Classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, Japan’s culinary traditions are colored by many regional characteristics. Kansai are often found in Kyoto and especially in Osaka, Japan, where residents are said to spend the most on their food. But if we go a little further west, taking the direction of the Nara Mountains and reaching the Pacific Ocean that surrounds the Shima Peninsula and its indented shores, the journey promises more than spectacular landscapes, unique flavor discoveries.
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Fugu, the taste of risk
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You’ll probably get a shiver down your spine when you catch a nearly translucent piece of fish. And for good reason. this poorly prepared species, which inflates like a balloon when threatened, is highly toxic. Eating fugu is beyond a culinary experience. Is it the slight risk of tasting that makes the archipelago so enticing? The Japanese, in any case, strictly controlled its preparation. chefs must obtain a license to cook, which is awarded after a complex exam requiring several years of training. Because you need to know how to handle a knife with dexterity to remove the harmful entrails of the animal. Deadly materials kept under lock and key will then be collected and then incinerated.
If fugu is fished in several regions, it is in the waters of the Shima Peninsula that we find its XXL version, called “anori”, which is the pride of Mie Prefecture. Her tender flesh is savored sashimi, fried or boiled in a soup flavored with lily roots and ginkgo nuts, served in a teapot. Its broth flavors the rice, and the skin, sliced very thinly, can be enjoyed in a salad garnished with white radish. The fear passed, the fugu crumb does not miss.
Good addresses
Marusei Restaurant, 178-3 Agocho Anori, Shima, Mie.
Fukushin Restaurant, 237 Sendocho, Shimogyo, Kyoto.
Japanese mermaid gold
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They populate prints from the Edo period, these porcelain-skinned women emerging from the waves bare-chested, their baskets laden with seaweed and shells. Today is combination and masks deserted – “Women of the Sea” in Japanese – continue to catch fish by apnea, up to ten meters deep, along the steep shores of Shima and Toba. The profession, which has long been reserved for women, is in danger of disappearing. the community of female divers is decreasing year by year due to the industrialization of fishing and the aging of the population; the oldest member of the community just celebrated his 84th birthday.
promote their endangered profession but also diversify their activities, deserted, when they sink, cook. The fame of the seafood they harvest can be seen on a bench in one of the small wooden huts planted on the beach. The mistress of the place spreads the morning’s catch on the barbecue. the aroma of squid, sea snails and other shellfish soon leaves the barbecue and mingles with the memories shared with him in a playful voice; cubs much larger than her palm.
Getting there
Ama Hut Satoumian, 2279 Shimacho Koshika, Shima, Mie. By reservation.
A few gramsumami
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They barely sit on the still-hot rice or steamed octopus, and there they dance. The delicate shaving of the fish appears at first glance to decorate the dish for the simple pleasure of the eyes. And yet, these sheets of smoked, dried, and fermented porcini are one of the star ingredients in Japanese cuisine, the source of many spices, including: dashia broth used to make, among other things, soups and noodles that give Japanese cuisine its legendary fifth taste;umami.
The fruit of primitive conservation techniques katsuobushi now widely produced by the Japanese food industry. However, there are still a few producers in the archipelago who have preserved traditional methods; charcoal smoking is the specialty of the Tempaku family. In their small factory overlooking Ago Bay, once the main site of catibushi production before pearl oysters, the smell of smoked fish wafts in, whetting the appetites of the neighborhood cats. Stacked in wooden crates, the bonito fillets resemble pieces of ebony until their flesh turns brown when grated. the delicate taste of katsuobushi is a delicacy that constitutes the food of the gods. the company offers it every year to the gods of the Shinto Ise Shrine, considered the holiest in Japan.
Getting there
Katsuono Tempaku, 393 Nakiri, Diou-cho, Shima. Factory visit and tasting by reservation.
The other fancy beef
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Can Kobe’s famous beef match his Matsusaka counterpart? Many claim it. With Omi, the three species share the small kingdom of Japanese luxury meat. Long absent from the Japanese diet influenced by Buddhist prohibitions, beef was reserved for the plow in the 19th century. But at the beginning of the Meiji era, when Japan opened up to the outside world, Matsusaka merchants would see foreigners in cosmopolitan Yokohama eating steak and discover an opportunity for a new business, the story goes. Since then, beef has been produced near Ise Bay in small quantities but of excellent quality.
As in Kobe, its fine marbling, the guarantee of melting beef is the result of the utmost attention paid to each animal. Young females are petted for almost three years, fed grain and beer, but also frequently massaged; it is enough to activate their blood circulation and clean the marble that is so characteristic of man. wagyu. In Kansa they eat beef sukiyaki Thin slices of meat are fried in a pot, then drizzled with soy sauce and sprinkled with raw sugar. All that remains is to dip them in beaten raw egg before tasting.
Good addresses
Shoto-An Restaurant, 1360 Tonomachi, Matsusaka, Mie.
Utsukushi Inn, 1940 Nakamachi, Matsusaka, Mie. Sukiyaki workshop and dinner by reservation.
What is Matsusaka Beef, 477 Eboshiyacho, Muromachi Sanjo-dori Kudaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto.
Original sake
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A bowl of cedar needles hanging at the entrance to the brewery has turned a beautiful shade of brown, a sign that the sake has matured enough to be tasted. Japan is full of great breweries, but Nara’s breweries have a very special history. It was in the temples of the surrounding mountains that we would first produce in the 15th century, modern, refined and refined, monks discovered a technique to prevent rice alcohol from thickening and becoming cloudy, becoming the aromatic drink we know. Yagi Shuzo Brewery in Nara has rediscovered this taste of the past by applying ancestral filtration methods and reusing the yeasts needed to ferment the alcohol used at Shoryaku-ji Temple 700 years ago. a central role in sake production.
Getting there
Yagi Shuzo, 915, Takabatake-cho, Nara. Visit and tasting by reservation.
Source: Le Figaro
I’m Ashley Mark, a news website author for Buna Times. I specialize in writing articles about current trends and breaking news stories. With my passion for uncovering the truth behind every story, I strive to bring readers the most up-to-date information available.