More Food: The Perfect Tempura

That previous post started to get me craving for more Japanese food so after some feasting at my local haunts, I headed for the Japanese supermarket with a mission: to create an authentic tempura- which is an archetypal Japanese food. All the essential qualities of Japanese cuisine are reflected in its preparation: the use of absolutely fresh ingredients, the artful presentation, and the perfection of technique by a skilled chef. The result is one of the triumphs of Japanese cooking — a fried food that is light and fresh-tasting rather than heavy and greasy. It’s a cooking style in which the essence of the ingredient itself completely defines the taste.

It comes as a surprise to most foreigners to learn that tempura was not originally a Japanese dish; it actually owes its origins to the visiting Portuguese missionaries of the sixteenth century. But tempura, like many imported ideas, gradually adapted itself to Japanese needs and tastes. By the late nineteenth century tempura was a popular fast food in Tokyo, sold from sidewalk stalls and roaming pushcarts, and today’s modern tempura (made by deep-frying vegetables, fish and shellfish) is no longer a foreign food at all, but a completely Japanese cuisine.

Preparation

Seafood and vegetables are the raw materials of tempura, and only the freshest specimens are used. It’s not unusual to see live shrimps jumping around on the preparation counter, or buckets of slithering eels being carted through the kitchen. In addition to using the freshest ingredients, the next most important factor in good tempura is the quality of the batter, which is made from eggs, flour, and ice water. The batter shouldn’t be mixed too thoroughly, but should be lumpy and full of air bubbles. To achieve this consistency the batter is made up in small batches immediately before it’s used, and each batch is thrown away when it starts to settle.

The vegetables and seafood are cut, washed, dried, and dipped in the batter to give them a thin, almost transparent coating. After this they’re dropped one at a time into the oil (a combination of vegetable and sesame oil), which must be constantly kept at exactly the right temperature. Finally, the tempura must be cooked for just the right amount of time, pulled out of the oil the precise moment it’s done. If all goes well, the final product is perfect tempura — crisp, golden brown, hot, and delicious.

A few tempura restaurants offer variations on the basic recipe, adding extra ingredients to the batter to change the texture or flavor. One variation is to add chopped noodles to the batter for a rougher and crisper coating.

As you can see, making tempura is a delicate process, and lots of things can go wrong. It’s possible to find many different levels of quality in restaurant tempura, ranging from fairly bad (too greasy) to absolutely perfect (heavenly). As a general rule, tempura tends to be better at specialty restaurants rather than at all-purpose Japanese restaurants.

Eating

Before you dig in, remember some etiquette. The first rule of eating tempura is to get it while it’s hot. If you’re sitting at the counter, the chef will transfer each piece directly from the vat of hot oil to the counter in front of you, placing it on a sheet of white paper to drain off the excess oil. Even if you’re sitting at a table, every effort will be made to get your tempura to you as hot as possible. You can show your appreciation by eating it as soon as you can (although you might want to wait a minute or two to avoid burning your mouth).

When you use the dipping sauce, it’s a good idea to dip the tempura quickly and avoid lengthy soaking. The sauce may come with a small mound of grated radish, which can be mixed in. Some tempura fans forgo the dipping sauce entirely, using just a bit of salt or lemon for seasoning.

Sushi: Raw, Delicious And Good For You

The origin of sushi is not Japan. It is said that sushi was introduced into Japan in the 7th century from China. People began making sushi to preserve fish by fermentation when there were no refrigerators.

Sushi is low in fat and is a very nutritious food. A typical setting of 7 to 9 pieces contains about 300-450 calories. The fish in sushi provides protein and can be a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Seaweed is rich in iodine as well as other vitamins, and rice provides complex carbs.

Kinds of Sushi

Nigiri-zushi (finger roll sushi) - hand-pressed mounds of rice with a dab of wasabi and a slice of raw fish/shellfish/other ingredients on top. Popular nigiri-zushi are Maguro (tuna), Toro (belly of tuna), Hamachi (yellowtail), Ebi (shrimp), Tamago (omlet), Anago (grilled sea-eel), Uni (sea urchin), Ikura (salmon roe), Ika (squid), tako (boiled octopus), hotategai (scallop), and so on.
Maki-zushi (sushi) - sushi rolls wrapped by seaweed (nori). This is also called norimaki. There are many kind of sushi roll: Tekkamaki - raw tuna roll, Kappamaki - cucumber, Futomaki (fat roll sushi) - 4-8 ingredients (Includes kampyo (seasoned gourd strips), oboro or denbu sweet powder, tamago sweet omelet, and shiitake mushrooms).
Inari-zushi (sushi) - aburaage - deep-fried tofu pouches- stuffed with sushi rice).
This sushi is brown and oval-shaped. It has a sweet taste.
Chirashi-zushi (mixed sushi) - spread different ingredients (includes raw fish, shiitake mushroom, omlet, seaweed, and more) over seasoned rice on a dish.

