Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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Here is a sashimi set I ordered at Oboro No Tsuki in Shizuoka City on June 28th.
Not only the fish is first class but the presentation was definitely high grade!
At the back, “katsuo”/bonito. Front left, “aji”/saurel or horsemackerel. Front right, “aka ika”/red cuttlefish
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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Anago or Conger Eel, a favourite all over Japan, do come in many varieties, some edible, some not.
As for the edible varieties, I will prepare a special posting!
The most popular conger eel in Japan is “Maanago” (“True Conger Eel”).
It is also called “Anago”, “Hakarime” and “Hamo” (although this particular kind should be treated separately)
Summer is the best season, although they are available all year round in Sushi restaurants.
They are mainly caught in Tokyo Bay, Jyowata Bay and Seto Sea.
Most Japanese appreciate them first boiled in broth then cooked on a grill over charcoal fire and then dipped in tare.
As for nigiri, they come in many gusises: topped with “tare” (sauce) or just with a light brush of shoyu (see above pics)
Or a bit on the crispy side, or on the very soft and melting one (see above pics)
It basically depends on the chef’s skills and preferences.
One should not forget they also taste great as tempura, including the bones, a particular favourite of mine!
Samples with bright skin transaprent flesh are the best.
Imports from China and Korea have increased recently, although Japan is starting putting strong regulations to protect the species.
As for Shizuoka Prefecture, we do have access to fresh fish. Select your sushi restaurant accordingly!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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This is a truly extravagant one!
From bottom, clockwise:
“Hotate” (Scallops), “Ikura” (Salmon roe), “Kazu no Ko” (Herring roe), “Kampachi” (Amberjack), “Uni” ( Sea Urchin), “Kani Tsume” (Crab leg), “Ebi” (Boiled prawn)
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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A more extravagant sample this time:
From top middle clockwise:
“Ikura” (salmon roe), “Kazu no ko” (herring roe), “Kampachi” (Amberjack), “Tako” (octopus), “Sake” (raw salmon), “Hotate” (scallops), in the centre, “Uni” (sea urchin)
One more to come soon!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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This is the second series of the Gunkan (more to come, don’t worry).
It includes a few repeats, such as the “Shirako” (Cod Whiying) as above to introduce other pics
“Benisuwaigani” (Red Suwai Crab), “Mikkuriebi” (Mikkuri Shrimp, a avariety of sweet shrimp, delicisous in spite of the colour!), “Kobashira” (Muscle from the “Bakagai” Shellfish), “Nama Karasumi” (raw mullet roe)
“Ooenkogani” (Ooenko Crab, featuring body flesh, red brins and pincers flesh!), “Akahada Tsurutsuru”, a seaweed gunkan! It is a red seaweed variety), “Sakura ebi” (Sakura Shrimp, the pride of Shizuoka Prefecture!), “Nama Shirasu/Umeiwashi” (raw whitebait from “Ume” sardines)
See you again!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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This one is a ittle variation of No 1. The scallops make or quite a change in colours!
I sincerely hope it will give you ideas!
From bottom, clockwise:
“Hotate” (Scallops), “Uni” (Sea urchin), “Ika” (Squid), “Kani Tsume” (Crab legs)
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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From bottom, clockwise:
“Uni” (Sea Urchin), “Kani Tsume” (Crab legs), “Maguro” (Tuna), “Nanban Ebi” ( large prawn variety)
“Donburi” is a popular way to eat sushi with foreigners as it combines quality and quantity, and usually reasonable prices!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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Gunkan or “Mothership” in Japanese is a typically Japanese way of serving ingredients which would be difficult to serve on top of a nigiri.
They are usually made by wrapping a piece of “nori”/dry seaweed around a ball of rice/shari with plenty of space left on top to fill.
Some people do not appreciate the “nori”, but it could be replaced with very thin strips of daikon, cucumber, zucchuni and so on.
Here are some samples of “gunkan” I have eaten over the years:
Ikura/Salmon roe Kani Salada/Crab salad Kanitsume/Crab pincers
Kobashira/Round Clam round twin muscles Mizuna/A Japanese thin leaf vegetable + quail egg Negitoro/finely chopped tuna and thin leeks
Shirako/Whiting-male cod sperm sacs Takuan/Pickled Japanese daikon + cucumber
I hope to introduce more in the near future!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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The Missus last night came back home (just after me) with a triumphant look.
-“What’s made you look so happy?” I innocently asked (I had a fairly good idea, already).
-“Just get the beer, wine and sake out! And don’t forget the glasses (I know I’m stupid, but still…)! I’ll show what I found!”
A moment later she came up with that tray above covered with all kinds of sashimi.
-“Where did you buy them?
-“At the Co-op Supermarket next door!”
-“How much did you pay for that?”
-“Certainly less than what you pay when you go out eating behind my back (no comments…)! 1,200 yen!”
1,200 yen is less than 10 US$. I had to admit she deserved the praise.
From middle top clockwise:
-Maguro/Tuna sashimi (probably Minamimaguro/Southern Blue Fin Tuna)
-Hotategai/Scallops
-Salmon
-Binnaga/Albacore Tuna
-Ajitsuki Maguro/Minamimaguro thinly sliced and marinated
-Shimaaji/Striped Skipjack
In the middle are amaebi/sweet shrimps
The green leaves are shiso/perilla-beefsteak plant leaves
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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Unagi or common eel is fish which made Hamanako/Hamana Lake famous in western Shizuoka Prefecture.
