1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (201 page)

An understandable favorite during Japan’s hot and humid summers,
hiyayakko
is so seductively delicious that it often sneaks onto menus throughout the year. It begins with the very freshest tofu (soybean curd) of the prime type known
as silky, or
kinu.
Snow-white and quivery, it is custard-soft, with just enough body to be cut into delicate cubes, revealing a wobbly center that brings to mind Italian
panna cotta
or crème caramel.

The alabaster curd is served chilled, sometimes nested on ice cubes, and topped with finely minced scallions, fresh ginger, and—most flavorful of all—feathery, translucent shavings of
katsuobushi
: the salty, vaguely smoky, and ripe-tasting dried flakes of bonito, an oily fish of the mackerel family. Sold in thick, dry slabs and grated as needed, bonito is a nutritious garnish, popular on vegetable and rice dishes, which keeps almost indefinitely if stored properly. (It is also expensive, and therefore is traditionally a most welcome wedding gift.) The combination of the grassy, creamy tofu and the sharp accents of scallions and ginger, plus the savory salinity of the bonito, is further enhanced by a quick dip in the best aged soy sauce, for an addictive (and nutritious) appetizer or light lunch, in any weather. Picking the slippery tofu up with chopsticks is a learned and worthwhile skill.

Where:
In New York
, EN Japanese Brasserie, tel 212-647-9196,
enjb.com
; Brushstroke, tel 212-791-3771,
davidbouley.com/brushstroke-main
; Yakitori Totto, tel 212-245-4555,
tottonyc.com
;
in Brookline, MA
, Shiki, tel 617-738-0200,
shikibrookline.com
;
in Atlanta
, Taka Sushi, tel 404-869-2802,
takasushiatlanta.com
;
in Chicago
, Oysy Sushi, tel 312-670-6750,
oysysushi.com
.
Mail order:
For bonito,
marukaiestore.com
;
asianfoodgrocer.com
.
Further information and recipes:
A Taste of Japan
by Donald Richie (1982);
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art
by Shizuo Tsuji (2012);
japanesefood.about.com
(search hiyayakko); Japan Centre, tel 44/020-3405-1151,
japancentre.com
(choose Recipe, search hiyayakko chilled tofu).

A simple, homey dish that’s full of nutrients.

Among the staples that afford the most nourishing comfort, rice has to rank foremost in any cuisine, whether in sweet puddings, savory risottos and pilafs, or in its myriad uses in Asian dishes—particularly when it acts as the meal’s centerpiece, as it does in the classic dish
kamameshi.
Not widely known outside of Japan, the simple casserole of steamed rice with bits of vegetables, seafood, poultry, or meat is traditionally served at specialized restaurants, although it is now becoming available more widely in the U.S.

Wherever it is served, kamameshi is cooked to order in individual portions and presented to diners in the small metal pot in which it was simmered, set into rustic wood blocks. The nonglutinous short-grain rice (
uruchi mai
) will be
gently infused with aged soy sauce and mirin, a sweet rice wine, along with bits of onion and perhaps ginkgo nuts and woodsy mushrooms, among other ingredients. The result is a soft, intricately melded combination of savory tastes and bequiling textures; although it’s easily negotiated with chopsticks, one might long to dig in with a spoon.

Where:
In New York
, Robataya, tel 212-979-9674,
robataya-ny.com
;
in Daly City, CA
, Kamameshi House, tel 650-952-0444.
Mail order:
For rice,
marukaiestore.com
; for casserole pot,
korin.com
(search aluminum kamameshi pot);
rakuten.com
; Japan Centre, tel 44/020-3405-1151,
japancentre.com
.
Further information and recipes:
food.com
(search chicken kamameshi);
youtube.com
(search kamameshi rice with chicken katsu).
See also:
Risotto
;
Paella
;
Kosheri
;
Biryani
.

A sunny, spongy cake.

Simplicity is one of the reigning qualities of Japanese cuisine—and although
kasutera
is a Portuguese import, it’s no exception. Addictively light, airy, and sweet, the golden sponge cake is one of those basic and time-honored concoctions of eggs, sugar, flour, and corn or malt syrup or honey. At its most unadorned, it could pass for a loaf of bread. For many years it was served plain, but over time it’s been doctored with favorite Japanese flavorings, like green tea, or elaborately decorated and garnished. The most famous kasutera in Nagasaki can be had at Fukusaya, a bakery that has been operating since 1624 and is thought to have been the first to introduce the cake to the general public. Its wares, with their caramel-hued crusts and bright-yellow centers, are said to get their color and richness from very high-quality egg yolks.

