KONBU - KOBUZIME

Konbu or kelp, or even more generally known as seaweed, plays a dominant role in Japan's food culture. There must be literally thousands of brands and sources, and at Tsukiji you will be able to see specialty shops with hundreds of years of pedigree selling but just one family of products ... Konbu.  Sensie is partial to this top end product, Lausu Konbu from her home town in Hokkaido, readily available in most stores as a premium brand.  

Do you know? Konbu only needs to be soaked, ideally up to 24 hours and one should slit the edges so flavor can be released. It can be cooked, but ever so slightly if there is not enough soaking time but it should never be boiled as the texture will be lost. 'The white film on Konbu is not mould, it in fact yields that specific taste'.  Konbu and mushrooms are almost never washed in Japan, Sensie said.  Use a wet cloth instead, dip it in rice vinegar to wipe off the dirt, then add a touch of salt to rid the moisture.

Kobuzime - is a technique using dry Konbu to absorb the 'unpleasant moisture & smell' in fish or meats, while allowing the latter to absorb the Konbu flavor for cooking later.  It should not be reused.

Something new, right?  I can be here for 3-years and I would still be learning in this vast ocean of disciplined culinary artistry.  I just love being taught by chefs with a zest, like Mari ... love it!  

FRYING TEMPERATURE

Using chopsticks to test the temperature of frying oil?

Yes, chopsticks!  Old and used ones, the ones that have been in and out of frying oil a few times. The new ones do not have 'air' inside yet while the old ones do. What happens is boiling oil will force the air to escape from old chopsticks, in the form of bubbles. Sensei said ... 'small bubbles surface at 160C and large bubbles 170C' and that means the recommended frying temperature of 168C is right in the middle. I guess this proves once again that nothing can beat in-vitro experience.

Do you know?  Top end Tempura restaurants use a mixture of 30% sesame seed oil and 70% veggie oil to fry, which supposedly enhances flavors.  At home most would just add a tablespoon or two of the former to get that extra layer of sesame taste.    

AJI - JAPANESE MACKERAL

Day 1 ... Aji or Japanese mackerel in different incarnations. Filleting it is a slightly different approach from my LCB classes as more care has to be given to the texture of the flesh since it is sashimi grade, for instance, directing with fingers verses pushing with the palm. Using fresh mackerels from the world renowned Tsukiji Market we made several classics, including derivatives. Mari emphasized that the backbone of our sessions is what Japanese families would prepared at home ie home cooking at its best, and it is exactly what I am after.

*  Namerou : minced mackerel with Miso & leek served raw
*  Deep fried Shiitake with Namerou stuffing
*  Saba no Miso-ni : simmered mackerel in red Miso
*  Satsuma-age : deep fried mackerel paste with lotus root & onion
*  Tsumire-jiru : minced mackerel fish balls in clear Miso soup & sliced ginger

We also made 2 top favorite side dishes (1) Niku Miso Daikon : poached turnip with meaty Miso sauce (2) Renkon no Agedashi : lotus root cakes with Daikon sauce using the 'flash fry' method ... 'age' means deep fry and 'dash' is to remove, quickly.

Do you know?  The top end of the Daikon, the part right below the greens, is the sweetest and it is mostly grated for use in the dipping sauce for fried foods like Tempura which ... much to my illiterate surprise, is a word not of Japanese but Latin origins, brought to Japan by the Portuguese?  I need to check this one out. The end part is quite spicy, some may use this for salads and the middle section is best for cooking or poaching.  One last tip, use rice water (which becomes cloudy after washing the rice) to poach Daikon.

We met at 10am and it was 3pm when I said goodbye, after a gratifying round of tasting ... my very first novice Japanese recipes, and one for the history books alright.
  

WHERE IT ALL HAPPENS

On the left is where my Sensei and my school are, and on the right, my home sweet home for the next 3 weeks. Believe me, it truly is! It has taken me no time to adjust and to love this small, cozy, and basically hassle free environment. The proverbial 'I can do anything I damn please here' cannot be more applicable. It may be an escapist, even selfish statement but to be able to think of nothing (but cooking) and no one (but myself) is as close to perfect freedom as I can get in this life. I told my family that at this stage of my life, I am gradually learning to be a tad more self-centered ... I was never selfish with them, nor will I ever be but trust me, being self-centered is in fact doable, and needed.  

This location is ideal, it is off the hustle-buzzle loop but literally within walking distance to landmarks like Ginza-Dori, Higashi-Ginza and Tsukiji ... all connected by the omnipotent Tokyo subway system. From Haneda Airport last night it took less than 45 minutes, all by train. Sensei Mari is a 5-minute walk from my humble abode, the Ginza Capital Hotel.

