HINAMATSURI - Girls' Day

[Photo] Michelin 3 Star Restaurant in Kyoto, Japan "Arashiyama KITCHO"

March 3rd is Girls' day in Japan. Special sets of dolls called "OHINASAMA" are displayed and girls' health and happiness are celebrated.

Japanese noodle "SOMEN" - The thinnest noodle in the world

You probably know Japanese cuisine SUSHI and TEMPURA, however, do you know SOMEN? SOMEN is a Japanese noodle made from wheat and is much skinnier than other Japanese noodles.

How skinny it is do you think?

Noodles are eaten all over the world, from the Italian pastas, Chinese noodles to the numerous other types of Asian noodles.

When I visit noodle restaurants in Thailand, I can choose the noodle from 4 different kind of noodles and eat with 4 traditional seasonings as own taste. I love Thai noodle very much.

The Japanese noodle SOMEN is from ancient times. Now in Japan, people eat SOMEN daily, especially in the summer. However, in olden days, due to the difficultly of importing precious wheat, only people of the court could eat SOMEN. SOMEN has been a court cuisine for long time.

The Italian pasta “angel hair” is a famous skinny noodle. However, the world's skinniest noodle is in Nara. One of the SOMEN of famous SOMEN brand YAMAMOTO developed a 0.3mm SOMEN. In every 10g, 300 sticks are produced!

[Photo] See how skinny it is. A normal SOMEN is 0.9~1.3mm. This is 1/3 the size. The name of this SOMEN is "SHIRAGA" which means White Hair. From left: Italian Pasta "TAGLIATELLE": 6mm, "SHIRAGA": 0.3mm

I recomend using "SHIRAGA" in Soup.

Gaudí and Casa Calvet - Barcelona

Above, from top: Appetizer of the day

Seafood-stuffed squid, with baby squid sauce, vegetable couscous

Caramelized vanilla cream with pineapple and hazelnut tuile

Restaurant Casa Calvet - located in the building created by the Catalan Architectural genius Antoni Gaudí.

espressamente illy Tokyo - marocchino

espressamente illy in Tokyo - taking a photo of "beautiful red & brown": marocchino

“KOME” - JAPANESE RICE

Rice is very special for Japanese, you could say it represents our spirit and religion.
Rice is always in the center of the meal in Japan, not only as a staple food that includes the carbohydrates we should take everyday, but also as a side dish to complement the delicate flavors of Japanese cuisine.

Eating excellent white rice at home is a symbol of wealth.
At the restaurant, if they serve a wonderful main dish, but the rice is lacking in quality or ill-prepared, we are left dissatisfied. The restaurant will be considered low class, and we will not re-patron.

Rice is evaluated by its taste, surface luster, texture, smell, sweetness, shape and color…There are many contributing aspects to a quality grain.
Even deceivingly simple, rice can be enjoyed just as 'white rice'. One popular and delicious example is the rice ball "ONIGIRI".

There are many different kinds of ONIGIRI from ONIGIRI with salmon or UME(plum pickles), to the highest quality ONIGIRI, the GINSHARI NIGIRI which uses only the best white rices and salts.

In ancient Japan, people would pay their taxes with rice. So from this historical past time, is rice also considered a measure of wealth and value.
Even now, we scold children if they leave even one piece of rice in their rice bowl -“If you don’t eat it all, your eyes will be blinded.”
This means that we think rice is special, and we give our gratitude towards our rice farmers.
We also have a saying, “There are 7 Gods in the one rice package.”

In autumn we feel happiness and the pleasure of a luxurious life as we partake in the newest crop of rice called, "SHIN-MAI"
Throughout Japan, from city-to-city, to family-to-family different ways of cooking and preparing rice exist, however rice is always treated carefully and with respect.
One story comes to mind from a friend of mine. His father who was becoming forgetful in his old age became sick. Despite his forgetfulness, he always remembered the taste and flavor of his favorite rice. One day, while staying at a hospital he was served rice. When he tasted this rice, he stated, " This is not my favorite rice". His wife brought him his very soft rice, bringing a bright smile to his face. His favorite rice brought him peace of mind. Food is essential in life.
How to treat, and what we think about rice is an expression of our culture and spirit.


Ururu’s Recipe
- Wash the rice in the pot with cold water (In winter, the fingers can become cold and chilly, but never use hot water).
- Scrub the rice, and pay attention to see that rice is not cracked. We enjoy the nice sound that caused when we scrub the rice.
- Wash the rice repeatedly until the water remains clear.
- Put the rice into the pan, add the measured water, cover with the lid and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- After that, cook the rice 13~16minutes. With the first 5minutes on low heat, then tuned to medium or high. Once you start cooking the rice, do not remove the lid or stir.
- After cooking, turn off the heat but keep the lid tight to complete the steaming process for an additional 10-20 minutes.

Hills Marche' in TOKYO

Marche´ Japon Project which offers a chance to buy delicious fruits and vegetables direct from the farm, are started in the end of 2009. The food market is a tradition in daily life of Europeans. In search of gastronomic delights, throngs gather at “le marche”, carefully selecting fresh ingredients and buzzing with the energy that only the topic of good eating can ignite.

Now this delightful tradition has come to ARK Hills Karajan Place in Tokyo. However, the Hills Marche´ is so much more than a food market! There is also the leisurely enjoyment of champagne brunch, fun workshops for kids and even cooking classes taught by leading chefs.

