One of my favorite things about Tokyo is the contrasting, contradictory and confusing nature of this city. As an example, Tuesday night one of my co-workers took me to a friend’s “izakaya” which is primarily a drinking establishment but also serves food to accompany the drinks. You might think, “well that’s a restaurant” but it’s really not. Its primary purpose is drinking. The name “izakaya” means “i” (to remain) and “sakaya” (sake shop). So naturally one would assume if we were at a sake shop we would be sampling various sakes. Not so, we were actually drinking Shōchū. Shōchū is a distilled beverage usually made from sweet potatoes, barley or rice but I also had one last night that was made from black sugar (molasses) and obviously tasted very rum-like. Shōchū is stronger than sake and wine but weaker than whiskey and vodka. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a beverage like this as I’ve sampled a similar drink in Korea which they call Soju. Now although the Shōchū’s we were sampling were good, I wanted to describe the food that the owner provided. It was very reminiscent of a Spanish tapas bar as she constantly brought out various plates for us to sample as we threw back the Shōchū.
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We started with various vegetable dishes which included cooked spinach, pickled eggplant (soy sauce marinade), cooked bean sprouts and noodles and a specialty seaweed from Okinawa called Umi Budou or Ocean Grapes. I found a photo on the web and have included in the blog.
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We started with various vegetable dishes which included cooked spinach, pickled eggplant (soy sauce marinade), cooked bean sprouts and noodles and a specialty seaweed from Okinawa called Umi Budou or Ocean Grapes. I found a photo on the web and have included in the blog.
The Umi Budou were fantastic. When you bite down on the tiny grapes they pop in your mouth and release a briny burst of flavor which was offset by a sweet sauce that they were marinated in.
The owner then brought out several meat dishes. The first was thick cut, lightly grilled chunks of bacon and potatoes. When I say thick cut bacon, I don’t mean like you buy packaged in the grocery store. The bacon was at least a half and inch thick if not more and was cut in about 2 by 2 inch slices resplendent with all that wonderful bacon fat. I guarantee your cholesterol just went up a few points by reading that. The Japanese LOVE bacon (who doesn’t) and I’m amazed at how many dishes you find it in. It’s never overcooked like the crispy bacon in the States.
The next meat dish was my favorite. The chef thinly sliced marinated pork and then cut it into strips. She then spread a thin layer of miso on the pork and then wrapped the pork around a young ginger root and stalk. Grill to perfection and serve. Outstanding. It’s key to understand that the ginger root is not like what you see in the grocery stores. A young ginger root looks more like an oversized green onion (bulb and stalk) and the flavor is very mild. They were so good I seriously debated knocking out my co-worker and taking his half-eaten portion. I think he noticed the “food rage” look in my eyes as he quickly proposed a toast and the Shōchū calmed me down.
The third meat dish was a pork dumpling that was more cylindrical like an egg roll. The dipping sauce was a simple combination of red wine vinegar and ground pepper which worked well with the dumplings.
Finally, my co-worker insisted we try “Okonomiyaki” or what is also called Japanese pizza or Japanese pancake. I’m not even sure where to begin to describe this concoction. It arrived in a small personal-pan pizza tray and cut into four wedges. I was told it was served Hiroshima-style meaning that it was layered versus mixed as is more traditional. The dish included cabbage, bacon (go figure), noodles and topped with a thin omelet. The omelet itself was topped with a sweet brown sauce and then mayonnaise was squirted on top of that. Different, definitely different. Not bad, just different.
The owner then brought out several meat dishes. The first was thick cut, lightly grilled chunks of bacon and potatoes. When I say thick cut bacon, I don’t mean like you buy packaged in the grocery store. The bacon was at least a half and inch thick if not more and was cut in about 2 by 2 inch slices resplendent with all that wonderful bacon fat. I guarantee your cholesterol just went up a few points by reading that. The Japanese LOVE bacon (who doesn’t) and I’m amazed at how many dishes you find it in. It’s never overcooked like the crispy bacon in the States.
The next meat dish was my favorite. The chef thinly sliced marinated pork and then cut it into strips. She then spread a thin layer of miso on the pork and then wrapped the pork around a young ginger root and stalk. Grill to perfection and serve. Outstanding. It’s key to understand that the ginger root is not like what you see in the grocery stores. A young ginger root looks more like an oversized green onion (bulb and stalk) and the flavor is very mild. They were so good I seriously debated knocking out my co-worker and taking his half-eaten portion. I think he noticed the “food rage” look in my eyes as he quickly proposed a toast and the Shōchū calmed me down.
The third meat dish was a pork dumpling that was more cylindrical like an egg roll. The dipping sauce was a simple combination of red wine vinegar and ground pepper which worked well with the dumplings.
Finally, my co-worker insisted we try “Okonomiyaki” or what is also called Japanese pizza or Japanese pancake. I’m not even sure where to begin to describe this concoction. It arrived in a small personal-pan pizza tray and cut into four wedges. I was told it was served Hiroshima-style meaning that it was layered versus mixed as is more traditional. The dish included cabbage, bacon (go figure), noodles and topped with a thin omelet. The omelet itself was topped with a sweet brown sauce and then mayonnaise was squirted on top of that. Different, definitely different. Not bad, just different.
Anyway, I know a few people were asking about some of the foods I've tried over here and I thought this was a good situation to describe to everyone.
Coming soon: My first fugu (poisonous blowfish) experience. My co-workers insist I must try it which could either mean I've pissed them off royally and this is a way to rid themselves of a nuisance or, as they describe, it's delicious.
Good to hear the detailed description.
ReplyDeleteThe photo looks like the green pepper in India. I heard about the blowfish. I will be going to Minada next week Will check if it is available there.
I've never heard of anywhere in the U.S. where you can buy fugu, maybe LA or NYC might have a few places. You're certainly not going to find it at Minado.
ReplyDeleteCool stuff. You're a much braver soul than I am. Although I would probably be willing to try a lot more when put into the proper situation.
ReplyDelete