BACK TO BASICS

When I go on these solo cooking trips I like to steer away from any luxury, starting with accommodation. These pictures are testimony, it is the Ginza Capital Hotel. In jest I say the desk and bed combined is only slightly larger than our king size bed at home ... I might even be right.

I also ration myself on the eating front via stringent budgets.  As in my other sojourns the focus is always 'street foods' ie what people eat, why do they eat what they eat, and how do they prepare them. I still harbor this dream of becoming a Food Anthropologist ... not the academic Professor Margaret Mead kind, but the pragmatic, field research mandate instead.  If nothing else it sounds good, legitimizing my insatiable desire to study affordable street eats. I even sacrifice myself for the sake of empirical research. How else do you expect me to write about them if I do not start by tasting them?  I rest my case.    

TOKYO SOJOURN

Come to think of it my first time ever on an aeroplane was in 1963, 50 years ago almost to the date, on Japan Airline or what was affectionately known as JAL.  I was 14, was with my parents, and we did not come to Japan, but hopped off in Taiwan to visit relatives.  I was so excited I remember collecting each and every item put in front of me, including the air-sickness bag and the menu which I managed to keep for years after. A snack was served on this short flight (longer than today though as the planes were slower) and it was described as 'collation' ... a new vocabulary from half a century ago which I remember and cherish because of the circumstances ... it means a light, informal meal, by the way.

Fast forward 50 years here I am again on JAL, an airline I seldom fly with.  I am here to learn the rudiments of Japanese cooking, a cuisine Dora and I admire. My 'Sensei' is Mari Nameshida (Google her and be amazed) who valiantly took on my totally left field challenge of intensive 1-on-1 sessions with her for 3 weeks. This custom-designed course will not be anything like Le Cordon Bleu or Wandee or Cookingalaturka ... it will be just me and Mari, at her home, in her fully equipped kitchen. She may be half my age but her passion and zest for the culinary arts can double mine anytime ... and I thought I am crazy about cooking. Aside from basic techniques and methods she will teach me regional specialties from north to south, and the exotics like Kaiseki, Yoshoku and Japanese bakery.    

I start tomorrow bright and early and I am so full of anticipation I cannot sleep.

QUEMO

Have you ever wondered why tapas restaurants are sprouting like wild fire lately? If you have answers, or even ideas, please share. I certainly cannot tell you why, but I can tell you having tried some of them the one thing missing is consistence in quality, including a couple of unmentionables.  Then there is Quemo ... unique and well above the fray!

According to the website Quemo is a term frequently used in Spanish kitchens, literally meaning 'I am burning'.  In The Sorcerer's Apprentices, Lisa Abend's fascinating book about El Bulli it means ... 'stay out of my way' or simply 'behind' as in the local western kitchen lingo ie 'I am behind you with hot stuff so ...'

Back to Quemo, Executive Chef Jordi Alcaraz hails from Mercat de La Boqueria in Barcelona, a champion of traditional Catalan styles who knows his stuff. The menu is full of authentic dishes made from imported ingredients, and his cooking methods unmistaken, like the 'Barbacoa'. Our party was swept away by the simple but elegant presentations, which were as close to what our taste buds have retained from our culinary exposure in Spain. My favorites from 2 recent visits are as follows, another thing, must check out their wine list.

*  chorizo lollipop, quince jelly, goat cheese
*  El Quim de La Boqueria's fried eggs with foie gras & mushrooms
*  soft shell crab mini sandwiches
*  classic squid ink paella Catalan style with a heavy crust
*  Presa Iberian pork shoulder loin .... WOW!

See for yourself, and tour their site under www.elite-concepts.com

QUEMO : 5F CRE Plaza 202 Queen's Road East Wanchai 2836 0699 ..
General Manager Andrew Lo & Sommelier Andres Torres

AN NAM

We were at a very recently opened Vietnamese eatery, or rather an up-market joint that won a general thumbs up from our dinner party.  An Nam, the previously incarnation of the country, is located at the old Lowry Steak House spot at Lee Garden. With the walls taken down the rotunda effect less claustrophobic and much nicer.

