Paging through a review copy of A Cook's Journey to Japan, a charming new cookbook filled with homestyle faves, I landed on the hiyashi chukka recipe, cold ramen noodles with sesame vinaigrette. Man, that looked good. While training in a Kyoto kitchen last month, during Japan's hot 'n humid rainy season, these refreshing, tangy noodles were always a delight served as makanai, or staff meal. Easy and fast to prepare, too. When I emailed author Sarah Marx Feldner and asked her to suggest a recipe to cook, guess which one she suggested? Yep, and here's what she wrote:
"I love this recipe because it brings back great memories of Japan. I first ate it as an ekiben [bento boxes sold on trains] while traveling along the Shimanto Gawa in Shikoku. And I enjoyed it once again one sweltering summer afternoon with my "Japanese family" in Iwaki, shortly before heading home to The States. It's a great summer dish because the dressing can be prepared well ahead of time. And the toppings are super flexible -- so it's a perfect recipe for highlighting your farmer's market finds."
Amen, Sarah. With this dish you pile a variety of toppings over cold ramen, then pour a sesame vinaigrette. Get creative with the toppings: mix and match crunchy, raw veggies, thin-sliced omelet (a must), and other ingredients -- just like I did. Here's the recipe for my adaptation of this fantastic dish:
The intense, caramel aroma of freshly roasted hojicha tea is what first stopped me in my tracks on Amazakeyokocho Street. I was working on a cycling story last year when I rode down this old shopping street. I popped into the tea shop, where the storekeeper offered me a taste (delicious), and looked around. The tea shop was next door to the tofu shop. Up the street, a huge line of shoppers waited patiently for taiyaki. Next to the taiyaki shop stood another sweets shop, then a shop selling bamboo brooms and kitchenware, run by an ancient woman. One traditional shop after the other. When I checked my handy map, I couldn't believe this incredible street was just an eight minute subway ride from the glitz and bustle of the Ginza. I read that this area escaped damage during the war, so many of the original buildings are still intact. If you're in Tokyo, you shouldn't miss the Amazakeyokocho. Stroll down the street and nosh. That's what I just did, during a brief few hours in the city. (Take the Hibiya line to the Ningyocho Station, check the station map (with English) for Amazakeyokocho, easy to find.) Here are some pictures:
I've been in Kyoto for almost a month now, and while most of my dining has been makani -- restaurant staff meals -- I've had a couple of chances to squeeze in some great dinners (details on my restaurant training soon). I've also learned about a bunch of other restaurant here, so I want to share this information. One of these days I'll be back in Kyoto with more time to dine, and get to try them all!
My favorite discovery this trip, thanks to my pal Nemo Glassman, has been Heikichi Negiya, or the "Heikichi Onion Shop." It's located in an historic two-story machiya, or traditional merchant's house, along the Takasegawa canal. And yes, the star attraction here is the onion, a nice, big, round onion, one that has been slowly, carefully--meticulously--grilled over binchotan charcoal for an hour or so, and served with a little miso on the side. Everything that Japanese cooking is about can be found in this perfect, sweet, delicate, luscious, fragrant, tender onion. The taisho, or owner, Chef Tsubaki, is a wonderful, outgoing guy who runs a relaxed, friendly place. Besides his onion, he serves a huge menu featuring Kyoto heirloom veggies, and has some of the best sake I've ever tried. When you go there, do what I did, and tell the taisho "omakase"-- chef's choice -- and let him serve you. This goes for the sake, too. You have to check out the Onion Shop. (Phone 075-342-4430, near the intersection of Shijo and Kawaramachi.) By the way, they also serve phenomenal ramen at lunch.
Nemo, who runs fantastic cultural programs at Origin Japan (that anyone visiting Kyoto should not miss), also recommends:
Giro giro, located in another machiya on the same canal Yoshikawa Tempura, Nemo says "try to get a private room looking out at the garden, one of my favorite spots in Kyoto." Isoya, young, hip crowd, great food Honke Owariya, serving soba for 18 generations
Here are some other places I've heard about or seen in Japanese magazines but haven't tried -- yet:
Yoshiya on the Pontocho (a historic, narrow lane astride the Kamo River, where geisha houses have been converted into restaurants), Japanese kappo ryori--fine counter dining Masuda on the Pontocho, obanzai cuisine (Kyoto's traditional home cooking) Takara ramen on the Pontocho, shoyu ramen with chicken stock is supposed to be fantastic (the cooks at my restaurant swear by it -- good sign!) Kawakami, a traditional, historic ryotei in the Gion that serves classic kaiseki cuisine Usui, obanzai cuisine (075-351-1529) Fumido, yakiton, that is, grilled pork (075-212-5135) Inaseya, yakitori and hormo (intestines) (075-255-7250)
Dig up info these places online. And, hey, do you have any places to recommend in Kyoto? C'mon spill the azuki beans! Please leave your picks in the comments!