Elements of Sushi: Whats on the side

The important seasonings are soy sauce, and Wasabi (Japanese horseradish). Soy sauce is used as dipping sauce. Wasabi is put in Nigiri-zushi or is mixed with soy sauce for dipping. The most important side ingredient of sushi is ginger. Pickled ginger is called gari and is served with sushi. Gari is eaten between bites of sushi to refresh the mouth for each new taste. You can purchase pickled ginger at Asian markets or you can make it yourself.

How the Japanese Eat Sushi
In Japanese homes, sushi is often eaten when celebrating a special occasion. Chirashii-zushi, maki-zushi, inari-zushi are commonly cooked at home following family recipes. Sushi delivery is also commmon. Japanese people order sushi for special occasions, and there is a proper way to eat sushi for them.

In real sushi restaurants, sushi is very expensive since they select the best ingredients. It can cost nearly US$100 per person, depending on what you eat. But, there are places called kaiten-zushi, where the sushi plates circle around the eating area on a conveyor belt. This is a kind of sushi “fast-food” restaurant in Japan and is inexpensive. It’s very popular in Japan, so you can find kaiten-zushi restaurants everywhere.

When you go to kaiten-zushi, you wait until your favorite sushi comes near you, then you pick up the plates from the moving table. If your favorite is not moving on the table, you can order it. The type of plate the sushi pieces are on will indicate the price of each sushi. If you want to save money, you can avoid picking up expensive sushi.

Memoirs Of A Geisha: A Film Review

“To be a geisha is to be a moving work of art.” This is the statement made by Mameha in the celebrated epic drama entitled, Memoirs of a Geisha. This line best captivates the essence of a true geisha. A geisha, as defined in the movie sings beautiful songs, dances gracefully, engages her clients in a good conversation and serves them with tea or sake wine. The movie presents two opposite sides of a geisha – one that acts in accordance to the tradition and another who does things differently.

The movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, unfolds the story of a nine-year-old girl named Chiyo, who was taken away form her family along with her sister to become a Geisha. She was separated from her sister and was sold to an old woman who takes on girls and turns them into geishas later on. From that time on, she had an unhappy childhood for she was made to suffer and do things that children at her age would not normally do. She initially worked as a slave with another girl who also lives in the same house. She had to endure the cruel beatings made by the lady of the house complicated by the scheming geisha, Hatsumomo who lives with them.

In spite of all the hardships, Chiyo managed to blossom into an elegant and fine woman with a flourishing career as a geisha. Becoming one of the most famous and sought-after geisha of her time in Kyoto, Japan would not be possible without the help of her mentor Mameha. It was Mameha, a geisha herself who taught her everything she need to know about being a practitioner of the art. When Chiyo was ready to become a full pledged geisha, Mameha changed her name to Sayuri to mark the girl’s transition.

Sayuri’s life as a geisha was not at all smooth sailing. Hatsumomo, her most treacherous rival was always watching her and waited eagerly for her to commit the slightest mistake in front of her clients. Hatsumomo was older and more experienced than Sayuri but the former despises the latter ever since Sayuri entered the geisha house. Sayuri also had to tolerate the advances made by her older clients. War added more suffering to Sayuri for it is when she had to stop performing the duties of a geisha and to be separated from the man she loves. Later on, she was convinced to go back to practice thinking that it would save her life and bring her back to her true love.

The much talked about film stars Ziyi Zhang of the equally famed movie, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, in the controversial character of Sayuri. Michelle Yeoh, (also from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) plays Mameha. Gong Li takes on the role of Hatsumomo. Ken Watanabe performs as the Chairman, the character who motivated Sayuri to go back to training and become a successful geisha in the future. He is also the one man who captured her heart.

The film depicts women’s struggle to achieve freedom. They wanted to free themselves from the boundaries set by tradition. It is very unfortunate that some of them have ruined themselves in the process. Their fate is at the mercy of men who have the power to change their life forever at the snap of their fingers.

How the film, Memoirs of a Geisha, ends is left for the readers to discover. If you take our advice, read Arthur Golden’s bestselling book before you see the film!

Visiting The Ancient Capital During The Gion Festival

The ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto is taken back in time during the Gion festival, by Yasaka shrine (gion was the old name of this shrine.) Gion festival is one of the biggest festivals in Japan. This Japanese festival begins July 1st and lasts until July 31st. At this time, there are many street vendors with games and Japanese festival food. Also, many people who go to this festival wear yukata and geta, which are traditional Japanese outfits. It is said that the summer of Kyoto begins with the Gion Matsuri. It is a traditional summer festivity. Gion festival was started in 869 A.D when a bad plague spread through Kyoto. In the first festival, young men carried numbers of wooden floats. It was a divine intervention to stop the plague. The plague soon ended, and this event became a popular festival. In the Edo Era, the current form of the decorated floats appeared in the festival.

