Miyazaki Mango

While muskmelons and strawberries in Japan are celebrated and often given as gifts, our favorite fruit in Japan is the mango. Miyazaki prefecture in southern the southern island of Kyushu is known for its mangoes. This one as you can see is labeled as authentic from Miyazaki and even the amount of sugar is labeled on the fruit - at 16 degrees this is quite high.

And, when cut open you can see how juicy it is, and trust me, it was very sweet.

I think I paid about $30 USD for this, not much, considering some of these at shops like Sembikiya will sell for $400 for one.

Tenki Tempura in Kyoto 京都のてんき天麩羅

The soba course, shime (rice), and fresh fruits courses at Tenki tempura.

The top photo includes the Ishikawa-san and his sister who manages the shop with him.

Tenki Tempura
Address: 89 Jozenji-cho,Senbon Imadegawa-agaru,Kamigyo-ku,Kyto 602-8474
Open Hours: 11:30-20:00(Last Entrance)
Closed: 2nd,4th Monday
Recommended: Kaiseki Ryori(Taxes and service charge included) Lunch From JPY 6,245 , Dinner From JPY 12,075

Tenki Tempura in Kyoto 京都のてんき天麩羅

The owan course (soup), tsukuri (sashimi) and tempura at Tenki.

Tenki Tempura in Kyoto 京都のてんき天麩羅

Tenki Tempura is a 3rd generation restaurant in Kyoto. It is the first restaurant to introduce tempura as part of a kaiseki course. The chef is Terumune Ishikawa who I met when he first came to NYC for The Japanese Culinary Forum at The French Culinary Institute.

This lunch was in August so it was nice to start off with a chilled chawanmushi topped with grated nagaimo and a bit of ume. The second course is presented in a lacquer box. On the left was sesame dressed cucumbers and on the right is sashimi of squid with fish eggs (I believe he said it was from hamo?).

京都府京都市上京区千本今出川上ル西側

Nishime in Kumamoto 熊本の煮しめ

One of my favorite dishes in Kumamoto was this lovely nishime. Vegetables from land and sea slow simmered until tender. Some are cooked in a sweet soy sauce. You have kombu, bamboo shoots, carrots, green beans, shiitake mushrooms, and more. Our favorite was the abura-age (deep-fried tofu). Shinji's aunt said that this is made for special occasions and holidays in Kumamoto.

Basashi in Kumamoto 熊本の馬刺

Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu is famous for its basashi, or hose meat sashimi. We had it for dinner at Shinji's uncle's home while visiting. It is served with a thick, somewhat sweet soy sauce and some grated ginger. For me the perfect drink to have with it is the local komejochu (rice shochu), which Kumamoto is famous for.

Tako (Octopus) Recipes タコのレシピ

Recently Shinji and I visited a tako factory in Ibaraki to see how octopus are processed in Japan. I think in the area there were about 8 octopus factories. We were inspired to try a variety of recipes at home and here are some of the results. When we asked the octopus factory for their recipe suggestions we were told that in curry it was excellent. Which it was. A nice change from beef or chicken and the texture was great.

We ate the head meat as sashimi (not pictured) and it was very juicy while the tentacles were much more meatier (and not as juicy).

We also tried a Spanish style, Pulpo Gallego, which we also loved, over cooked potatoes with olive oil and paprika. Simple and delicious - and a nice contrast to how we eat in Japan.

Finally a simple Greek style salad with olives, olive oil, and lemon juice. Also very nice.

We made a few attempts at grilling and cooking the octopus, but the quality of what we had is so good it was best just sliced and served, without adding heat to it, which often toughens the meat.

And, have you ever seen the eyes of an octopus? Here is a great photo (on top) where you can see the eyes of the octopus!

Street Food in Enoshima 江ノ島の屋台

Growing up in Minnesota I was accustomed to great street food. Minnesota is home to one of the greatest state fairs in country. However, street food in Japan takes this to a new level, especially at seaside resort cities like Enoshima.

The selection here is fresh seafood. Your options are simple, either have it raw (sashimi-style) or grilled. Choose from scallops, abalone, squid, sazae (turban shell) and the local specialty, nama shirasu (tiny raw anchovies). Check out how fresh these are and the diversity of offerings.

Enoshima is close to Tokyo, just south of the city on the Sagami Bay. This could be a day trip, or ideally, come and spend the night at a ryokan. The island of Enoshima itself looks like a small version of Mont Saint Michel.

Enoshima Shirasu Dinner 江ノ島のしらす

Our summer holidays focused on coastal seaports for seafood. Enoshima, a short distance from Tokyo, has long been on my list of "to go" places since it is often covered on TV for its shirasu. Shirasu are tiny anchovies. It is often sold at the supermarket quickly blanched in salted water. We love it over a bowl of hot rice. Shinji wanted to have "nama shirasu" which are the baby anchovies before they are blanched.

On the day we asked at a few shops and they informed us that as the weather was not good that morning the fishermen were unable to harvest any. We stopped at a temple to pray for good weather for the next day's harvest.

Our dinner was at a restaurant famous for its shirasu ryori. The bottom photo is kinmedai (splendid alfonsino) simmered in a sweet soy sauce. The 2nd to the bottom is the dish we came to eat, shirasu over a hot bowl of rice.

Seafood at Jimpei Minshuku in Chiba 千葉県甚平民宿の魚料理

Our summer holidays took us to Chiba to Jinbei Minshuku famous for its sakana ryori, locally procured seafood. Here is the manpuku course we did featuring 12 different seafood including awabi (abalone), uni (sea urchin), sazae (turban shell), hotate (scallops), kinmedai (splendid alfonsino), and much much more.

http://www.jimpei.co.jp/

It is a 90 minute bus ride from Tokyo station and there is a lovely beach a few minutes from the minshuku.

Shirasu in Enoshima 江ノ島のしらす

Enoshima is famous for its shirasu. On our summer holidays we were lucky to get nama shirasu, uncooked shirasu, which you can only harvest when the weather is good. The day we arrived in Enoshima we were told that the water was too rough to harvest shirasu. But, the next morning when we woke up the waters were calm and we could try the nama shirasu. It is rich in flavor and intense unlike the cooked shirasu that are light and delicate. The other dish we tried was tempura of shirasu and sliced onions. The onions added a nice sweetness to the tempura. This restaurant was on the island of Enoshima off the main street into a small alley.