Ochazuke [ちゃつけ or お茶漬け] is another Japanese dish which is a bit strange but actually quite good. It's basically a bold of rice with some added condiments, such as; seaweed strips, puffed rice (just like rice crispies) and some salts with green tea (or soup stock) poured over it. When it was first described to me, by a group of very enthusiastic Japanese people who were all saying it was very tasty and good for lining the stomach for long drinking sessions* or for breakfast, I was NOT convinced. Green tea? on rice? errr no. That's just weird. No. I said 'no' many times...but they were insistent and were so convinced that I should try it they went and bought it for me.
They bought me a pack of Ochatsuke (pah - when you pronounce tsu it kinda sounds like zu here) sachets. The lazy persons (or fool proof) version - where you sprinkle the contents of the sachet on to some plain rice then pour on hot water. The sachet contains freeze-dried green tea so you don't miss out on the green tea.
It was very tasty - and kind of reminded me of congee (rice porriage zhou1 粥) [おかゆ or お粥] but with nicer salts. So, the idea of green tea in my rice no longer reviles me (but I think MSG was involved...sneaky!)
*Apparently, it was/is sold commonly in Isakayas - the Japanese drinking establishment and the closest thing it has to the British Pub (a traditional pub mind...the kind that would sell good pub grub) but Isakayas sell more tapas like stuff. Small dishes where people nab the stuff they want to eat.
A savoury egg 'custard' steamed in a small tea cup. Usually and accompaniment to a meal (I often find it at kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi [回転寿司] places. When mum came to Japan, and we had one of these for dinner at some point and I was busy trying to explain to her what it was and she already knew. The Chinese have it too, but a little different as they - well mum - put a little minced meat into it too. Anyhoo the basics of it are; a whisked egg with a little soya milk or soup stock (generally called dashi [だし or 出汁] in Japanese) and a bit of salt or soysauce to taste. In to the tea cup you plonk a ginko seed and some thinly chopped veges such as carrot, corriander, shitake mushrooms (and a bit of minced meat if you like). Then pour the egg mixture in to the bowl. Steam for 15-20mins...or something like that. EAT. yummy.
photo from: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chawanmushi
Furikake [ふりかけ] is a sprinkle on seasoning for rice used to enhance the flavour of rice. It usually contains salt, small strips of seaweed, sesame seeds and various other flavourings such as fish, eggs or vegetables...and MSG.
I always knew MSG as 'ajinomoto', because that's how my parents referred to the stuff. It turns out that it's just a brand name for a food brand sold in Malaysia - more or less equivilent to Knorr (for the Europeans) or Maggi (for the Asians). They sell 'flavour enhancing salt' better known as monosodium glutimate...as well as stock cubes and other easy cook sauces and whatnot. I thought it was a bit of a weird company name, but after learning a bit of Japanese and seeing that Ajinomoto is such a big brand in Japan the company name makes a lot more sense (I just assumed it was a Malaysian company). Aji [あじ or 味] means taste or flavour (just as it does in chinese I assume, wei4 味) and as motto [素] means essence, then their MSG laced products aim to the root of all your flavour.... ahhhhhhh, it all makes sense.
That's all by-the-by, and conveniently ignoring the proclaimed carcengenic side-effects of eating MSG (not you Mihiri - I wouldn't eat you, and anyway I doubt you are even in the slightest bit bad for health*) these sprinkles are often unnaturally coloured but disturbingly tasty. Particularly good on cold bento [弁当] rice, but equally good on hot plain white rice. Furikake can easily be found in the condiment section of any Japanese supermarket...usually next to the nori [のり] - seaweed strips, and katsuoboshi [鰹節] - thin flakes of dried, fermented, smoked tuna also known as bonito and the same stuff they put on Okonomiyaki as a garnish and likes to wave at you from the top of the food due to the heat. Usual packs are about A5 size and are resealable pouches containing about 30ish grams of salty goodness. They are also sold in 'mini packs' enough for one serving of rice (2.5grams) so that you can pop a pack along with your bento.
Having already taken me on a bead shopping-spree in Asakusa Bashi [浅草橋] last saturday, Greg took me to a very nice French restaurant in Hiroo [広尾] called Chez Tomo.
We entered past the open kitchen and the signatures of the Troigros Brothers (two very famous French Chefs whose restaurant Tomo used to work in when he was in France) and then turned the corner to a very peaceful, white-dressed dining area. Tomo apparently cooks for the love of food and only just covers costs on lunches, and as the majority of his customers are regulars, he changes the menu often.
At home. not as sexy as the one in Roppongi [六本木] but food all the same.
Actually, not only did I manage to cook a pseudo Christmas dinner, but also managed to meet up with my cousin who I have not seen since I was probably about 11years old. Who happened to be holidaying in Tokyo....apparently, something she does quite often.... which was cool. We kinda caught up, and tried to find an entrance to a park, which was like a fortress!!!! even tried some rock-salt candy. No, it's not very nice. and Yes, it is very salty.
So, dinner. Managed to locate a whole chicken. No sprouts (sad....I actually like sprouts), we had cauliflower and carrots instead. Some roast peppers and aubergines, roast potatoes, and gravy. Even made the effort to make some mulled wine. Which was not as good as I'd hoped....but it tasted much better today after it had some time to soak up some more of the spice.
On the eve of Christmas eve we toddled down to the shiny lights of Roppongi [六本木] we headed towards the Mori Towers and then into L'atelier (L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon), a two Michelin star restaurant. It had a great atmosphere, the Japanese waiters all spoke French (and some English) and were not intimidating at all, being very friendly and attentive. The decor was a cool black and red, with various bottles and jars full with food for colour.
Greg's starter: cous cous, with a mango chukney
My starter: Avocado and tomato
Greg's second course: Duck in a cheesy potatoey bake (it wasn't described as badly as this on the menu)
My second course: Fishy on some (very tastily cooked) potatoes
Palate cleaning lime sherbet with fruit
My dessert [also not exactly on the menu - but non-dairy...thus wayway friendly]: Pear Sorbet (in a cylinder of ice) with berry fruits
Greg's prepped and ready for his dessert...
some dairy thing, I'm not allowed to eat...
...then it's gone!
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