Tag: japanese food

Kabocha in a Black Shallow Bowl By Shumpei Yamaki: Are You Eating the Skin?

Ceramics Food and Craft Shumpei Yamaki

Ceramics by Shumpei Yamaki in our shop ->

When I was 5 years old, a guest stayed at our little apartment in Japan. In the morning, my mother served the usual breakfast of grilled salted salmon with miso soup and rice. Seeing that the guest carefully removed the skin of the salmon and left it on their plate, my young unfiltered mouth blurted out: “wah, you don’t eat the skin? It’s really tasty you know, it’s the best part…what a waste (mottainai)!”.

My mother to this day talks about this episode and how embarrassing it was for her because it was obvious that I wanted the guest to give me the salmon skin if they were not eating it. And for a long time after the incident, there was an uncomfortable glare coming from my mother whenever I sat down with guests at the dining table.

Kabocha pumpkin in a wood-fired black bowl by Shumpei Yamaki. Black is a great background for colorful fall vegetables and fruits.

Speaking of skin, the other food that I like to eat right now with skin are the kabocha pumpkins that are coming into season.

To prepare kabocha, I cut them up into generous chunks with the skin and put them in a shallow braising pan in a single layer. Then I add about ¼ -½ inch of water, drizzle a little olive oil, and sprinkle salt, cover and boil for about 10-12 minutes. The key is that there is enough water to boil and slowly reduce. After turning the stove off, all the water gets absorbed into the pumpkin leaving no liquid. I prefer this simple preparation to the normal Japanese recipe that calls for sake, sugar and soy sauce because I find that recipe too sweet.

Cooking in a braising pan with just enough water to be absorbed back into the pumpkin pieces.

The result are firm chunks of delicious pumpkin pieces that can be eaten hot or cold. And the best part is the contrast of texture between the skin and the pumpkin meat!

Whenever I’m served peeled kabocha, I say loudly in my head “mottainai“! And, you may be surprised that there are things that people eat with skin in the US that almost all Japanese don’t, such as peaches. The first time I saw my husband eat peaches with skin, I was horrified. Japanese generally like to eat fruit without skin, and I should do some research as to why this is for another blog post. In the meantime, enjoy your kabocha with skin, and maybe also your salmon skin? Otherwise, MOTTAINAI!

Kabocha pumpkin. Don’t remove the skin it’s the best part!

Been There, Eaten That: The Fun of Exploring Local Specialty Foods in Japan (and Sharing Them with Friends Back Home as Omiyage)

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This summer, my high school Japanese nephew is in San Diego to attend an intensive English language program. On the day he landed jet-lagged but wide-eyed, he asked a question that would perplex most locals and non-Japanese in general: “is there any special foods from San Diego that I can take home as omiyage (the social obligation of bringing back small gifts from trips) for my friends?”

bontan
An Omiyage shop at Tanjoh-ji Temple in Chiba Prefecture selling locally grown shaddock fruits.

After getting over the initial puzzlement of wondering why someone would ask a question suggesting they were already thinking about going home before they even had a chance to put their luggage down, the question was actually very interesting and difficult to answer. In any case, my nephew was making a query that would be standard for anyone traveling in Japan.

In Japan, food is often associated with different regions and landmarks that people travel to. Of course, many other countries also have regional local specialty foods, but what is astounding is the sheer number and variety of these items in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has a list of Japan’s tasty secrets on its website that includes interesting (and sometimes dubious) list of local foods.

hiroshima
A man prepares okonomiyaki in Hiroshima, a local specialty dish. There are regional variants of this dish and the Hiroshima version uses plenty of cabbage and usually has a noodle topping.

Many famous Japanese shrines and temples have foods and confections associated with them, and Japanese people often bring them home as omiyage to share with friends and family.  This practice is said to have begun during the Edo period (1603-1867) when people could not afford to travel very often and visits to places like the Ise Grand Shrine was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The pilgrims to the Ise shrine brought back the famous Akafuku mochi as gifts to their friends and family, who often pitched in to fund their trips. Besides food, this travel culture also supported the development of local craft to be taken home to commemorate trips -just as Kathryn described in her blog post about Kokeshi.*

Matsutake
Kyoto is known for highly sought-after Matsutake mushrooms. Priced between $200~$1500, I would not buy them as omiyage, but would look for a restaurant to taste a sliver of this mushroom when it is in season.

Obviously, many of the recent local food concoctions in Japan are pure commercialism, but I still enjoy exploring local specialty foods when I travel in Japan. Kyodo ryori or local specialties is a tradition rooted in the history, climate, and farming of a local region. It is not unusual for people to travel to a region with the sole purpose of eating the kyodo ryori.  I have traveled to Shizuoka to eat its famous eel, and driven up to Nagano to savor the soba or buckwheat noodles that they are renowned for.

ozoni
This ozoni soup is Kanto style with rectangular grilled mochi rice cake in clear broth.
In Kansai region, the soup is white miso based with round boiled mochi.

On top of the regional differences, many foods are linked with seasons and rituals and are eaten at certain times of the year. Some examples include eating pumpkin on the day of the winter solstice and ozoni (soup with mochi rice cakes) on New Year’s Day. It is fascinating to learn the background of how these foods came to be eaten in certain regions, seasons, and rituals. I continue to be surprised to discover local foods that I have never heard about or dishes that are prepared differently in other regions.

isshomochi
The issho-mochi ritual. The word issho is a unit of Japanese measurement equal to about 4 pounds and a homonym to the word that means “lifetime”. In this ritual, a baby that turns one year old carries 4 pounds of a round rice cake to be blessed with lifelong health, food and harmony. The mochi is later split and shared with all of the family members.

So if you stumble upon a little yummy something in Japan that has a story and tradition linked to that particular area, then why not share it with friends and family back home as an omiyage? The challenge lies in the task of discovering true gems hidden among the more plentiful commercial junk. On a recent trip to Japan, I discovered a regional roasted tea made from tea stems that was quite delicious in Kanazawa city. I brought some back as omiyage and my American friends loved it. I refused, though, to buy the cookies shaped like Tokyo Tower or Godzilla.

yagenbori
A store clerk mixes a fresh batch of shichimi togarashi (seven flavor chili pepper) at Yagenbori† in Asakusa, Tokyo. A little fresh pack of shichimi is a perfect omiyage from this store with a 380 year old history.
(click photo to watch a man mix the Yagenbori chili pepper while chanting the origins and effects of these spices)

Returning to my nephew’s concern, I still don’t know what will be a perfect little omiyage from California for his teenage friends. Please send me suggestions at hello@entoten.com Your input will be greatly appreciated. But any omiyage needs to get past those cute but precision-nosed beagles that wander the luggage carousels at Narita Airport.

*There is an interesting graduate research essay published by Leah Watkins of the University of Otago on Japanese travel culture for those interested in the links between Japanese pilgrimage and their modern travel behavior.

†Yagenbori shop is located at Asakusa 1-28-3, Taito-ku, Tokyo