Tag Archives: Simple Recipes

美食, Desserts, 野菜, 観光, 農業, French Cuisine, French gastronomy, French Restaurant, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Non-smoking restaurants, Shizuoka, Tourism, vegetables

French Gastronomy: Shizuoka Products at Pissenlit (October 2011)!

November 26, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

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

The Fall in Shizuoka, like in many countries all the world is a time of plenty with food provided by the land and sea overwhelming vegetables, fruit, meat and seafood. It is the time to re-visit your favorite restaurants and chefs and learn so much about new products and techniques!

The board advertizing the B Lunch Menu at a very good value of 2,500 yen convinced me away from work for a while!

Impatiently waiting for the beauties to land on my plate…

Not being able to drink alcohol during my break I opted for the ever delicious home-made ginger ale!

Never mentioned on the menu, Chef Touru Arima always awards your patience with one of his superb amuse!

Hot potage made with organic carrots from Chizen no Chikara Farm!

Mousse made with the leaves of the same carrots on a bed of pureed tomatoes!

The appetizer: Quiche made with lotus roots grown in Asabata, Shizuoka City, small chestnuts and organic spinach with an organic green salad!

Being French, no wonder I’m a sucker for quiche!

Especially when East meets West. Can you see the sliced lotus root?

The entree: Tender and juicy Yuusui　Ton/湧水豚 Pork bred in Gotemba City!

From another angle! The pork was poeleed in mustard sauce.

All vegetables are organic, either from Shizen no Chikara Farm in Shizuoka City or Hirokawa Garden in Mishima City!

Great dessert of the day as usual, but this time it was really special and would deserve an article of its own!

Organic carrot Creme Brulee!

When a great vegetable becomes an unctuous dessert… What more can you ask?

…: hot organic mandarine caramelized with all kinds of nuts!

With nuts inside the mandarine! What painstaking work!

Incidentally I belatedly realized that I started and finished my meal with carrots! To think I hated them when I was a kid…

Finally, coffee served at it should be! With black tea madeleine and jellied orange peel!

Difficult to get better value!

To be followed soon…

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!

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-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Fish, Gastronomy, Health, Izakaya, Japanese Gastronomy, sake, Shizuoka, Tourism, Villa D'Est Quisine, 居酒屋

Izakaya Gastronomy: Villa D’Est Quisine in Shizuoka City (Fall 2011)

November 24, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Friendly and unassuming
Facilities: old-fashioned but very clean with cute washroom
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Home-style seasonal cuisine. Wines, sake and shochu. Very traditional Japanese atmosphere! Patronized by true izakaya gastronomy lovers!

In a city like Shizuoka, almost notoriously famous for its many hidden gastronomic havens, many true izakaya lovers will keep their own favorite hangout as secret as possible. Personally, I don’t think this is very fair, but at the same time you do not want to advertize too much such establishments for fear that uncaring customers spoil the atmosphere. On the other hand, if you wish to share and promote taste for good food, drink and atmosphere, you do have a duty to make such gastronomic venues better known.

In my case I hesitate to patronize Villa D’Est Quisine too often as it is very near my workplace, and it is not a good idea in Japan to revel too close to your professional address.
Therefore I keep my visits away from the week-ends when too many people are present for comfort. On the other hand, visiting an izakaya at comparatively quiet times will almost surely offer the opportunity to meet and discover like-minded souls!

Villa D’Est Quisine has many reasons to please:
It is located away from the centre of town in one of the few original and still left untouched alleys of fashionable Takajyo District.
It exudes a quaint warm atmosphere, almost taking you back ages away with its unusual architecture all of dark aged wood with a counter, large table and an elevated tatami, original ceramic tableware, hand-brushed daily menu, potted plants and wall pictures.
The food is eclectic, concocted with mainly local products to satisfy any taste, be it Japanese or of whatever country.
The short and very efficient list of Japanese sake, shochu and wine will ensure that your food marries well with your drinks.
The Chef, Toshiharu Matsuura, has an unflappable will to please customers with a quiet respect for privacy, although you will always find him ready for a great conversation.

