resembles that of artichoke, to which the burdock is related.

The root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, and pungent flavor with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned/shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The harshness shows excellent harmonization with pork in miso soup (tonjiru) and takikomi gohan (a Japanese-style pilaf).

A popular Japanese dish is kinpira gobō, julienned or shredded burdock root and carrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and/or sake, and sesame oil. Another is burdock makizushi (rolled sushi filled with pickled burdock root; the burdock root is often artificially colored orange to resemble a carrot). In Kyoto, gobō can also be found as a snack food similar to potato chips. The root is eaten cooked and the young sprout can be eaten just like asparagus. Gobo is also used in tempura.

Apart of its obvious culinary value, it is also valuable for its high content in dietary fibers and beneficiary nutrients.
It has been utilized as a medicinal plant with diuretic, diaphoretic, and blood purifying capabilities. The Japanese have also recognized it to prevent cancer and combat diabetes.

FACTS:

-Season (in Japan): November to January and April to May

-Analytic data (as per 100g):

Energy: 65 kcal
Water: 81.7 g
Protein: 1.8 g
Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
Ash: 0.9 g

Inorganic qualities:
Potassium: 320 mg
Calcium: 46 mg
Magnesium: 54 mg
Phosphorus: 62 mg
Iron: 0,7 mg
Zinc: 0.8 mg

Vitamins:
B1: 0.05 mg
B6: 0.10 mg

Dietary fibers: 5.7 g

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with seaweed (wakame), or celery, or enoki mushroom, or konnyaku, helps prevent high blood pressure and blood vessels hardening, helps with hair health and recovery from constipation.
-Combined with dried daikon, or shiitake mushrooms, or celery, or turnips, helps prevent cancer, helps fotiify stomach, and increases skin qulaity.
-Combined with hijiki sweet seaweed, or tofu, or bamboo shoots, or agar agar, helps reduce blood cholesterol and general diets.
-Combined with whole rice (genmai), or oatmeal, or corn flakes, helps prevent diabetes, helps combat obesity and helps prevent blood vessels hardening.

VARIETIES:

Common burdock/gobou/牛蒡

Oura Gobou/大浦ごぼう (on the left), a very thick variety, which reaches 10cm in diameter for 1 meter in length.

Yama Gobou/山ｇｐぼう, a thinner and shorter variety.

Super Risou Gobou/スーパー理想ごぼう, a75 cm long and thin variety with a smooth skin.

TIPS
Do not peel before cooking as the skins contain a lot of nutrients.
Just brush the dirt away under clear running water
Can be easily preserved frozen once cooked

GASTRONOMY

Steamed and seasone burdock root

Simmered burdock appetizer

“Kinpira” burdock, thinly cut and fried with sake, soy sauce, mirin and chili sesame oil.

Simmered Oura Gobou.

Grilled gobou salad

Mixed vegetable “kinpira”

Super Risou Gobou salad/appetizer

Steamed/fried Yama Gobou

Vegan Yama Gobou Sushi

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Masahiro Sugimoto at Sugimoto Garden: A Young Farmer Looking Ahead!

February 12, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Masahiro Sugimoto/杉本政紘

Agriculture in Japan (and Shizuoka, which s no exception in spite of its favorable position) is suffering from two chronic problems: ageing of the farming population and too much untended farming land.
The situation as far ageing is concened is slowly improving in Shizuoka but there are still 12.000 ha of untended farming land asking to be exploited.

On the bright side more and more young people not only choose farming as their life but also adopt new directions even if it means breaking “traditions”.

One such farmer is Masahiro Sugimoto, only 26 years of age and still only in his second year as an individual farmer.

Experimenting with Italian putarella.

After graduating form Shizuoka Industrial High School/静岡市立商業高校, instead of attending a full university course, he opted for a meaningful two-year study at the Iwata Agricultural Institute/磐田農林大学校 to enable him to continue and improve of his family’s farming venture which had been growing vegetables for 10 generations.

