Eat eel? Unagi and Anago

BBQ freshwater eel is know as "unagi" in Japan. "Anago" is a sea eel that is often grilled in a similar fashion. Both unagi and anago are cooked and seasoned, often with a slightly sweet sauce called "kabayaki"

                             Unagi (left) and anago (right) nigiri sushi

The popularity of unagi has meant nowadays most freshwater eel is farmed. Japanese eels are small and slender, spending time in both fresh and saltwater.

                                                       Unagi before the BBQ......

Anago are larger than unagi but are also frequently farmed in ocean pens.

                    Farmed Conger eels (anago) are used in Chinese and other cuisines

  Anago is less fatty and rich than unagi. The flesh has a delicate, slightly sweet flavour. It is served as sushi, with rice or on it's own.

                        Anago is also lighter in colour than unagi but served in a similar fashion

                                  Nothing goes to waste! Deep fried eel bones....

Europeans have their own recipes for eel. Jellied or "potted eel" can be found in the United Kingdom. Smoked eel is popular in Scandinavia as well as mainland Europe. Sadly the popularity of European eel has led to its classification as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Amazingly, eels can live over 70 years!

                                        Smoked eel is a European delicacy

Unagi is a summertime favourite in Japan. High in protein, calcium and vitamins A and B; unagi is thought to to provide energy and replenish the body in hot and humid weather.

                                               UNADON is an unagi rice bowl

That's all for this time...Sanbiki has unagi on the menu and Mori Mori sells frozen unagi fillets that are cooked and seasoned. Easy for DIY sushi/rice bowl!

SOBA Noodles

Soba are a thin Japanese noodle made with buckwheat. They usually contain a small amount of wheat flour as well. They can be served hot, usually in soup....

                "Tsukimi soba" is served with a raw egg which semi-cooks in the soup

And soba is perhaps even more popular served chilled....

                           "Zaru" refers to the bamboo tray traditionally used for serving

"Zaru soba" are chilled soba noodles served with "tsuyu"; a dipping sauce made with soy sauce, mirin and dashi stock. The noodles are swirled in the sauce before being slurped up by the diner. Green onion, wasabi, nori or other garnishes may be added to the tsuyu if desired. And yes, slurping is strongly encouraged! It's said to improve the flavour and to show the Chef that you are enjoying the fruits of his labour....

               Slurp it up! Forget everything your Mother told you about noise and your soup

Soba noodles are usually bought dry, but fresh handcut noodles are found in Japan.

                                             Soba in dry and fresh forms

Is your soba looking a little green? It's probably been flavoured with green tea.

                                       Soba made with green tea is "cha soba"

Sushi rolls can be made using soba instead of rice. Soba sprouts also find their way into salads and even as a topping for vegetarian nigiri sushi. Buckwheat is high in fibre, antioxidants, magnesium and other nutrients.

                                              Soba maki with vegetable filling

Most buckwheat is grown in Hokkaido in the north of Japan. It grows fairly quickly and can be harvested a few times a year. Bees like the flowers and a strong dark honey can also be produced.

                                              A field of buckwheat in flower
 Shochu is a spirit sometimes refered to as Japanese "vodka". It can be made from barley, rice, sweet potato or buckwheat.

                                            Soba shochu is usually served over ice

Soba can be found in restaurants, train station cafes and at food stalls all across Japan. Owariya soba restaurant in Kyoto has been serving soba and other buckwheat treats for over 500 years! The Japanese Royal Family have been regular customers for several generations.

                                   The entrance to Owariya Restaurant in Kyoto
More on all your Japanese favourite foods soon!

Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu

                             Thinly sliced beef and other ingredients in a Sukiyaki pot

Hot pots are a classic cold weather comfort food in many cuisines. The Japanese are no different, enjoying a host of delicious "nabemono" (hot pot) dishes. Sukiyaki and shabu shabu are two popular meat-based hot pots. Both involve DIY cooking tableside, and both have a faithful foodie following in the non-Japanese world.

                        Getting ready for Sukiyaki; veggies, eggs, meat and shirataki noodles

Beef and pork are relatively new additions to Japanese cuisine as the consumption of meat was taboo until the 19th century. Thinly sliced beef is usually used in shabu shabu and sukiyaki, although pork and seafood versions exist. Variations are common, depending on where in Japan you order and eat your hot pot. As always, every town has a distinct version that's a little bit different from the one in the neighbouring village.....