Two nights ago, we decided to flee the city noisily celebrating a coming holiday and enjoy some welcome slow life there. It proved momentous as we had the luck to make acquaintance with two new like-minded friends!
The tone was immediately set with the first drink, a nectar from Morimoto Brewery in Kikugawa City, served in original pottery with a simple but succulent o-hitashi/lightly cooked and marinated appetizer made with vegetables including chrysanthemum petals!
The only reproach I would make is that although the place is comfortably dark it is not very propitious to photography!

You will be surprised to find out that the single sheet menu will take you longer to peruse than expected, so take your time before ordering!
Now the menu featured as its very first item “koshiodai/こしょう鯛/Peppered Seabream (litteral translation!)” sashimi.
I asked Toshiharu where he found the fish and he had a hard time evading my question. I suspect he caught it himself in Suruga Bay or acquired it in a market I know he patronizes!
The sashimi was not as soft as most as that of seabream but proved a great combination of fine taste and bite!

Amitake Oroshi daikon Ae/アミ茸下ろし大根和え/Jersey cow mushroom-suillus bovinus served with freshly grated daikon.

The above dish will endear vegetarians! Actually, if you have such a priority talk to the Chef and he will help you!

Tebasaki to yasai no kuriimu shityu/手羽先と野菜クリームシチュー/Chicken wings and Vegetables Cream Stew

Now, the above should please Westerners especially on a cold night! Very typical Japanese Izakaya offering in spite of its obvious Western inspiration!

Kaki fuwafuwa mushi/牡蠣ふわふわ蒸し/Steamed oysters with a light sauce served with grated wasabi.

The above is more typical of the Japanese treats concocted by Toshiharu! A discovery for oyster lovers!

An Izakaya Classic: Yurine to ebi kakiage/ユリ根と海老かき揚げ/Deep-fried lily bulb and shrimps!

When it comes to kakiage and tempura tha Japanese are simply the best!
Have you ever tried yurine/ユリ根/lily bulbs? A must!

Iro Iro Na Potato Furai/色々なポテトフライ/Varied fried potatoes

Another Izakaya classic! Three types of tubers: Thick Sweet Potato Chips, boiled and lightly fried potatoes and again boiled and lightly fried satoimo/里芋/taro!
A true delicacy for vegans and vegerarians!

And to think we only scratched the menu…

VILLA D’EST QUISINE
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajyo, 3-10-19
Tel.: 054-251-4763
Business hours: 17:00~24:00
Closed on Thursdays
Parties welcome
HOMEPAGE/BLOG (Japanese)
Smoking allowed

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Bento, 美食, 農業, Gastronomy, Health, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, 弁当

Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/62): Chess Board Bento!

November 23, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Have you ever played chess on a bento? LOL
Well, I could have this time!

This is actually a very popular pattern design for bentos in Japan. And it is very easy to achieve for maximum impression!

As it is also healthy the made two similar layers of it on top of each other.
Having spread the rice inside the box she placed cut squares of nori/dry seaweed on top to form a chess board.
For extra taste she had actually brushed a little soy sauce under each piece of nori!

For extra design, seasoning and fibers she added turnip home-pickled in amazu/sweet red rice vinegar and stir-fried burdock root/gobo with chili pepper for more piquancy.

As usual plenty of colors for the side dish!

For the meat she used salmon pieces she had previously lightly marinated in Japanese sake and what else. She then coated the pieces of salmon with plenty of rice flour/komeko and finely crushed spicy rice crackers before frying them in shallow oil and soaking the oil out on kitchen paper.
She placed them on a bed of lettuce with half a sudachi lemon. Sudachi lemons are vey small but full of juice more reminiscent of orange than lemon. Perfect pressed over the salmon!

She then completed the side box with plain tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette (she actually included more dashi than usual ton make it lighter) and lightly sauteed sliced soft pimentos.
Fresh grapes for dessert.

It was touch and go to either play chess with it or enjoy it right away! You probably have guessed my decision!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/61): Kanikama Chirashizushi Bento!

November 16, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Kanikama stands for Kani Kamaboko/Crab imitation paste made with steamed fish meat!
The Missus found a very interesting kanikama on the market and decided to use some for today’s bento!

The best way for color and design was to prepare it as Chirashizushi/Decoration sushi!

Having steamed the rice with plenty of konbu, she then prepared it as sushi rice. She mixed it with pieces of Kanikama, thin slices of cucumber, pimento, avocado cubes, cresson and home-pickled sanshyo/Japanese pepper. She decorated the top with the same!