Although mainly growing lettuces and corn on a total of 80 ha comprising 7 ha in greenhouses, he also experiment with all kinds of vegetables for a meaningful diversification.

A closer view of the putarella.

Corn is grown from February to June and lettuces from September to March.
That still leaves him with plenty of time to experiment with different vegetable varieties.

European cabbage variety.

He is on contract with markets such as Shizutetsu as far as his lettuce and corn are concerned but he is actively seeking new markets including local restaurants always looking for new varieties.

Masahiro’s lettuce greenhouses.

Lettuce is big business in Shizuoka!

Masahiro is also reducing all artificial pesticides and fertilizers to the minimum to produce those beautiful vegetables!

He is seriously thinking of making more organic fertilizers and is always carefully listening to suggestions.

Lettuces grown in open fields have to be covered with insect nets to avoid using pesticides.

His own mother is experimenting with wasabina/わさび菜/ a variety of lettuce called such because its taste remniscing of wasabi!

Masahiro will lend this vacant space between his greenhouses for free to local primary schools for on-field classes. A young man already thinking of the future generations!

Atsushi Sugimura/杉村敦志 (33) and Masahiro Sugimoto/杉本政紘 (26)

Masahiro is also very active exchanging views with his peers to form a farming community with better communications and a new common direction not only in farming but also in agri-business!

Sugimoto Garden
Masahiro Sugimoto
427-0111 Shizuoka Ken, Shimada Shi, Sakamoto, 1007-1
Tel. & Fax: 0547-38-08305
Mobile: 090-7958-8969
E-mail: masahiro@smile.tnc.ne.jp
Homepage & Blog: http://hatake.eshizuoka.jp/

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Agricultural Products from Producer to the Gastronomic Table:　LOCOMANI

December 11, 2010 dragonlife Leave a comment

Ranking：
Very friendly and relaxed
Equipment: Very clean
Prices: Very reasonable
Strong points:Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prefecture. Organic vegetables. Seasonal food only

Entirely non-smoking!

“Healthy and tasty Shizuoka food!”

When Shigeyuki Aoshima/青島茂幸 (35) and his wife Hiroko/寛子 (33) opened Locomani in Takajo Machi, Shizuoka City in June 2008 they were on a mission: create healthy food for all and mainly from Shizuoka products.

Their restaurant/cafe is a very cozy place all wood and country decoration, a warm place to enjoy slow food at lunch or early dinner or a little haven for a quiet drink and a book or friend.

Their menus outside and inside are written in Japanese but they will be glad to explain the food to foreigners, however long it will take with a constant smile. Actually both are very shy, but once the ice is broken they enjoy a good talk!

Chicken in Peking Duck fashion set meal.

They cater both for vegetarians (vegan is possible on order) and omnivores. They always use the freshest ingredients and organic vegetables whenever possible.

Even set lunches (all priced at 1,000 yen) are for the main part vegetables, cooked or raw.

genmai/玄米/whole rice

Rice can be ordered white, genmai/玄米/whole, or half white, half whole.

Vegetarian kuruma fun katsu/車ふんカツ　lunch set

The katsu/cutlets are vegetarian and served with an apple and miso sauce!

Organic vegetables curry set

This very tasty curry is practically vegan as they use coconut milk!

All set lunches come with miso soup and three-year old organic tea!
As a rule they change 2 of 4 set lunches every week (the other two, including the organic vegetable curry are “regular set lunches”)

Fresh fig tart

if you come in the afternoon be on the lookout for their simple but great seasonal desserts!

As I mentioned above, the Aoshimas are always trying to use local vegetables, especially organic vegetables, and others. Accordingly they are on a constant search of new sources.
If you are a gardener, producer or farmer proud of your vegetables, do contact them for an eventual business collaboration!

And do check their blog. too!