                     Kitamura Sukiyaki restaurant was founded in 1881 in Osaka. 
                      Sukiyaki is believed to have started here in the Kansai area

Sukiyaki has a sweeter, richer taste than shabu shabu. Sukiyaki is cooked in a sauce of mirin (sweet cooking wine), soy, sake and sugar. Lots of flavour is present in the sauce which is absorbed by the ingredients as they cook.

                         Sukiyaki at home with a portable gas range and skillet

In Tokyo and the east, the sauce is prepared first and then the beef, veggies tofu etc. added after. In Osaka and Kansai (western) Japan, the beef is usually seared first and then the sauce ingredients added. Solid morsels coming out of the sukiyaki pot in both areas are often dipped into a small dish of lightly beaten raw egg before being eaten.

                      Simmered sukiyaki beef gets a raw egg dip before eating

Shabu shabu is different. It starts with dashi, a light stock made from seaweed and dried bonito (tuna). The ingredients are cooked quickly in the shabu shabu pot and their original flavour is preserved. Little or no sugar or salt is traditionally used while cooking.

             Shabu shabu beef is cooked quickly in the stock, a quick "swish swish" and it's ready to enjoy...

 Immediately after cooking, the meat and other items are usually dipped into a flavourful sauce before being eaten. Ponzu( a citrus soy mix) is popular; others prefer a creamy sesame dip. The well seasoned sauces compliment the delicate flavours of the simply cooked ingredients.

            An elaborate copper shabu shabu pot with ponzu and sesame dipping sauce

Thais have developed their own variation of sukiyaki. The broth is usually a chicken stock with fish sauce and an egg added. The dipping sauce for the solid ingredients in the hot pot is predictable spicy and packed with fresh Thai herbs like cilantro and lemongrass. Kaffir lime and sesame oil are popular additions as well.

                             Northern "Thai suki" is sometimes cooked in a clay pot

While premium cuts of meat are used in Japan, "Thai suki" incorporates fish balls, chicken and seafood. "Thai suki" restaurants are very popular with young Thais and families.

                                      Fish balls, crab stick, anything goes into Thai suki!

You may not be able to pronounce it, but "jjigae" is the Korean's tasty riff on the hot pot theme. "Jjigae" may incorporate meat, seafood, veggies, and some feature tofu as a key ingredient.

                Soondobu Jjigae is a spicy Korean hot pot with soft tofu and seafood

"Budue Jjigae" is also known as "army base stew". During the Korean war, food was always in short supply and nothing went to waste. Surpluses and leftovers from the U.S. army bases were combined with kim chi and whatever could be grown or scrounged locally to make stews. Hot dogs, bacon and Spam bubbled away in a spicy soup. It's still a great way to use up leftovers...

             "Banchan"(side dishes) accompany most Korean meals, and "Budue Jjigae" is no different! A package of instant ramen soaks up the spicy, savoury soup...

Hot pots can be prepared at home and Mori Mori Grocery has everything you need. Pre-sliced beef and pork, stocks, fishcakes and more can be found on our shelves and in our freezers. Have a great week, keep warm and enjoy your hot pot!

Umami

UMAMI is often referred to as the "5th" taste. Sweet, salty, sour and bitter are considered to be the 4 "primary" tastes. "Umami" in Japanese translates as "deliciousness". Foods high in "umami" have a full flavoured savouriness and unique mouth feel that can be difficult to describe. "Yummy" works...

     Seaweed, mushrooms, tomato, parmesan cheese and cured meats are foods high in "umami"

For many centuries, the received wisdom was that all flavours were a combination of the 4 primary tastes. At about the same time however, a Japanese scientist named Ikeda and the famous French Chef Auguste Escoffier were having their doubts. Escoffier was in the process of revoloutionizing French cooking. He had invented a heavily reduced veal stock that formed the basis for many of his sauces. His customers were going wild over his new creations. "Like nothing they'd ever tasted before..."

   Continuously cooking, straining and reducing the veal stock concentrates the flavours 
            and is the starting point for hundreds of Escoffier's most famous recipes

Oceans away, Ikeda-san was puzzling over what it was that made his wife's homemade dashi stock taste so damn good. Dashi is the starting point for many Japanese soups, sauces and recipes and is made from dried tuna, seaweed and small anchovies. It wasn't a salty taste, but richer; complex and more flavourful. And it certainly didn't fall under the categories of sweet, sour or bitter, so what exactly was it?