As summer approaches, the Japanese are looking forward to eat the delicacy as it is supposed to revitalize your body on very hot days.
Also called “Kayoko”, “Subera” or “Aobai”, it is farmed mainly in Shizuoka, Aichi and Gifu Prefectures.
It is only in the Edo Period that the Japanese starting it after they realized it could not be eaten raw as opposed to anago/conger eel or hamo/pike conger eel (coming soon!).
Japan presently produces more than 24,000 tonnes and still imports 14,000 tonnes whole and 71,000 tonnes cooked, most of it from China.
It is quite popular as nigiri in any part of Japan.
But the Japanese are simply crazy about “kaｂayaki”, which requires to grill and baste the fish at the same time, a fairly tedious process. It is a bit of an acquired taste as the connoisseurs eat the skin, which is a bit too oily to my liking.
In Hamamatsu, it is possible to eat the real wild fish in a very few restaurants, but you will know the difference when the bill comes!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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Oysters! One would be hard put to find a produce from the sea more internationally recognized as a gourmet’s choice! Moreover, it is the only shellfish you coul survive on if you get marrooned on a desert island! It is a complete food in irself if consumed raw.
For a long time (that is before coming to Japan), I had thought that my country, France, was the place to eat them. Well, I must admit it was a little pretentious from me, especially in the light that more than half of the oysters consumed back at home originated from Japan!
Now the Japanese has come with many ways of appreciating them:
-As in the picture above they would eat them as sashimi with a dash of wasabi and soy sauce.
-Or just a little lemon juice as in Euope, Americas or Oceania.
-Or in another japanese fashion, with ponzu and momijioroshi (succulent!)
-Or, and here Japanese and foreigners are simply crazy about them, as “kakifrai”, deep-fried oysters in batter and breadcrumbs with a nice tartare sauce!
-Or finally, and I would recommend the experience to all foreigners, as “kaki-gohan”, either with oysters steamed together with the rice, or cooked apart in light broth poured over a bowl of freshly steamed rice!
Of course, any good sushi restaurants will serve oysters as nigiri or gunkan!
In Japan, oysters come from various areas, mainly Hiroshima, Iwate and so on.
As for Shizuoka Prefecture, oysters mainly come from Hamanako inland sallted lake near Hamamatsu City.
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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As much as I love Cod Whiting (“Shirako”), I have some reservations about Cod Roe or “Tarako”.
Tarako comes in two shapes:
1) fresh as it is
2) pickled in chili pepper, a very popular delicay in Japan under the name of “Mentaiko”, which originally came from Korea (“myonte”).
If it is fresh I appreciate grilled over charcoal until it becomes pink dry in the middle.
but most Japanese like it on top of freshly steamed rice oin “chazuke” (rice topped with hot tea)
Unfortunately it is not easy too find, whereas
“Mentaiko” can be bought at any good supermarket or fishmonger.
It does come in many varieties and fluctuating quality.
Although most cod is caught off Siberia and North America, mentaiko is of course prepared in Hokkaido, but also in Kyushu. Actually “mentaiko” represents 70% of all “tarako” sold as it is easy to preserve.
When you choose a pack, ascertain there is no water under it and that the colour is even and shiny (which means the outer “skin” is fine).
As for sushi, there are many possibilities with maki filled with mentaiko and raw squid (“ika”=ikamentaiko maki), mentaiko with cucumber sticks, etc.
Now for nigiri, I discovered this interesting combination in above picture:
the “shari” (rice ball) is topped with a slice of grilled tofu, then secured with a strip of “nori” (dried seaweed) and topped with fresh mentaiko. Mind you this a favourite for my better (worse?) Japanese half, not for me!
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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“Aji” or Saurel/Horse Makerel comprises many varieties. This particular fish, “Shimaaji” (“Island Saurel” or Pseudocaranx dentex (Bloch and Schneider)for the specialists) is remarkable as it can be called a true Shizuoka Prefecture fish.
It is called by other names such as “Ookami”, “Kona” or “Katsuoaji”.
It is caught off Izu Peninsula shores in August.
Actually, whatever the time of the year it is caught, there is little difference in taste.
It is considered as a great morsel for sashimi, either in slices or “aji tataki”, cut in small cubes to which chopped thin leeks and grated fresh ginger are added. Many are half-wild, but you can put your hands on live wild specimen, you will certainly understand the difference!
When asking for sashimi or nigiri, ask for a whole live fish to be cut. If you happen to be in a reputable sushi restaurant, the bones and head will be deep-fried and offered to you later!
Although 3,000 tonnes were raised in 2000, the quantity widely varies from year to year.
Please check Shizuoka Gourmet Blog for all the gastronomy in Shizuoka Prefecture!
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“Makogarei” or Pleuronectes yokohamae Gunther for the specialists is one of the many kinds of turbot indigeneous to Japan.
You will find it on the markets between June and August.
Depending where you live, you might do well to know its other names: “Aome” (Sendai), “Mushibirama” (Konahama), “Mako” (Tokyo) or “Amakarei” among many.
It is net-caught all around Japan.
It has comparatively a lot of flesh for a turbot, making it a choice morsel for nigiri or sashimi.
It can reach a length of 30 cm. Contrary to many other fish, the size will bear no incidence on the taste, but if you wish for extra taste, avoid female specimen bearing eggs/roe, and if possible, although a bit extravagant, choose a live fish (possible at Parche, Shizuoka JR Station!).
SHIZUOKA SUSHI & SASHIMI: The other Jewels of Japan 