LOCOMANI
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo machi, 1-10-06
静岡市葵区鷹匠町１－１０－０６
Tel.: 054-260-6622
opening hours: 11:30~20:00
Closed on Wednesdays

Blog: http://rokomani.exblog.jp/

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French Desserts at Pissenlit

November 17, 2010 dragonlife Leave a comment

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.
entirely non-smoking!

I do not need to introduce Pissenlit, one of the very best French restaurants in the whole Shizuoka Prefecture.
As I often go there, alone, with the Missus or friends, I find it more practical to introduce Tooru Arima’s creations as a group!
This time I would like to introduce you to some of his recent desserts!

Let’s start with the first one (Top picture repeated!):
La France Pear Compote on Vanilla Ice-cream and Creme Brulee.
The pear had been compoted beforehand and kept in the fridge.
It was placed on a portion of home-made vanilla ice-cream.
The whole was covered and surrounded with a light creme anglaise/custard which was then “brulee” with a gas burner. Some glazing sugar and mint were added to the fear as a finishing point!
Succulent and lighter than it looks!

Coffee Creme Brulee.

The dreme/pudding contained a lot of strong mocha coffee for the perfect mariage. The creme was brulee until its srface was thick and crackling.
Served with fresh figs, it almost looked like a chocolate cream.
As usual lighter than usual and a treat you never tires of. Of course served with a high-quality coffee!

Roasted Figs with Vanilla Ice Cream and Roquefort Blue Cheese Cream.

Now, this was quite a discovery!
The sweet taste of the roasted (Shizuoka-grown) figs was counterbalanced in two gradual ways: first the vanilla ice-cream (light as usual) will bring you down a little from the sweet plane onto the salted and sweet plane formed by the Roqufort cheese mixed into a light cream!
An experience!

Caramel Flan/Pudding with Fruits and Vegetables Sorbets.

A seemingly simple dessert until you discover than sorbets are made with vegetables, spinach and tomato! The fruit are persimmon, pione grapes and two small fruits I don’t have a clue about (sorry,I’ll check during my next visit!).
Incidentally the caramel pudding is firm, sweet to the right point and the caramel sauce a beauty!

looking forward to the next ones!

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Shizuoka Prefecture Agricultural High School Festival 2010

November 13, 2010 dragonlife 2 Comments

On Saturday, November 13th (not a Friday! LOL) Shizuoka Prefecture Agriculture High School held its annual School Festival!

It has easily become one of the major high school festivals in town and Prefecture.

It requires enormous preparation and many students had to stay overnight in the dormitory to make sure everything was in order for 9:30 a.m.!

Certainly all kinds of visitors appear on such events!

But I prefer the girls of that school!

Without a doubt the stars of the day are the bread and cakes club!
I arrived at 12:30 and only two kinds were left!

The students of the club are very serious about it!

But always smiling!

The pizza master who had been at work since 7:30!
The oven is a real one from Germany!

Unfortunately I couldn’t any of these wood oven baked mini pizzas as they had to be reserved!

The “ticket girls” didn’t have any tickets left for the pizza!
Unfair!

A Japanese national hobby: gold fish!

Poultry for the pleasure of visiting kids!

Special rooms had been arranged to introduce the students’ work and research.

All the while the cakes and bread disappeared to the very last!

I also paid a visit to the fields and greenhouses!

I had a hard time keeping my hands off these!

The school’s green tea was on sale!

And their spinach and shiitake mushrooms as well!

Plenty of photo displays to prove their good work!

I want one of those watermelons!

The sign says, “all oranges/mikan sold”! Unfair!

They grow flowers, too, and a lot of them!

For posterity!

After a hard day’s work!

See you next year!
(Will make sure to come early this time!)

Shizuoka Prefecture Agricultural High School
420-0812 Shizuoka Ken, Shizuoka Shi, Furusho, 3-1-1
Tel.: 054-261-1111/1113
Fax: 054-264-2226
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)