Kyoto Diary - Kyoto Foodie

Japanese Bakery: Anko Butter Shoyu Sandwich

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:12:00 +0900

An Buta- Shoyu: Another weird creation from the Japanese bakery, but pretty tasty.

This is two pieces of bread with ‘an’ (red azuki bean paste) filling that he been sauteed in a butter and soy sauce mixture, grilled cheese sandwich style and finally encrusted with sesame seeds.

When I first saw it I thought, oh gross. But, being a foodie, I thought that I had better give it a try. It was actually pretty good. While I am not a huge anko (azuki bean paste) fan, the taste itself I am OK with. The problem for me is that usually there is just too much of it and it is just too sweet. This only had a small amount. Butter and shoyu is often used in Japan for sauteing everything from fish to steak, and it is excellent! Give it a try.

This came from Browny Bread and Bagels in Kyoto, near Kitaoji Station/Bus Terminal.

Bibin (Bibimbap) Reimen (Cold Spicy Korean Ramen)

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:15:00 +0900

I was in Osaka today and when I got back to Kyoto, I was in Nishijin, so I stopped in at my favorite yakiniku restaurant, Chiran for a light dinner. I didn’t have yakiniku, I did have chijimi and bibin (bibimbap) reimen though. Chiran’s bibin reimen is killer! Surprisingly spicy. Yum yum.

Häagen-Dazs Salty Butter Biscuit

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:22:00 +0900

I was taking a peek at an ex-girlfriends blog and I noticed that she had a post about this new Häagen-Dazs flavor: Salty Butter Biscuit. I just happened to be in the mood for ice cream, so I ran to the convenience store and bought a cup. I was torn between vanilla and this funky Japanese flavor. If I had decided on vanilla, I was going to flavor it with this incredible ume syrup that I made. I made the wrong choice. Häagen-Dazs’ Salty Butter Biscuit was positively underwhelming. It wasn’t particularly salty or biscuity. Too bad. I only treat myself to ice cream once a month or so.

What a photo! Too bad there are no gals in Kyoto like this....

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:47:00 +0900

What a photo! Too bad there are no gals in Kyoto like this. Country gals, I guess.

jacony:

proto-jp:

dannnao:

bigfun:

Iwase Yoshiyuki - Thundering sea spray, 1948.

Summer Slippery Chilled Noodle Dinner - Again

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:13:00 +0900

It is summer again, it is pouring rain so hard that it has not gotten hot the last few days. A very welcome relief! Never the less, I have switched into summer cooking mode. That means small meals, preferably served cold.

I recalled this dish that Miwa used to make when we were together after a Skype call with Frenchy, who particularly enjoyed it. So, I made it tonight.

It is udon served on ice with some cold tsuyu broth and an assortment of chopped veggies and natto. The veggies include grated nagaimo and chopped okura. These three ingredients are all nebaneba, in Japanese. That means gooey and slimy and stringy. I also added some simmered goya bitter melon which was a bit underdone, so quite bitter.

Looking back at the photos of when Miwa made it for us, I see I had it with egg and beer. Oh, yummy! (I haven’t drunk any alcoholic beverage for nearly 2 months and I lost 7 kilos, without really trying! I guess I eat less in the summer, but I am not dieting per se.) I think pretty soon there is a big meal with plenty of beer and sake - in my future. Near future. Yebisu Beer. Oh! Yum!!

Japanese Junkfood: Sakura Matcha (Maccha) Kit Kat

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 22:08:00 +0900

On July 3rd, in the discount 99 Yen shop, I found a variety of Kit Kat that I had not tried before. I was a bit surprised to see sakura themed anything in mid-summer, I mean the rainy season is upon us! I guess it was leftover from spring and had made its way to the discount shop. It was the very last one on the shelf.

Though Japanese junkfood is generally pretty good, these weird flavored Kit Kats in Japan can be pretty horrible (Ramune Kit Kat) and I don’t really expect to much of them. There was a Kyoto themed one two springs ago that was maccha (powdered green tea) from Uji, the tea producing region of Kyoto. That Kit Kat was excellent, but quite expensive. I guess they used some dang good maccha in it!

On the package, this one says that it is .05% sakura leaf extract and uses real Uji maccha. The chocolate covering is maccha and the interior wafer is slightly pinkish and flavored with sakura. (That itself is strange because the sakura flavoring comes from the leaf, which is green, not the blossom which is pink.) Oh well, the sakura flavor is probably bolstered with chemicals anyway. It does taste really good, very delicate and not too sweet - for junk food.

How to spell matcha/maccha: Somehow everyone has this wrong. The Romanized spelling of 抹茶 cannot possibly be ‘matcha’, the proper spelling is ‘maccha’. This isn’t my personal opinion or something but is based on how Japanese is written in Roman letters (English). This system is standardized and has been with us since the Meiji era. Even the wikipedia article spells the word wrong. That is really too bad. Maccha!

Summer Kyoto-style Sushi at Izuju with New Foodie Friends

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:38:00 +0900

Today I met up with Amy Ma and two of her chef friends. We visited Nishiki Market and then had some Kyoto-style sushi at Izuju. I snapped a few piks.

