1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (200 page)

Each region of Japan has its own style of bento, although all are planned with the seasons in mind. Even in inexpensive bento boxes, made of plastic or paper and dispensed from street stands or fast food outlets, the respect for color, texture, freshness, and flavor is obvious. In Mie Prefecture, specifically at Matsusaka Station, the ekiben feature the local beef, which rivals Kobe in quality and rarity; in coastal regions, such as Toyama Prefecture or Hokkaido, bentos are sure to include sushi, crab, and salted fish; and in Gunma Prefecture, they come in a clay pot rather than a box, which keeps the contents (rice, chicken, egg, and vegetables) piping hot. Although closely associated with rail travel, bento boxes are also offered to travelers on some Japanese airlines. As it turns out, this centuries-old culinary tradition lends itself perfectly to dining in the clouds.

Where:
In Tokyo
, Matsuri, tel 81/033-212-1889; Nippon, tel 81/033-212-4088; Odori, tel 81/033-213-4352;
in New York
, BentOn Café, tel 212-608-8850,
bentoncafe.com
; Dainobu at two locations,
dainobu.us
;
in Washington, DC
, Sushi Taro, tel 202-462-8999,
sushitaro.com
;
in Chicago
, Slurping Turtle, tel 312-464-0466,
slurpingturtle.com/chicago
;
in Houston
, Kata Robata, tel 713-526-8858,
katarobata.com
;
in Seattle
, Fuji Sushi, tel 206-624-1201,
fujisushiseattle.com
;
in San Francisco
, Suika, tel 415-967-2636,
suikasuikasuika.com
;
in Brentwood, CA
, Takao Sushi, tel 310-207-8636,
takaobrentwood.com
.
Mail order:
For bento boxes, Happy Mall, tel 909-718-9999,
happymall.com
; Bento & Co, tel 81/757-082-164,
bentoandco.com
; Japan Centre, tel 44/020-3405-1151,
japancentre.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Practical Japanese Cooking
by Shizuo Tsuji (1991);
The Just Bento Cookbook
by Makiko Itoh (2011).

Some foods are so special as to defy categorization, and such is the case with the delicate custard-soup called
chawanmushi
, meaning “steamed in a tea cup.” As its charming name implies, each portion is steamed and served in a tiny, specially made, lidded cup.

Beyond its base, a soupy mix of egg lightly beaten with stock, the exact contents of the chawanmushi vary. Sometimes the custard contains a hidden surprise—a perfect steamed shrimp, a thin and meltingly tender slice of tofu, an earthy exotic mushroom, or a chewy ginko nut or two.

The custard itself adheres to this basic ratio: one part egg to three parts dashi, the broth made of the kelp and shaved bonito that lends flavor to most Japanese soups and noodles, or chicken stock as a substitute. The warm dashi must be slowly poured into the beaten egg, lightly mixed, and strained into the little pots. So as not to curdle the egg, the chawanmushi cups are then steamed slowly over very low heat.

Chawanmushi may be eaten cold, as a refreshing start to a summertime meal, but it is much preferred hot. It may well be a rival to the famed “Jewish penicillin” style soup (see
listing
) for rich flavor, and yet it is possessed of an ethereal texture, both pleasingly light and pleasantly substantial.

Where:
In New York
, Brushstroke, tel 212-791-3771,
davidbouley.com/brushstroke-main
; Hatsuhana at two locations,
hatsuhana.com
;
in Brookline, MA
, Shiki, tel 617-738-0200,
shikibrookline.com
;
in Houston
, Kata Robata, tel 713-526-8858,
katarobata.com
;
in San Francisco
, Ame, tel 415-284-4040,
amerestaurant.com
;
in Los Angeles
, Shunji, tel 310-826-4739,
shunji-ns.com
;
in Seattle
, Miyabi 45th, tel 206-632-4545,
miyabi45th.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art
by Shizuo Tsuji (2012); for chef Ming Tsai’s recipe for maitake chawanmushi,
mingspantry.com/maitmuschawm.html
;
cookstr.com
(search chawan mushi japanese savory steamed custard);
foodandwine.com
(search chawan mushi david chang).
See also:
Tom Kha Gai
;
Qi Guo Ji
(steamed chicken soup).

Served as a pre-sushi nibble, the small, familiar bowl of delicate, jade-colored pods is an addictive treat that happens to be among the most nutritionally significant foods in the world. For
edamame
is actually the Japanese term for
fresh soy beans, the word literally translating to “beans on branches.” With their bright green, tapered husks that pop open to reveal two or three delicious, round beans, they may look like peas in their pods, but the similarity ends there. Much firmer and richer, the well-salted, nutty-flavored beans are the stuff that, along with fish, supplies the Japanese with the majority of their protein: The beans are fully 35 percent protein, in addition to being loaded with essential amino acids, fiber, and phytonutrients.