There are many events held during this festival, but the highlights are Yoi-yama on the 16th and Yamahoko-junko on the 17th. At Yoi-yama, people open the doors of their houses to show their treasured old folding screens. Yamahoko-junko is the parade of colorful floats through downtown Kyoto. The floats are pulled through the streets by teams of men dressed in traditional costumes. Each of the large floats carries musicians.

There are two kinds of floats: yama and hoko. Yama are smaller floats (weight: 1.2 ton - 1.6 ton, height: about 6m) and carried by people on their shoulders. Hoko are giant floats (weight: 4.8 ton - 12 ton, height: about 25m) on large wooden wheels and pulled by people. There are 32 floats in the parade: 25 yama floats and 7 hoko floats. The floats are decorated with tapestries or fabrics from Nishijin, Kyoto. Many of them were imported from India, Belgium, Persia, Turkey and other countries in the 15th century.

The most interesting thing to see during yamahoko-junko is the turns of big floats at an intersection. They are hinged on blocks of wood to get them to turn at right angles. Men pulling the floats chant loudly, “yoi, yoi, yoi to sei! ” accompanied with traditional Japanese music played by people who are on the second story of the two-story floats. Yamahoko-junko is the one thing you can not miss during this festival.

Kyoto is located in 200 miles west of Tokyo and next to Osaka. It takes about 3 hours from Tokyo to Kyoto.

Temple Lodging

Staying at a temple is one choice for your accommodation in Japan. The lodging at temples is called shukubo. It originally began in the Heian Period (794-1192) as a lodging for worshippers to temples.

Shukubo is similar to traditional Japanese inns, and anyone can stay regardless of his or her religion. In temples, you can join in their Zen meditation. Also, in some shukubo, shojin ryori (vegetarian meal for monks) is served. The price ranges from around 5000 yen to 15000 yen per night. Staying at a temple might not be as cheap as you expect, but the atmosphere is worth experiencing. Be aware that many temples don’t accept credit cards for payment.

A good area to experience temple lodgings is Mt. Koya. There are over 100 temples in Mt. Koya, and about 50 temples offer lodgings. It might be nice to stay at a temple away from the noise of cities.

How to get to Mt. Koya:

Take Nankai Dentetsu Railway Nankai Koya Line from Osaka Namba station to Gokuraku-bashi station. (about one and half hour by limited express train) Transfer to the Nankai Koya-san cable car to Koya-san.

Karaoke: The Empty Orchestra

We have frustrated singers as neighbors. At night, around 9-ish, the folks at the other side of our house would turn on their CD Players and sing to the break of dawn. We would hear a sonic barrage of songs such as, My Way, …Baby One More Time, and Smoke On the Water for 3 solid hours. They love music, but music hates them. This nightly experience in someway inspired me to write this post. Karaoke music: The Empty Orchestra.

The word itself was crafted from “kara” which meant “empty,” and “ōkesutora”, hence—The Empty Orchestra. Empty, since the songs didn’t have any voice accompaniment. Orchestra, because of the beautiful music.
It was said that Karaoke began in Japan during the 1970’s. The man who created it, Inoue Daisuke, was a struggling singer in a band, covering popular songs. One time, an important client asked them to play for him, but the drummer was unable to go. Instead, he gave them a tape of his accompaniment. Inoue played the tape and the client sang with him. Karaoke was born.

Karaoke spread like wildfire all over Asia, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom of Britain. It has spread to other media as well. There are Karaoke games, bars (KTVs), Videokes and TV game shows. It has become a worldwide phenomenon.

It inspired other people to face one of the most feared things to do on the planet—singing in front of an audience. This is due to the fact that the audience, themselves, expects to have fun with the singer rather than critique him for singing off key. This has made the Karaoke Bars one of the most popular places to go to after a hard work’s day.It inspired other people to face one of the most feared things to do on the planet—singing in front of an audience. This is due to the fact that the audience, themselves, expects to have fun with the singer rather than critique him for singing off key. This has made the Karaoke Bars one of the most popular places to go to after a hard day’s work.

Karaoke will exist as long as humans can sing and hear.

How to Drink Sake

Beer is the most popular drink in Japan, and Japanese sake (rice wine) is the second most popular. Sake is an important part of Shinto and Japanese culture and one should learn how to drink sake in Japanese Restaurants.

Sake is a clear liquid and has about 15% alcohol in it. It is made from rice and water. Water is very important to make good sake. Sake breweries in Japan are located near some of the best spring water in the world. After rice is washed, soaked, steamed and cooled, fermentation starts by adding koji rice.