The salad and dessert box was very colorful, too!

Salad of violet potatoes and boiled black beans on a bed of lettuce!

Dessert with plenty of fruit: Nashi/Japanese pear, grapefruit wedges and Red Heart Kiwi Fruit slices!

Very colorful and so tasty again!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/60): Yuzu koshio Karaage Bento!

November 16, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

I recently was offered some yuzu koshio/yuzu, lime and pepper mixed sauce, by Kenya Yoshimura the owner/chef at Uzu, arguably the best Izakaya in the Prefecture!
The Missus decided to use some in today’s bento which also included karaage/Japanese-style deep-fried chicken!

The Missus first boiled sliced renkon/lotus root from Asabata in Shizuoka City and let it cool down while she deep-fried the chicken (one cannot boil and deep-fry food as the same time unless you wish to expose yourself to grave danger!).
Now, for the friends who want to know how the Missus concocts her karaage, I discovered she uses komeko/rice flour instead of wheat flour! No wonder they are so light. Moreover the deep-frying process is done in two stages! The latter will ensure that the chicken is melting inside your mouth instead of a dry tasteless (I mean the meat) inside you find in so many famous diners…

She filled the first box with freshly steamed rice and covered it with stir-fried pimento and chingensai/Qing geng cai
or Green pak choi/チンゲンサイ（青梗菜), then deep-fried chicken and the lotus roots she had seasoned with plenty of yuzu koshio.
The lotus root had a lot of pleasant piquancy for a great balance with the rice and the other ingredients!

As for the salad she filled a box with cress, sliced mini tomatoes and bean salad mixture, the whole seasoned with vinaigrette and fresh lemon.
For dessert I took some mandarines from the Missus’ family garden!

Very tasty bento indeed!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/59): Sakura Inari Sushi & Sakura Ebi Tamagoyaki Bento!

November 2, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Yesterday was the official opening of the Autumn Season (as opposed to the Spring Season) for sakura ebi/桜海老/Cherry Shrimps caught exclusively off the Shizuoka shores!
Naturally, the Missus bought some at a local supermarket!

This time she prepared the rice as inarizushi!

The pouches for inari zushi are made with deep-fried tofu sheets readily available in any supermarkets. You first cut them in halves and then cut inside with a sharp knife to form a pouch. Of course you can also buy them as the finished product!
The Missus prepared sushi rice and mixed it with sweet preserved sakura/cherry blossoms for a cute color!

A side box with beautiful colors again!

The Missus made tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette with sakura ebi and leeks! Soooo tasty!

Fresh lettuce, pickled fuki/bog rhubarb from Nagano Prefecture, Shizuoka plum tomatoes and home-pickled cucumbers seasoned with golden and black sesame seeds!
For dessert, red heart kiwi fruit. Incidentally Shizuoka Prefecture is a major producer of kiwi fruit!

Did I say I loved it? LOL

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/58): Hesitation Blues Bento!

November 1, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

When I heard the Missus talking to herself this morning while she was pondering on today’s bento she reminded me of a piece called “Hesitation Blues” performed by Hot Tuna (Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane) a long time ago!
She didn’t seem to come to terms with what was available in the fridge!

She finally decided to prepare some steamed plain rice with shredded carrot which she later sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
I actually suggested it as it is very tasty and healthy!

As for the side dish she mainly combined “leftovers” with vegetables from her family’s garden!

She first introduced some violet sweet potato and walnut salad she had made the day before. The sweet potato were brought to us yesterday with the renkon/蓮根/lotus roots. Actually lotus roots grown in Asabata, Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City are famous far beyond Shizuoka Prefecture borders!
She fried them with green peas in curry powder before adding them to the salad.

She thawed leftover shrimp and pork belly rolls and fried them before placing them on a bed of fresh lettuce adorned with a few Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes from Iwata City.
Finally she added plenty of tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette for dessert!

Well, I certainly won’t mind her hesitation next time!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/57): Cress Udon Bento!

October 26, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Shige Chan is a famous producer in Shizuoka City who not only grows top-class cress and tomatoes but also makes and sells udon seasoned with them!
They do make not only for great taste but also for great health!