In addition to hamo pike eel, the ayu sweetfish is now in season. Izuju does a nice rendition of this summer sushi special. The dish is called Ayuzushi. The bones are removed from the ayu and it is salt grilled and served whole on sushi rice. I got the head, which I didn’t eat.

Ayuzushi

Ayuzushi - head

French Pastry Chef Dominique and Amy

Columbian Savory Chef Claudia and Michael (Photoshop needs a ‘shave’ filter!)

Izuju Sushi Spread

Hamo Pike Eel Soup - This was really good!

A Good Experience at Aritsugu (Kyoto Nishiki Market)

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:02:00 +0900

I finally had a really good experience at Aritsugu.

I wrote an article on OpenKyoto last summer about knives in Kyoto and my take on Aritsugu. I got some comments to the contrary and some scathing mentions on other forums. So be it.

I am pleased to report that today I spent about 30 minutes at Aritsugu and the service was very friendly.

I took Amy Ma and her friends around Nishiki Market and Claudia and Dominique had Aritsugu knives on their list of things to purchase.

Claudia getting her name inscribed in her Aritsugu knife

Aritsugu Staff Demonstrating How to Clean a Japanese Knife

In my OpenKyoto article, my main complaints about Aritsugu were:

・Unfriendly, haughty service. (Unfortunately all too common in Kyoto)
・Knives are not made in Kyoto. (I think that the customer is usually not aware of this.)
・Premium prices for standard quality. (I am not an expert, but have heard this from several Kyoto chefs who are.)
・Can’t pay with credit cards. (Needs no explanation.)

After I wrote my OK article, based on numerous experiences, I have heard from several people that they had good experiences at Aritsugu. I consulted several Kyoto chefs I know and was told that the Aritsugu store in Nishiki Market is relatively new. Previously Aritsugu catered more toward restaurants and chefs and perhaps Aritsugu isn’t the same Aritsugu as it was some years ago, they have gotten better at friendly customer service.

I certainly hope that is the case!

Sure enough, Claudia and Dominique bought several knives expecting to be able to pay with a credit card. (I suppose the cost was around $500 USD total.) We had to take quite a bit of time to go to a bank and get cash.

As stated in my OpenKyoto article, while Kyoto is not a Mecca of knife making there are a number of long established knife makers and if you are coming all the way to Kyoto you might want to get one actually made here! (Or at least know that Aritsugu doesn’t make their knives.)

Eating Keiran Somen (fios de ovos) at Tsuruya
As we were nibbling some Tsuruya keiran somen, I quickly realized that though Amy takes a lot of photos herself and is a very confident and assertive person, she does not like having her photo taken! If you want to make her go all to pieces just start taking her photo! (I couldn’t resist posting a few photos here.)

Amy and Dominique

Wakayama Kishu Ume Arrival - Finally

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:30:00 +0900

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y ! My 10 kilos of orchard ripened ume arrived today.

These are from Wakayama Prefecture, called Kishu Ume, in Japanese. Kishu is the former name of the country now called Wakayama and is where the best ume is grown in all of Japan.

This year I finally resolved to make umeboshi. I ordered my ume plums, purchased and assembled all the accoutrements, tools, tubs and so on, then it seemed like the ume would never ship. The stubborn ume farmer down there will harvest and ship no ume before its time, I gather.

I was getting a bit worried, but finally they arrived and I am going to start making my first batch of umeboshi tomorrow.

Seasonal Tempura Donburi: Waka-ayu 'Sweetfish' and Yukari

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:19:00 +0900

Early summer has come and that means ayu, or sweetfish are in season. Also, I have somehow been crazed with tempura donburi recently. I am not sure what took so long for me to really discover this dish. It is easy to make and very tasty; just some tempura on rice with a splash of tempura tsuyu. Normally I would never make tempura at home as I don’t like to cook with oil in my house and tempura makes a big mess and stink. So, I just buy a few pieces at the supermarket and them heat them up in the toaster oven. That helps to removed excess oil.

I found whole young ayu (waka ayu) today and served it on genmai (brown rice) with a healthy amount of yukari. Yukari is a powered condiment made for red shiso and salt and is a byproduct of some umeboshi recipes. Wakaayu tempura may not appeal to everyone, it is whole ayu deepfried; head, bones, guts and all, intact. If it is not cooked properly the bones are too hard and the guts too bitter. It needs to deep-fry a fairly long time.

There are many ways to enjoy ayu. The most common is shioyaki (salt grilled) and in this preparation, only the flesh is eaten. One of my favs is the entire ayu, full of eggs simmered in sweetened soy sauce. See this KyotoFoodie article for more: Whole Ayu Sugatani on Jukkokumai Rice. One of my favorite Japanese confections is also called waka-ayu, or ayugashi. It is a sweet and in the shape of an ayu. It is also available this time of year as ayu is in season. Here is my definitive article on ayugashi: Wagashi: Ayugashi or Waka-ayu Sweetfish Shaped Confection.