Sake is served in a ceramic flask called tokkuri, and you pour sake into a small cup and drink from it. It is polite to pour sake into each other’s cup when you are drinking with others. You always need to know whether your company’s cup is empty or not.

When someone wants to pour you more sake, you should hold your ochoko cup up. If you are drinking with Japanese people, these are helpful tips to remember.

Sake can be served hot or cold. Hot sake is called atsukan, and cold sake is called hiyazake. Winter is the best time to enjoy hot sake. Hiyazake seems to taste sweeter, so people tend to over drink. Be aware that sake contains as much alcohol as wine does.

To drink sake in Japan, I recommend that you go to izakaya, which is a Japanese style bar. Izakaya serves various small dishes of food, so you can have your dinner there too. The prices are usually very reasonable, and the atmosphere is very casual. Try to visit an izakaya when you go to Japan. Do not forget to say “kampai” (cheers) before you begin drinking!!

Where to Visit Geisha in Japan

In Kyoto, there are five hanamachi. The most famous is Gion. The Gion district is located on the west of Kawaramachi, Shijo-dori Street. The Gion district retains old Japanese-style buildings and the atmosphere is very different from other part of the city. The best area to meet a geisha girl is Hanamikoji Street in Gion, where many o-chaya are located. If you visit the area in early evening, you might be able to see beautiful geisha girls before they go to their appointments. It’s said that there are a couple hundred geisha in Gion. In Tokyo, Asakusa Hanamachi is the place to go to meet geisha.

Geisha Tours

If you want to see the performance of Geisha in Japan, there are guided tours, which include dinner with geisha girls. Also, if you’re interested, you can try on geisha or maiko costumes while you are in Japan. It’s a popular attraction for travelers in Kyoto. There are hundreds of places that offer services to have you dress and make-up like a geisha girl and take photographs. The cost starts of about $60. It might give you a fun souvenir from Kyoto. Please make an appointment before you go since some places can be very crowded.

Because some hanamachi were historically related to prostitution, this bias toward geisha and hanamachi districts still exists in modern Japan. However, geisha is an important part of culture and their performance and beauty still attracts many people from around the world.

Japanese Plum Festival

Of all the Festivals in Japan, the Japanese plum festival is one of the most charming.
As the weather becomes warmer, the nature becomes beautiful. It is time to go out and enjoy the beginning of the spring in Japan. February is the best time for viewing plum blossoms in the Honshu region, Japan. Take a walk in your neighborhood to view the pretty plum blossoms! Also, visit plum blossom festivals held at this time of the year.

Plum Festivals in Japan :

Atami Plum Garden (Atami Baien)

Atami baien is located in Atami-city, Shizuoka Pref. Atami baien is 15min. by bus from Atami station. To get to Atami station, take the JR Tokaido line train or Tokaido. It takes about one hour if you take shinkansen from Tokyo and about two hours from Osaka. From Atami station, take the bus for Aino-hara-Danchi or for Baien to Baien-mae stop.

Mito Kairaku-en Plum Festival

Kairakuen Park is located in Mito City , Ibaraki Pref. From late February to early March each year, the Plum Festival is held. Kairakuen Park is one of the three great parks of Japan: the other two are Kenrokuen Park in Kanazawa and Korakuen Park in Okayama. The ninth Mito Clan Lord, Nariaki Tokugawa created this park in 1841. This 13-hectare park has 3,000 plum trees of 100 varieties, so you can view pink and white blossoms all over. Mito is just north of Tokyo. It takes about one hour by the JR Joban line express train to Mito from Ueno, Tokyo.

Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is to Japan as Baseball is to America. It’s the nation’s most famous sport. The young and elderly flock to see matches. Kids aspire to be wrestlers in the future. Some wrestlers even have their own fanclub. Most wrestlers attain legendary status comparable to basketball players in the west.

It is a high contact sport where two wrestlers, Rikishi, basically face off and try to push the other out of a circular area or force the other to lose his footing and touch the ground. Illegal moves, Kinjite, and having the belt, the Mawashi, undone will also result in losing the bout. A referee, Gyoji, will be the one to judge the winner.

The earliest Sumo matches were deadly, wherein the loser would be sentenced to death. However, as time went on it became a necessary military exercise. The matches were also created to entertain gods to ensure a bountiful harvest. Hence, the rituals and symbolism attached to the sport. The first Grand Champion, Yokozuna, was Ozeki Tanikaze in 1789.

Currently, there has been a surge of international talents coming into the predominantly Japanese sport. As of 2004, fifty-three (53) out of six hundred ninety three (693) wrestlers were of non-Japanese origin. For instance, the current Yokozuna is Asashoryu. He’s a Mongolian wrestler with a career record of 432-121-5. It is fast becoming an international sport due to the injection of new blood.

With old traditions mixed with new ideas, Sumo wrestling in the twenty-first century is shining bright.