Also used to make other mainstays of the Southeast Asian diet, including miso, tofu, and shoyu (soy sauce), the beans were first cultivated in China around the third millennium
B.C.
They soon spread into neighboring countries, and eventually became a cornerstone of the Japanese diet—part of the reason
Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat
, at least according to a 2006 book by Tokyo native Naomi Moriyama.

As edamame, though, the soybeans appear in their most elemental form—soaked in salt water while still in their pods to flavor and soften them, they are quickly boiled to tenderness, then served either cold or at room temperature. They’re best when gently warm, topped with good crunchy sea salt, and sucked right out of the pod alongside a cold beer.

Where:
In Atlanta
, Taka Sushi, tel 404-869-2802,
takasushiatlanta.com
;
in Brentwood, CA
, Takao Sushi, tel 310-207-8636,
takaobrentwood.com
.
Mail order:
For precooked edamame, Melissa’s Produce, tel 800-588-0151,
melissas.com
; for fresh stalks,
edamameusa.com
; for frozen edamame, Japan Centre, tel 44/020-3405-1151,
japancentre.com
; for seeds, Kitazawa Seed Company, tel 510-595-1188,
kitazawaseed.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Edamame: 60 Tempting Recipes Featuring America’s Hottest New Vegetable
by Anne Egan (2003);
Washoku
by Elizabeth Andoh (2012);
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art
by Shizuo Tsuji (2012);
saveur.com
(search edamame salad);
bonappetit.com
(search edamame hummus).
Tip:
Shelled edamame can be incorporated into spring salads, tossed with canned tuna or crabmeat alongside parsley or chervil, or added to risotto instead of peas.

A licensed chef at work.

When the poison of the occasionally deadly blowfish or puffer fish is consumed, a slow and steady numbing of one’s body begins. It starts with the mouth and tongue and spreads to the internal organs, so that the unlucky eater is still conscious but completely paralyzed and unable to move, speak, and, eventually, to breathe. A gruesome way to go, no doubt about it, but what keeps the fugu culture going is the fact that that poison, tetrodotoxin, can also cause a coveted and pleasing numbing sensation when absorbed in trace amounts. Hence, everything is in the hands of the chef. Can he deliver the tiniest amount of numbing—keeping in mind that enough tetrodotoxin to kill a person could fit on the head of a pin—and the maximum amount of fresh flavor without killing his diners?

A big part of the appeal of the boundary-pushing delicacy, a specialty in Japan for millennia, is the idea that fugu might be delicious enough to be worth the risk. And indeed, it is. With its clean flavor, the lean fish is truly
pristine, fresh, and evocative of the deep sea. “Deep” is key, as the tetrodotoxin is produced by the shellfish the notoriously bottom-feeding blowfish love to eat.

Not all fugu are deadly. Of the more than one hundred varieties, about a third can kill. But there’s no coming back from the deadly ones, as tetrodotoxin has no known antidote—so in Japan, only licensed chefs are allowed to prepare and sell fugu. The famously rigorous licensing exam involves performing the following tasks before board-certified instructors: identifying the fish even when out of season, demonstrating the ability to differentiate poisonous fugu species from nonpoisonous ones, identifying which parts of the fugu are toxic, and proving an ability to clean the fish correctly.

Of the fugu varieties, the
torafugu
, or tiger blowfish, caught in the waters off Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan, is considered the very best; it is also, naturally, the most poisonous. Fugu innards can be extremely poisonous, so licensed restaurants are required to keep the entrails in a special container under lock and key, then deposit these remains at fish markets, where city authorities supervise their incineration. When the beloved Kabuki actor Mitsugoro Bando VIII died of fugu liver consumption at a Kyoto restaurant in 1975, the Japanese authorities prohibited the serving of the liver altogether.

To tempt fate, most fugu meals are served in courses. A typical meal might include fugu sashimi, fried fugu, smoked fugu, and fugu hot pot. The
shirako
, the sperm sac, is served separately, usually raw but sometimes grilled, its slices sometimes arranged to resemble a crane—a symbol of longevity in Japan.

Where:
In Tokyo
, Ajiman, tel 81/3-3408-2910; Tsukiji Yamamoto, tel 31/3-3541-7730;
in New York
, Masa, tel 212-823-9800,
masanyc.com
;
in Washington, DC
, Sushi Taro, tel 202-462-8999,
sushitaro.com
;
in Seattle
, Shiki at two locations, tel 206-281-1352,
shikijapaneserestaurant.com
.
Further information:
The Year of Eating Dangerously
by Tom Parker Bowles (2007);
nymag.com
(search to die for adam platt);
nytimes.com
(search one man’s fugu is another man’s poison; if the fish liver can’t kill is it really a delicacy?).
Tip:
Fugu’s season runs from October to early spring; it’s considered a winter food in Japan, and in summer most of the fugu houses either close or serve the farm-raised versions that are considered inferior.