First Lotus Flower of 2010 - Rainy Season

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:52:51 +0900

My lotus bloomed quite early this year. I had 4 beautiful flowers last summer, that was July. This summer the first flower appeared at about the beginning of the rainy season. Now that is early! Ideally you want to have lotus flowers for the Bon Festival, the festival of the dead that takes place in mid-August.

Kyoto Kamo River Yuka - Sunset

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:21:00 +0900

I snapped these piks with a very old camera from the Sanjo Bridge looking north to Kitayama on the Kamo River in central Kyoto. We are in the rainy season now, but the evening sky and sunset reminded me of late summer with pink wispy clouds against the dark blue evening sky.

On the west side of the river, the ‘yukadoko’, AKA, ‘kawadoko’ the summer dining decks have appeared. The restaurants put them out for their guests to enjoy summer and dinner.

My Favorite Miso in the World Arrived!

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:27:29 +0900

In preparation for my ume (plum) extravaganza series, I ordered some miso from Kameoka in rural Kyoto. I got 1.5 kilos of Tamba kuromame (black bean) miso. It is nama, still alive, unprocessed right out of the wooden fermentation barrel. This is my favorite miso in the whole wide world!

jacony: daytri: kyohei28: hsmt: (via kazcorp, mekal)

Sat, 22 May 2010 15:20:43 +0900

jacony:

daytri:

kyohei28:

hsmt:

(via kazcorp, mekal)

Split Pea Soup from Hambone Stock

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:42:22 +0900

Back in Minnesota, when I was an aspiring foodie, one of my favorite dishes to make was split pea soup, with stock made from a hambone.

The other day while talking around Takashimaya I came across a demise selling ham. They also had hambones for sale which I purchased.

I made split pea soup for the first time in probably ten years or so. It was wonderful! I already have some ideas on how to improve the recipe and can’t wait to make it again!

Meet the Oyako Cookie!

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:09:12 +0900

Oyako means ‘parent and child’ in Japanese. One of Japan’s most popular lunchtime rice bowl dishes is called Oyako Donburi, it is chicken and egg over rice. We have reviewed several famous spots for this simple but yummy dish in Kyoto. (Toriiwaro and Toriyasu)

I recently stole some cookie dough while a friend was making cookies — Japanese think the idea of eating raw cookie dough is disgusting. Ben and Jerry’s flopped in Japan. I used two piping hot cookies right out of the oven and sandwiched them with cookie dough. And, I must say, I was quite pleased with my creation!

Photographer Russell Wong is a KyotoFoodie Fan!

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:50:00 +0900

Photographer Russell Wong and his wife are KyotoFoodie fans. Hey, thanks!

When he came to town, he took me out for dinner — twice! His wife even called and asked if he was having dinner with KyotoFoodie. He kindly gave me a copy of his book. Thanks, Russell!

I tried to line him up with some snow and bamboo forest to shoot, but I failed to make it snow. Sorry Russell!

Russell is a lot of fun to hang with and told me a bit about how to shoot portraits, which is something that I want to do more of and get good at. Check out his site at the link below.

www.russelwongphoto.com

Last Shogatsu Meal: Udon and Nanohana Sukiyaki

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:36:11 +0900

The last meal I had while in the Japanese New Year’s celebration mood was a breakfast of sukiyaki. I love sukiyaki! I cooked this with udon and heaps of nanohana rape blossoms. Yum!

Jidaigeki Film Shoot in Kyoto

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:46:00 +0900

Tonight I stumbled upon a nightime film shoot at the Tadasu-no-mori forest on the grounds of Shimogamo Shrine. The forest was lit up in a way I couldn’t have imagined. It certainly won’t look very natural. It must be for a jidaigeki period drama as there were lots of samurai milling around under umbrellas.

Shochu in Hot Dashi (Broth)

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:09:00 +0900

I was in Tokyo for several days on business and I was kindly invited to dinner at a Kyoto-style oden restaurant (and then a magic bar). The night was extremely cold blustery and oden was the perfect hot and hearty, at home kind of meal to combat the onset or winter. If you are a regular reader of KyotoFoodie you will probably know that Kyoto cuisine is all about dashi (broth) — and water. In Tokyo they don’t have good water, so they can’t make good dashi.

Shochu is often drunk in Japan mixed with hot water. It is quite pleasant for a winter evening drink. Hot plus alcohol is the perfect combination. Recently shochu mixed with hot Chinese oolong tea and sometimes even green tea has become common, but not a favorite of mine. This restaurant kind of out did itself with this homage to Kyoto — shochu and hot dashi soup stock!

I was incredulous when I heard what my mates were drinking. I ordered one up and was very surprised. I was expecting something weird, but it was actually very good. I think the point is that the dashi is fairly light and the shochu used is mugi (barley) shochu.

Restaurant: Raku (Kyoto-style Oden) 楽京風おでん
東京都新宿区丹町５番地
03-3351-2328
access: Yotsuyasanchome Station on Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line

Magic Bar: Ginza Hachi-ji 銀座八時
東京都新宿区荒木町８番地
03-3225-8000
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g636103
access: Yotsuyasanchome Station on Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line