Many delicious vegetables and fruit from all over the Japan are gathered on Hills Marche every weekend. I found good a looking Romanesco this weekend. Romanesco is in season in Japan.

ZUITEL is one of my favorite shops in Hills Marche’. They sell select fresh vegetables. Their vegetables line up beautifully on the table. Amazing!
Rare yellow carrot and normal orange carrot, white, red and violet turnip line up with the gradations of color are beautiful. It looks like art shop, not the marche’.

I think “Eating vegetables” starts at the correct shop. Here at Marche' the shop master treats his vegetables with care as he presents them to us.

Look at the beautiful Romanesco! Doesn't it look like a delicious flower?

If the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was still alive and took a photo of this Romanesco....I wonder, what kind of photo would he take?

Le Pain Quotidien TOKYO

Known for its communal tables where people share bottle of jam and books, Le Pain Quotidien opened yesterday in TOKYO.

Hazelnut Flute with Cherry jam / Shrimp & Avocado Salad on Communal table

Belgian Hot Chocolate

KUSHIAGE

KUSHIAGE – 9×4=microcosm

The culture and spirit of the sachi is infused into the whole dining experience of Kushiage.



In Japanese, we call fresh ingredients sachi which means fortune. 　Fresh fish, shellfish or shrimp is known as umi no sachi (fortune from the sea), fresh vegetables are known as yama no sachi (fortune from the mountains) and fresh pork or chicken is known as no no sachi (fortune from the field).

One of my favourite Japanese cuisines is Kushiage - small, bite-sized pieces of yama, umi and no no sachi deep fried on a bamboo skewer.　 Kushi means skewer, age means-deep fried. 　When eating kushiage, you can feel the Japanese spirit and fortune.　 From the sachi or bite-sized morsels to the good will and warmth of the chef as he prepares and serves the meal.

There are various types of Kushiage, which combine various sachi, for example, brussel sprouts with mince meat inside (see photo below) or chicken wrapped in perilla.　 Enjoying the beautifully presented and delicately flavoured sachi while having comfortable conversation with friends.

[Photo] Brussel sprout kushiage with mince meat.


The experience of ordering and eating kushiage is quiet and non intrusive. There are many kinds of kushiage and when ordering, the chef will bring out all the kushiage on the menu. Simply tell the chef which ingredients you don’t want.
The chef will remember each person’s individual order and serve the correct kushiage to the correct person. 　If you don`t like sand borer, you won’t receive it!

The menu at my favourite Kushiage restaurant, Mogami, has 36 kinds of Kushiage – because Kushi has another mean. Ku means 9, Shi means 4. 　9 x 4 equals 36.

[Photo] The 36 Kushiage at Mogami

Kushiage used to be dipped and eaten with a sauce similar to Worcestor sauce. However nowadays, many different sauces, salts and spices are used to enhance the flavour of the different sachi.
The chef makes the kushiage one by one and serves it to the table without saying a word about which sauce goes with which kushiage. Instead, the chef will point the end of the bamboo skewer towards the appropriate sauce for that kushiage. (see photo below)

[Photo] Spices and sauces from left; salt, Japanese Kushiage sauce

(similar to Worcetor sauce only thicker), sesame sauce,

ponzu (soy sauce mixed with vinegar or citrus juice).
Kushiage from left: crab clawer pointed towards salt,

Shiitake mushroom pointed towards ponzu.

[Photos] A skewer pointed right means don`t use any sauces or salt.



The culture and spirit of the sachi is infused into the whole dining experience of kushiage, from the presentation to the food, to the service, making it truly unique Japanese cuisine.

[Photo] From top left; finished skewers are put into a deep bowl,

fresh vegetables accompany kushiage,

apasaragus pointed towards the salt.

VEGEMITE

Everyone who visits Australia has been faced with vegemite.

I first encountered vegemite in 1983, when I was an exchange student in Australia.

The jar was bright and cute with its yellow cap and red label. When I opened it, I saw a dark brown, almost black paste. "It looks like chocolate," I thought, "hmm...yum!" I immediately tried it.

I was so surprised to discover it wasn’t sweet at all but salty with a very, very unusual taste.

In fact, it tasted awful! "How can people eat this?" I thought. And it seems I’m not the only one who thinks this. Visitors from other countries have had the similar experience. When I was on the bus trip with exchange students from 20 different countries, not one person like it. Vegemite must be the most famous Australian food detested by foreigners.

I too, was once like those 'vegemite-detesting' foreigners. But, then one month into my stay in Australia, it happened - Vegemite turned into my favorite food. How did this happen?

It happened because I was homesick and vegemite became my Japanese comfort food.

One day I was having my breakfast at my host family’s house and was feeling rather homesick but trying to hide it, when suddenly the smell of soy sauce wafted by. I turned in the direction of the smell only to discover my host brother eating a piece of toast with plenty of vegemite on it. Vegemite is more like soy sauce than chocolate? As soon as I realized the truth of this, it changed my experience. Vegemite became delicious!

I began to see further evidence of the connection between vegemite and soy sauce. When my host mother was making curry and fried rice, I found out she would put in a pinch of vegemite to bring out the good flavor, much the same way soy souse is used.

A few weeks after my epiphany, I learnt vegemite also includes the same ingredient as a Japanese popular medicine for the stomach called “Ebiosu”.

More than 25 years have past since I have eaten vegemite in Australia, yet I still love it. Now I buy vegemite at the supermarket here in Japan, and it's always on my breakfast table.

I recommend vegemite on toast with rich butter.