Finally, here are some photos from my meal at Heikichi:
A few years ago I got a glimpse at the high art of tempura cooking while visiting Kyoto at an elegant restaurant called Tenyu, and I never forgot it. (See this blog post, too.) Mrs. Sachiyo Imai introduced me. Besides being Miss Kyoto in 1953 and a master of the Japanese classic arts (plus a mean piano player), Mrs. Imai is a noted Kyoto food scholar, author, and television and radio host, and an all-around amazing person (read about her in the 2008 Saveur 100, and my post). Now that I'm back in Kyoto, Mrs. Imai and I headed to Tenyu again, along with a friend named Nemo, who was kind enough to translate.
The tiny restaurant has a only a U-shaped dining counter, with the chef working in the center. I watched the chef add oil to a specialized tempura pot, which he explained is made from copper and steel. He uses only cottonseed oil, which I found surprising. I've read that tempura chef often use a combination of oils, including sesame oil, to impart flavor to ingredients. "This is Kyoto style," he answered, explaining that he aims for a lighter, more delicate kind of tempura. I watched him mix the tempura batter--barely, so not to stretch the glutens in the flour, to keep the tempura crispy rather than chewy. The chef serves tempura in courses, one ingredient at a time. He started with shrimp, cooking it seconds and serving himself. We ate it with salt and sansho. The shrimp was delicate, tender and sashimi inside, encased in a crispy, light crust. Mrs. Imai pointed to the paper lining my plate. "No oil," she said. She was right. For an ingredient that was just deep fried, there no oil dripping off. The chef explained that he adjusts the batter to match the moisture of each ingredient, and switches tempura pots during cooking to keep the oil clean. We also tasted asparagus, kisu, a type of whiting, hamo eel, Kamo eggplant and Fushimi togarashi, a local pepper. Incredible. What amazed me, too, is how hot the ingredients became inside, even though they were so quickly deep fried--and just perfectly cooked through. Check out the photos and video. (Tenyu, telephone (075) 212-7778, Gokomachi Sanjo Sagaru)
My friends know about me and gyoza. I can't resist these fried-then-steamed dumplings stuffed with pork, napa cabbage and garlic chives, so when we rolled into Osaka, we headed directly to a half-century old joint called Tenpei Gyoza, which claims to be the originator of the city's signature hitokuchi gyoza, one-bite gyoza. The place was 20-seats small, with a rather abridged menu on the wall that read, "gyoza, pickles, beer." What more do you need? An ornery grandma manned the door, while a woman behind a dining counter spooned filling into flour skins and folded dumpling after dumpling. I watched the cook next to her prepare my batch. He lay a dozen gyoza on a hot griddle contraption. When they began to sizzle, he picked up an aluminum kettle and poured water over the dumplings. As steam lifted into the air, he covered the griddle and waited. Five minutes or so later, they were ready.
Make a dipping sauce with one part soy sauce to two parts vinegar, the waiter advised. I added a drop of rayu (chili oil), too, to add some zing. I dipped my first dumpling into the sauce, and one bite later it was gone. What was it like? Crunchy skin, light and juicy insides, with fantastic fragrance and flavor from the garlic chives. In other words, a perfect gyoza. Click here for Tenpei's Japanese website (I love it that they have a website, and it seems, a blog) and check out some photos:
Back in Japan now and just rolled into the lovely city of Nagoya. First order of business: Nagoya Cochin chicken. Cochin is this town's signature variety of jidori, or free-range, heirloom-breed chicken. From what I read while researching my and my pal Tadashi's latest cookbook (handed in the manuscript a week ago -- woohoo!! -- thanks again to all our volunteer recipe testers), chicken played a number of roles in ancient Japan, as cock-a-doodle-doing timekeepers, fighting birds, and spiritual creatures. But their import as food diminished when the emperor banned eating them around the year 700 or so (if I recall correctly - I don't have my notes with me). By the 17th century, though, chicken recipes began appearing in cookbooks -- I mean, how long can long can you resist a juicy drumstick? -- and today, if I got this right, jidori must have at least 50% ancient Japanese chicken in them. There are a number of jidori breeds, but Cochin is about the most famous, and in Nagoya, numerous restaurants focus on just this bird.