It says An Nam is managed by 1957 @ Co and whoever they are, these must be smart F&B folks. I reached that conclusion from the way the menu is designed, priced and presented. The appetizers and simple meat dishes at the front all look harmless, as they should because ingredients, like Thai cuisine, are not expensive. Hidden in the middle of the menu are seafood dishes, where the profits lie I am sure when a single crab is $600-$700.  Other must-haves are the ritual raw beef noodles, rice dishes where prices return to acceptable levels.  All quite crafty, well orchestrated and raised no eyebrows.  I could not find my favorite, the always crispy and mouth watering baguette sandwiches Vietnam is famous for, the curt reply was ' .... but that is street food'.  Hello? When did Pho, the other world renown street food, get promoted to fine dining? If I were to design the menu I would dress up the sandwiches either as lunch selections or as canapes at dinner. That said, it was a good meal all around, and cost efficient at $500 per head x 6 - with a simple bottle of white.  To me the highlights were; softy shell crabs and the classic roast chicken, both excellent.

One last remark, the service was well above average ... beautiful smiles from soup-to-nuts at no charge, via native Vietnamese speaking staff either imported or who have been around the blocks here in Hong Kong.

AN NAM : 4F Lee Garden One 33 Hysan Avenue 2787 3922 ... Manager Clinton Lai    

LUK KWOK 80TH

I must apologize for another inverted picture.  Being illiterate abut these 'things' I simply could not get it to work so impatience won the day. This is a light metal tray, 50's style, on which cold drinks were served, with the facade of the original Wanchai Luk Kwok Hotel on it, a true art decor collectors' item.

I was privileged to be invited to the 80th birthday of this Grand Dame last month, indeed a moment to remember. A foodie pal of mine, who happens to be in the business, told me once that 'the life of a new concept restaurant in our town is tied to its initial rental period of 24-36 months or 2-3 years.  4 times that would be 8 years, and 10 time that comes up to 80 years ,,, imagine that?  Our parents took us to Luk Kwok yum-cha in the 50's & 60s and life has come full circle as we now take our 92-year old Mom on Sundays, still a favorite of hers after half a century.

What is amazing is Luk Kwok's ability to uphold quality, and to catch up with changing demands, including Nostalgia Menus which I crave.  These are less oily and healthier versions of famous recipes in the 40s 50s 60s before cholesterol becomes an annoyance.  I love them despite disapproving glances from my health-obsessed wife.  The culinary arts of yester years are preserved with most of the glory here.  Ask Chef William Ma to prepare his award winning menu for you, I guarantee you will be impressed.  BTW the hotel has been re-branded as Gloucester Luk Kwok.  From the wonderful vintage pictures on display and from boyhood memory the hotel was sitting right on the waterfront which is now Central Plaza and the Convention Center. The miniature dim-sum canapes well demonstrated the skills from the kitchen.

It was especially heart warming to see elderly patrons on wheelchairs, showing loyal and unwavering support. Can you think of one, even one, private kitchen that would be around 8 or even 16 years from opening?  I doubt it.      

LUK KWOK  Cantonese Restaurant @ 2866 2166 ask for the Manager Tommy Sum

TETSUYA

It was one windy Saturday afternoon back in Autumn 1981 when we were taken by Powders, my Mentor, to a small but already renowned 'new' restaurant in Rochelle, a Sydney suburb.  We started around 1pm and it was dusk when we stepped out.

Two introductions were made to Dora and I, life changing ones I should add.  Firstly, heavenly sweet Pacific Oysters from Tasmania topped with a splash of sake, finely chopped shallot  and chives garnish.  Secondly, we met the creator of the recipe, Tetsuya Wakuda himself who 'sat down for a chat and walked us to the door' ...  

Fast forward 32 years I just watched 'daman' being interviewed in the High Flyer Series on Bloomberg, to coincide with the opening of his restaurant in Singapore. The one remark that caught my attention was "above all else a chef must have a passion to eat!".  I think on this score, alone, I qualify. Never trust a skinny chef is once again validated, by yet another top name. Forever modest he attributed his lightning escalation up the professional ladder ... just 7 years from a kitchen hand to opening Tetsuya in Rochelle ... to changing times and the readiness of Aussie palates for cultural interplay. That said, Tetsuya still puts fusion cooking at arms-length, and I am in complete agreement.  A humble celebrity chef is difficult to come by these days and if you have access to Bloomberg, watch it.  The interview should be used as a primer for aspiring young chefs, to reset the ground rules.

Post script : we hosted Russ and Julia back to Tetsuya palacio in downtown Sydney recently, to thank them for our baptism. That Rochelle evening reappeared without losing a beat, those oysters were the first to land on our plates, just as outstanding and just as delicious ... well done Wakuda-san, you are the best!