So the Missus having prepared and cooled down a batch of cress udon, she seasoned them with tomato puree and a secret ingredient she refused to reveal. She lightly stir-fried large shrimps cut into small pieces and added them to the udon before tossing the whole lot and filling a bento box with them. Naturally she decorated the udon with fresh cress for design, taste and welcome fibers, iron and vitamins!

As for the side box, she prepared an avocado and walnuts salad she placed in cups formed with Trevise leaves and completed the dish with boiled egg halves seasoned with black sesame seeds and a few fresh radish and their edible leaves beside a couple of French pickles.
Dessert? The walnuts! LOL

Once again a very healthy and tasty Autumn/Fall Bento!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/56): Healthy Prawn Sushi Bento!

October 25, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Good bentos do not have to be complicated.
The Missus today came up with arguably the simplest and healthiest bento of the year, and a very tasty one to boot!
And apparently it didn’t take too much time either!

While the rice was being steamed she prepared “soboro” eggs, that is, Japanese scrambled eggs. The main difference with European/American scrambled eggs is that they are sweet and milk is not included. She uses only olive oil, sugar and dashi.
She boiled some large shrimps from the refrigerator with a little vinegar and sake and let then cool down before cutting them in halves.
Once the sushi rice was ready she mixed it some soboro eggs and filled the main box.
She then made a rim of fresh cress and filled the top with soboro egg on which she placed some of the cut prawns.
She put the finishing touch with some lime and cut Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes.
Simple and beautiful!

For the dessert box, Autumnal fruits: fresh figs, persimmon and nashi pears!

Simple as it may look, I was full and really satisfied!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/55): A Real Local Bento!

October 20, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

This time, apart of the seasoning the Missus has come up with the real local Bento using only ingredients from Shizuoka Prefecture!

I have to say it was realized with the help of her own mother’s cooking and garden!

The rice she steamed for the bento is “Koshihikari” grown in Suntoh Gun in the Eastern part of the Prefecture!
The sweet pickled ginger were prepared by her mother. She seasoned it with golden and black sesame seeds.
As for the Shizuoka-grown red and green peppers she sliced them and stir-fried them before adding them to the rice.

The ingredients in the colorful side box were also all grown or bred in Shizuoka Prefecture!

She prepared two types of rolls with thin strips of pork belly wrapped around okra and thick leek before stir-frying them.
She placed them on a bed of lettuce with green lemon for design and seasoning!

The tamagoyaki were made “Bioran” eggs produced by Mr. Shimizu in Shizuoka City and very thin leeks. The kaki/persimmon come from her mother’s garden and the Ameera Rubbins Pearl Tomatoes are grown in Iwata city, in the Western part of the Prefecture!

It would certainly be fun to see what friends could come up with, using only local ingredients!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/54): Kuri Gohan Bento!

October 13, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

The Japanese love chestnuts as a vegetable, especially with rice which they call Kuri Gohan/栗ご飯!

Usually the Japanese cook the rice with preserved chestnuts, but as the latter came raw from the Missus’ family garden they were boiled separately and later mixed with cooked rice and black sesame seeds.

The color of the chestnuts is not as beautiful as those coming from preserves, but they look real and yummy!

I could also have called this bento, sesame chicken bento!

The Missus coated chicken filets/sasami with golden and black sesame seeds before frying them in olive oil.
She later placed them in the box over a bed of cress with some lemon for seasoning and radish for decoration.

She added stir-fried spicy burdock roots chips and her specialty, half-boiled onsen tamago/hotsprings egg!

For dessert, kaki/persimmon/柿from her family’s garden!

Very healthy seasonal yummy bento indeed!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/53): Pre-Halloween Bento?

October 11, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Now, why did I call today’s bento “Pre-Halloween Bento”?
Simply because the Missus used a local pumpkin called Red Kuri Squash or Uchiki kuri in Japanese! Other names include Japanese Squash, Orange Hokkaido Squash, Baby Red Hubbard Squash, Potimarron in French and Onion Squash in the United Kingdom.

Mind you, I could have called it a “Rustic bento” with all the mushrooms included in the sushi rice!

True to say, “rustic” might overdo it as the mushrooms involved, eringe, shimeji and enokitake, are all cultivated, not picked in the wild!
The Missus prepared a sushi rice and then mixed it with chopped parsley and the mmushrooms she had marinated in the fridge for the whole night.

Once again plenty of colors to remind me we are finally come into the Fall/Autumn.
This the longest season in Shizuoka, the most temperate region in Japan!