To learn more, my friend here in Nagoya took me to a restaurant called Hioki, where the chef, Mr. Hioki, specializes in Cochin. Chef Hioki was kind enough to invite us into his kitchen. As we watched him work, he explained that he buys his chickens every morning from a tiny-scale breeder who slaughters them on the spot, so they're perfectly fresh. (He gets his eggs from another local farmer, who apparently wouldn't sell them to him for months until he was satisfied that Chef Hioko was worthy.) The Cochin bird was bigger by half than a typical American broiler. The color of the raw meat struck me: the leg was deeply ruddy like duck, the breast meat was a pale, almost translucent peach color, and the fat, a bright lemon-yellow. So this is what chicken should look like. As Chef Hioki deftly stripped the meat off the bones, I wondered how he was going to prepare it.
The most fundamental way to enjoy Cochin, the chef explained, is raw. With an ingredient this pristine, this perfect, you can revel in its natural essence, like you would with great fish. Chef Hioki prepared a plate of chicken sashimi with meat from the neck, breast, tenderloin, and leg, adding slices of heart, gizzard, liver and the cockscomb. He served us the sashimi with two condiments alongside, soy sauce and grated ginger for the white meat, and sesame oil and salt for the dark meat. We tasted this incredible chicken; each part had its own singular texture and flavor. The gizzard was crunchy, the liver delicate and tender. The leg meat was fantastic, so rich and chickeny. Besides the sashimi, the chef also served us chicken simmered in sakekasu (the lees of sake), grilled wings with just a little salt (amazing!), grilled skin (amazing!), and tsukune, chicken meat balls (amazing!), which we dipped into luscious raw egg. The chef also treated us to a selection of great sake at his stylish restaurant, including a local brand also called Cochin, which was beautifully wrapped in old newspaper. Wow. If you pass through Nagoya, Hioki is located at 3-20-17 Nishiki, Naka-ku (tel 052-973-3660). Here are some photos:
Back when I was a TV news producer, "pet du jour" was an old standby -- an adorable pet story, who could resist that? So I laughed when my wife sent me pet du jour, Japanese-style: sushi for Fido (or Pochi, as you'd say in Japan). Click here to watch the video.
Umami
03/01/10
From the NYT You're the Boss blog: "Umami is the fifth flavor in food, the untranslatable Japanese word that means "delicious" or "pungent" or "essence" or "gimme more." From 300 B.C. until the early 1900s, there had been but four flavors available to the human tongue -- salty, sweet, sour and bitter -- and then an artist and a scientist, on different continents, discovered the same fifth flavor..." Read entire post here
Luxe hot pots in the LA Times
01/26/10
God bless Las Vegas, home of the $500 Japanese hot pot meal (now that's a value meal!). Check out Betty Hallock's excellent article in the LA Times: Hot pot cooking goes haute. But have not fear. It's not all flash. Betty also talks about her mom's sukiyaki, which sounds heavenly. Check out the piece.
Food Forum Lecture at Japan Society
01/26/10
The next Food Forum lecture is going to be a great one: Wasabi On A Hot Dog?! - Rethinking Japanese Ingredients will dig into how American cooking is integrating Japanese ingredients, and not just in the traditional ways. With chef Mike Anthony of Gramercy Tavern, who trained in Japan, and chef Craig Koketsu. Tue, Feb 2nd at 6:30 pm at the Japan Society.
Tasting: Sake Temperature
01/25/10
My friends at the Japanese Culinary Center and Sakaya are planning a tasting to answer key questions about sake: How hot is hot sake? How cold is cold? What's the optimal temperature to serve different sake? They'll also cook up chicken hot pot (perfect with hot sake). I'm looking forward to this. On Thu, Feb 4th at 6:30p. Click here for info.
Blind Sake Tasting Challenge!