        Making Japanese dashi the traditional way. Unlike most French stocks, dashi is quick 
                            to make and does not need to be reduced

Years of lab work paid off and in 1908 Ikeda succeeded in isolating an amino acid that is a "glutamate" or glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is tasteless. Until you break it down by cooking, curing, fermenting or ripening the food in question. The deconstructed glutamate ("L" or "D" glutamate) is what lights up your tastebuds. It also combines with the foods that it is prepared with and makes them taste better as well.

   Fresh fish is delicious, but low in glutamates. A drop of soy sauce is a "U-bomb"; a powerful source of umami that elevates sushi from so-so to spectacular

Back in France, Chef Escoffier was also hard at work. By cooking down veal bones and vegetables, he had hit on a highly effective way of drawing out and concentrating umami in his stocks, which formed the base for his sauces. His use of tomatoes, mushrooms and cheeses (all high in glutamates) further elevated the yummy factor in his hundreds of new recipes.

        "Chicken Chasseur" is a classic Escoffier recipe packed with umami rich ingredients

Curing, drying and aging meats and cheeses builds umami and boosts the flavour factor in these foods. A thin slice of a well-aged sausage or fine cheese atop a slice of fresh bread is a simple, savoury delight. In the past, curing, drying and fermenting foods also helped preserve them without refrigeration.

                      Italy, Spain and Germany are famous for their sausages and cured meats

Some of our favourite dishes are superb combinations of foods naturally high in glutamates. Think of a ceaser salad. Crisp lettuce by itself is blah. It's the dressing that makes it. Anchovies and parmesan cheese are packed with umami.

Bacon is another "U bomb'. Probably why it ends up in salads and sandwichs; on burgers and pizzas; even finding it's way into ice cream and chocolate. Is it the umami in bacon that allows it to make almost anything taste good?

                  Bacon Maple Miso Milkshake? From an umami standpoint, it should work......

Tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes are high in natural glutamates. They pair well with cheeses and these combinations are found in kitchens around the world. Pierogies or piroshki are popular in Russia and eastern Europe. Savoury versions are often stuffed with umami laden potato, mushroom, meat and/or cheese.

Italian cooks have come up with countless recipes incorporating tomato and cheese in pastas, salads and, of course, on pizzas....

Ikeda was the first to chemically isolate and name L-glutamate. But umami rich fermented products have long been a staple for Asian and South East Asian cooks. Soy sauce, fish sauce and fermented bean pastes all pack a powerful umami punch. Thai and Vietnamese Chefs rely on different "fish sauces" to elevate the flavour in their dishes.

Many brands/grades of fish sauce are produced throughout South East Asia

As with olive oil and balsmic vinegars, fish sauce comes in many different "grades". The quality varies depending on the kinds and parts of the fish used, and the production process. Colour is another important factor, and generally speaking, a lighter, golden colour fish sauce is preferred over a dark, coffee-coloured one. Personal preference plays a part; a strong, salty taste pleases one palate while another prefers a sweeter, lighter sauce.

Interestingly, fish sauce was first used in ancient Rome. "Garum" was made using larger fish like tuna and mackerel as well as small fish like anchovies. It's use spread to kitchens across the Roman Empire and beyond.

            The ancient ruins of a Roman fish sauce factory. Fish guts would be removed as quickly as possible, mixed with salt and other ingredients and allowed to ferment in the sun
 Many believe that Britian's famous Worcestershire sauce borrowed from fermented fish sauce recipes originating in ancient times. Impossible to believe? Maybe not....anchovies, tamarind and cloves are all ingredients in the sauce that can season anything....

                                                           "NEW!"....probably not so much....

MSG is a chemical derivative of naturally occuring glutamates. It is also marketed as "Ajinomoto" and other names by companies around the world. It is commonly found in processed fast foods and prepared sauces and seasonings. Many people are looking to avoid MSG consumption and look for "no MSG" added restaurants and packaging. At Sanbiki we do not add MSG to any of our dishes. Instead, we use homemade stocks that harness the natural glutamates in our seaweed, seafood and other ingredients.

"Umami". It sounds very Japanese; very new and trendy. But the glutamates responsible for umami are anything but. Chefs and housewives around the world have long recognized that certain ingredients could be used and combined to develop flavour and add depth to their dishes. Umami's universal appeal is perhaps to be expected. You could say we've developed a taste for glutamates before we develop "taste". As babies in the womb we are surrounded by amniotic fluid that is rich in glutamates. It's also present in our mothers milk!

More next time...