The Japanese government wants U.S. restaurateurs to know more about their food. So in an effort to inform the American restaurant industry a Japanese trade organization hosted a 10-day-food tour of Tokyo, Kumamoto and Fukushima for food writers. Since someone had to take on the task, I volunteered to go and report back on foods that might fascinate the readers of Nation’s Restaurant News.
All kidding aside, here are just a few of the interesting things I saw on the trip, which was sponsored by the Japan External Trade Organization, or JETRO, a government branch that promotes trade and investment. First, a new tuna farmer Keigo Hama of Burimy said he has successfully raised his first crop of bluefin. The fish are descendents of a 32 year-old experiment in sustainable aquaculture developed at Japan’s Kinki University. Moreover, the farm-raised fish are lower in mercury than wild tuna, according to recently released scientific studies, Hama said. He also explained that the fish, which are farmed in Amakusu city within the Kumamoto prefecture, eat sustainable food such as sardines, mackerel and sand eel.
There wasn’t a trace of stale fish-feed flavors in the sample Hama provided. And the more prized fatty belly portion of the fish tasted side by side with the darker upper body portion were almost identical in flavor and richness, especially once dipped in soy and wasabi. The less-expensive cut was rich and luscious.
Also in Kumamoto is a new oyster breeding operation at the Fisheries Research Center. The small oysters that are prevalent in the U.S. were almost extinct back home in Japan. The research group is working to grow the oysters again in their place of origin, but the oysters were still in the initial stages of growth and not yet ready for export. Nor were tastes offered.
What is ready today, and beautifully packed, is the Kihoku-kawakami co-op’s freeze-dried persimmon from the Wakayama Prefecture. The exporter said that by freeze-drying the fruit, the sugars intensify. The co-op was exhibiting during the 35th annual Foodex trade show at Makuhari Messe, outside of Tokyo, along with more than 2,400 other food and beverage vendors. Foodex reported more than 73,550 attendees at the exhibit over its four days.
There were folks hawking smoked and dried edamame in the shell, artisanal sake, and shelf-stable ramen noodles — including one offering a vinegary version meant to be eaten cold. [See an upcoming food feature on the Chinese style noodle dishes in the April 19 issue of Nation’s Restaurant News.]
Back in Tokyo, at the upscale Isetan department store — Japan’s version of Neiman Marcus — you pass the $140 melons and the refrigerated case stacked with whole grains to find a display of 60-milliliter bottles of wine from France. The store’s merchandizing manager, Inada Yoshinori, said they were “well received” during Valentine’s Day season. The sauternes fetch more than $25 a “stick” and they come in boxes of four. That’s right, more than $100 a case for the cuties.
Also on display were new-to-the-market white strawberries. They are kept covered with soil to maintain the pale color and were developed for an upcoming holiday that focuses on white items, which I understand is in response to Valentine’s Day when the Japanese tradition dictates that women give gifts to men. For the white holiday it is a man’s time to return the favor, and there are pre-determined values for the gifts, which should be about $100.
It was hard to determine how those berries tasted since I wasn’t about to shell out over $100 for a box of a dozen white strawberries. The red berries I saw everywhere in Japan seemed to be picked at their shun, or peak of the season.
Fresh bamboo shoots I did taste, and it was like a cross between artichoke and a potato when roasted less then four hours after being dug and harvested. We also tasted organic chicken at a restaurant just a few miles from the farmer who is growing the birds and getting quadruple the price for his poultry compared to a non-organic bird.
It is doubtful American diners are ready to pay so much, but “generally, Japanese have a keen interest in food,” Isetan’s Yoshinori said. But under the seriousness, there’s an underlying sense of humor.
“People think of Japanese food as austere, but it can be fun,” said Japanese food expert Elizabeth Andoh when she presented a Japan primer to our group during our first day in Tokyo.
Spend anytime in an onsen — a hot-spring bath in Japan — and you’ll see the culture embraces relaxation. I happened to be there on Doll’s Day Festival, Hina Matsuri, as a former neighbor of mine from the U.S., Etsuko Nakajima, who now lives in Tokyo, invited me to celebrate the occasion with her. We started our meal at Yotaro, a tiny restaurant that specializes in rare sake. So following the “when in Rome,” rule I downed some shots of smooth sake, including a fresh non-filtered version that was cloudy white and awesome.
Among the bites placed in front of us was a mound of white substance that was browned on top and had the texture of a creamy pudding that was piped out of a pastry bag with a small hole. My host giggled as she and Yotaro’s chef-owner worked to translate the name of the food I enjoyed and tasted lightly of the sea.
On the last bite they figured out the name of the item: cod sperm.
During the same meal we ate a delicious braised spring mountain vegetable called fukinotou that grows in the northeast area of Japan. It popped up numerous times in markets and restaurants in that region, especially because it was in season. But rather than braised preparation, which results in a slight floral flavor, it is more commonly prepared tempura style in the Fukushima prefecture. Along with the regular salt for dipping the tempura, there was an array of fun salts including a light bonito version, one with hibiscus, and a pink, slightly floral salt made with dehydrated cherry blossoms.
Back at my friend’s apartment she displayed her dolls for the holiday — dolls she had kept from her childhood more than 50 years ago. We talked about her new life in Tokyo where she is starting an eating club in her two-bedroom apartment. The food will be based primarily on the Spanish food she’s studying this summer in San Sebastian, Spain.
Meanwhile, she taught me to make hamaguri wan, or clam dashi, a broth made with kelp or seaweed, dried shaved bonito flakes and a touch of salt. It is the base for many Japanese dishes. For the dashi she added dry kelp to bottled water, and let it soak. Then she brought it just to a boil, removed the seaweed and added the bonito. That comes just to a simmer, removed from the heat, and when the bonito falls to the bottom of the pot, she strains it out. For the clam broth she simmered clams until they just opened in a broth. She served them in the shell in a covered bowl along with other traditional fare of the holiday chirashi-zushi— scattered rice sushi fun bites over rice with pink garnishes. We finished with hauntingly sweet strawberries.
The other flavor I continue to taste since returning home is the sansho pepper leaf called kinome. It garnishes dishes and tastes like nothing else. Unlike sansho pepper that makes your tongue tingle with heat, the fern-like leaf of the plant isn’t hot. Instead it tastes delicious and herbal.
It seems I’m not alone in loving kinome. At the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone campus in St. Helena, Calif., gardeners are growing a seedling, according to one of our group’s translators, Ema Koeda, who studied at the culinary school and is gathering Japanese chefs to cook there at the 2010 Worlds of Flavor this fall.
That meeting may be the closest to the real thing you can get without the over nine-hour flight to Japan. And the hot-water baths in the Napa Valley area may not be an authentic onsen, but they are equally relaxing. Just bring your own sake.
Contact Pamela Parseghian at pparsegh@nrn.com.