Smoked salmon and avocado salad decorated with mini tomatoes!

Baby corn with frilled lettuce.
And a salad of boiled Uchichi kiri pumpkin sprinkled with black sesame seeds for dessert!

A truly well-balanced and colorful bento! And yummy!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/52): Chicken Roll bento!

October 7, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Today’s bento drew inspiration both from the land and the sea!

But before I start explaining the preparation of the bento, let me show you the new “furoshiki/風呂敷/Traditional Japanese cloth wrapping used to carry gifts, boxes, bento and so on” that I have acquired at the Serizawa Keisuke Art Gallery in Shizuoka City!

I bought it small enough to wrap around my bento box.
But I might need a larger one for the round boxes!

Very cute with its food motifs!

For the rice box, The Missus drew inspiration from the sea by steaming the rice with canned scallops she shredded beforehand.
Once cooked, she mixed the whole with sweet seaweed/konbu preserves and her own pickled Japanese peeper/sanshyou/山椒 seeds for plenty of zip!

Except for the grapes, the ingredients in the side dish are all local!

She stir-fried the eggplants/aubergines, green shishito peppers and red pimentos from her family’s garden in miso paste, soy sauce, mirin, spices and black sesame seeds, and placed them alongside celery leaves.

Before preparing the rolls she boiled carrot and burdock root/gobou/牛蒡 sticks.
She used Shizuoka-bred chicken sasami/filets for the rolls after having flattened them.
She then rolled them around the carrot and burdock roots and slowly stir-fried the rolls in sauce.
She let them cool before cutting and arranging them inside the box.

Imported Chilean grapes for dessert!

This bento was certainly great fun and really tasty!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/51): Beef Chirashi Sushi Bento!

October 5, 2011 dragonlife 6 Comments

“Chirashi Sushi” means “Decoration Sushi”. Contrary to what you might think it does not have to include fish or seafood.
The Missus can make a beautiful one with beef!

It certainly looked colorful and appetizing!
I couldn’t wait to break it in! LOL

The Missus first concocted the Chirashi Sushi rice as a normal sushi rice before mixing it with small pieces of beef and vegetables as well as chopped shiso and others.
She then covered it first one half with shredded beef stir-fried with sauce of her own (blending) making including soy sauce and black sesame seeds.
She covered the other half with soboro tamago/Japanese-style scrambled (sweet) eggs.
She drew a boundary with a mixture of shredded carrot and shishito/thin peppercorns seasoned with wasabi vinaigrette!

The side dish for all its colors required the Missus’ hand for all the ingredients!

The aubergines/eggplants and goya/bitter melon, both from her mother’s garden, were prepared as o-hitashi, that is, first steamed/cooked and then lightly marinated.

The renkon/lotus roots, also coming from her mother’s garden were prepared in two manners. They were both sliced and boiled first. Half were pickled in umboshi and umezu/sweet vinegar into a pink color, the other half was marinated in soft wasabi paste of her own making!

As for dessert, the Missus cooked apples in wine and grenadine!

Beautiful colors reminiscent of the Fall season! Beautiful in many senses!

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Today’s Bento/Lunch Box (11/50): Tuna Meat Balls Bento!

September 28, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

I found myself in a hell of a hurry this morning and did not have the time to look at the Missus preparing my bento!
She was kind enough to bring it to my office before she went to work herself!

She was also kind enough to send me the pictures for my report!
Very colorful, isn’t it?

She tries to use only local ingredients whenever possible!
The rice is “Koshihikari” grown in Suntoh Gun, Shizuoka Prefecture!
After steaming it, she decorated it with fresh okra and home-made umeboshi! Italian bento?

She kept things colorful as usual but she did not include dessert…
She will probably reply that she has to keep in mind my expanding waist…

The vegetables consisted of boiled broccoli and carrot seasoned with gomadare/sesame dressing.
She added her specialty: onsen tamago/soft-boiled egg marinated in soy sauce and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

The meat balls were made of fresh tuna surimi (tuna flesh grated from insde the skin, probably an albacore tuna) and minced shiso/perilla leaves. She pan-fried them in sauce. Beautiful and lighter than one might expect!
She included more vegetables with lettuce and home-pickled burdock root with chili pepper!

Very satisfying, tasty and colorful!

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