01/16/10
Want to test your sake chops? Head to the Japanese Culinary Center in Manhattan this Thursday, Jan 21st, for their upcoming Sake 101 seminar. Participants will taste 5 sakes, including special varieties not available here. Plus you get to put your sake skills to the test with a blind tasting challenge. Register online.
Where to Eat in Tokyo
01/16/10
Check out this excellent Wall Street Journal article about a 72-hour Tokyo eating tour. Now I'm getting hungry...
Martha Stewart Cooks Hot Pot
01/12/10
My coauthor Tadashi and I visited the Martha Stewart Show last week to cook hot pot! Martha chose two dishes, which Tadashi prepared with her on live TV. To check out the segments, click here, then click on the "watch videos" link for kabocha hot pot and beef shabu shabu.
Hot Pot Book in LA Times and Viet World Kitchen!
12/18/09
Tadashi and I are thrilled by the lovely writeup our Japanese hot pot book received by Betty Hallock in the LA Times Daily Dish blog today, and by cookbook author Andrea Nguyen including our book in her holiday gift guide. Thank you, Betty and Andrea!
Tidbit du Jour: Tempura Batter
12/13/09
Food historian Dr. Naomichi Ishige: "The wheat-flour batter [of tempura] is called koromo, which means 'clothing'... The 'clothing' should never be like a blanket covering someone who cannot be identified as male or female, but light and translucent, revealing the skin of the wearer." (From "The History and Culture of Japanese Food")
Hot Pots "Ten Best" of 2009!
12/04/09
"We've gone through stacks upon stacks of cookbooks to come up with a Top 10 Cookbooks of 2009 list to inspire some gift ideas for the cookbook enthusiasts on your holiday shopping list," writes one of my favorite food sites, Serious Eats. And guess what? The hot pot book made the list! Check out Serious Eats' The Ten Best Cookbooks of 2009!
Collegiate Ramen
12/03/09
Calling all ramen-loving college students, and any other ramen lover, too, come to think of it. The Online Colleges website just published "100 Awesome Ramen Recipes for Starving College Students." Don't starve! Click here to check 'em out.
Story of Tofu
11/28/09
An excellent article by the author Kimiko Barber in today's Financial Times about Japanese tofu, including the history of this important food, plus a look at a traditional artisanal tofu-making family in Kyoto. I actually visited these people five years ago, and as soon as I figure out which drive I stored the photos on, I'll post them! Click here to read the piece.
Hot Pot Radio
11/26/09
This past weekend I spoke with Seattle chef Tom Douglas on his live radio show about all things hot pot. Thanks for having me on your program, Tom. If you'd like to give our chat a listen, please click here.
Hot Pot Book in the New York Times
11/25/09
Our hot pot book was mentioned today in the New York Times food section. Here's what Florence Fabricant said: "Steaming bowls sustain body and soul in the cold months. Your grandmother probably knew how to fill this need and the Japanese certainly do, as Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat so deftly demonstrate in "Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One Pot Meals" Once you have assembled the ingredients, the actual preparation is brief...The recipes are blueprints that welcome variation." Read the clip here. Woo-hoo!
Michelin-starred Hot Pot!
11/24/09
I knew Tadashi and I were on to something... Check out this article in Bloomberg News about Michelin-starred restaurants in Osaka. This is the first year that that Michelin rated Osaka and Kyoto, although the guidebook's very presence in Japan has raised controversy. Click here to read the story.
What does it take to become a sushi chef in Japan? And why are traditional sushi chefs there beginning to vanish? Check out the excellent Wall Street Journal article on the state of this high art called A Master's Touch. (Thank you again, Michael R., for another terrific heads up.)
Tokyo Curry
11/19/09
A sublime kaiseki dinner is one of life's great joys, but sometimes I just hanker for a hearty, satisfying bowl of Japanese curry. Check out this terrific article about Tokyo curry joints that just appeared in Bloomberg news. Now I know where to go the next time (a) I'm in Tokyo and (b) I got a jones for curry! (Thanks Michael R. for the heads up.)
Sake & Cheese Tasting
11/12/09
Artisanal sake and artisanal cheese, that is, which turns out to be an intriguing, sensual pairing. Join sake mavens Akiko Katayama, of Iron Chef fame, and Monica Samuels as they mix it up with world renown cheese master Max McCalman at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center in Manhattan this Saturday, Nov. 14th. Sounds like a fascinating and tasty event! Click here to register.
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