Along with tobacco and gunpowder, the cake first came to the country with the Portuguese sailors who arrived in the port city of Nagasaki in the 1600s. The original was in fact much more of a bread—
pão de Castela
, meaning “bread from Castile”—and Castella is still a widely used name for the cake. The sailors, with some Spaniards among them, traveled with the sweet bread in part because it could be stored for long periods of time. It also contained no dairy, which appealed to the Japanese sensibility.

Although the Spanish withdrew from Japan in 1624 and the Portuguese were banished in 1639, the cake remained, adapted over time to fit the Japanese craving for what were then novel Western sweets. Today it remains a beloved treat, easily the most well-known Japanese dessert.

Where:
In Nagasaki
, Fukusaya, tel 81/95-821-2938,
castella.co.jp
;
in Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, London, San Francisco, and New York
, Minamoto Kitchoan,
kitchoan.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts
by Pichet Ong and Genevieve Ko (2007);
japanesefood.about.com
(search kasutera recipe);
justonecookbook.com
(search castellan).

More than in any other variety, the essence of crunch can be found in the Japanese cucumber called
kyuri
, the slender, long, slightly curved, bumpy, dark green–skinned specimen that shows up in myriad Japanese dishes. You might find kyuri thinly sliced in
sunomono
(“vinegared things”), a class of fresh, vinegar-dressed side-dish salads that make refreshingly tart accompaniments to all sorts of hot and spicy foods. Lightly pickled as
kyuri asa-zuke
, it’s the perfect ending to a meal, and it’s also ubiquitous as an ingredient and garnish in sushi and sashimi. Unlike most commercially grown cucumbers in the U.S., kyuri have thin, tender skins that can be eaten; no need to peel them. They are also said to be burp-free.

Like watermelons, cucumbers are surprisingly watery members of the gourd family. Among the most popular vegetables in Japan, they are believed to have originated in India and to have been cultivated in soils around the world for no fewer than three thousand years.

Kyuri in particular grow well and widely in California, and are therefore relatively easy to find in Asian markets throughout the U.S.

Mail order:
Melissa’s Produce, tel 800-588-0151,
melissas.com
; Mitsuwa Marketplace,
mitsuwa.com
; for seeds, Kitazawa Seed Company, tel 510-595-1188,
kitazawaseed.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Cooking
by James Peterson (2007);
Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini
by Elizabeth Schneider (2001);
epicurious.com
(search japanese cucumber salad with vinegar);
saveur.com
(search japanese pickled cucumbers kyuri zuke).
Tip:
Slice kyuri thin and float them in a glass of ice-cold water. Squeeze in some fresh lime juice, and you’ve got a five-star spa drink.

A spring ritual, the loquat is a rare and delicious fruit.

Despite the similarity between their names, the loquat and the kumquat aren’t related; the kumquat is essentially a miniature orange, and the loquat is a distant cousin of the apple and pear. It’s shaped like a pear, and its apricot-hued exterior reveals a cream-colored, luscious flesh within—succulent, sweetly tangy, and delicately soft.

A member of the rose family, the small, evergreen loquat tree (
Eriobotrya japonica
) yields one of the world’s oldest cultivated fruits. Grown in Japan—and sometimes referred to as “Japanese plums”—and in many other parts of the world including the Mediterranean, loquats mature quickly and are among the first delectable rites of spring. But unlike apricots and
peaches, they spoil quickly after picking, which is why they’ve never become an important commercial crop.

Splendid treats when eaten fresh, loquats are also delicious poached and served in their own syrup or made into the jams, jellies, and chutneys that are popular throughout Southeast Asia.

If you’re lucky enough to find a ripe one, gently peel off its thin skin and munch away, much as you would a perfectly ready pear. The Chinese believe the fruit to have medicinal properties: the ability to soothe a sore throat, and, when eaten in quantity, to produce a mildly sedative effect. The same can be said of the sweet loquat wine found in parts of Southeast Asia, although it may produce a certain loquacity as well.