Two years ago I was introduced to Hisagozushi’s Setsubun Onimaki, literally ‘demon roll’ by Miwa. I had eaten this shinise’s sushi several times but I had no idea of their magical and very visually appealing eho-maki. Last year, I really wanted to eat one again but we were too late and Hisagozushi was sold out.

Seven Lucky Ingredients for Hisagozushi Ehomaki Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

This year, not only did I make a reservation the day before and schedule the pick up in the a.m. not the p.m., I arranged to do a short interview and get some photos of the master, Chef Ujita making my demon roll!

I knew that Hisagozushi must sell an insane amount of these delightfully decorated and very tasty sushi rolls on Setsubun but I assumed that they had some kind of fantastic machine that just cranked them out – they are a small shop!

The day before Setsubun, and two days before spring, I got to speak with the owner and head chef and he said that he and the staff we going to be up all night making ehomaki and working all day on Setsubun to fill orders. However, as I knew from my experience last year, they would not be able to meet the demand. And, everything is made by hand, no fancy machines!

Seven Lucky Ingredients for Onimaki 'Demon Roll' on Rice and Egg Sheet

Seven Lucky Ingredients for Onimaki 'Demon Roll' on Rice and Egg Sheet - detail

About Hisagozushi and Onimaki
This morning, February 3rd, I went over to Hisagozushi (ひさご寿し) to take some photos of my Oni Maki (鬼巻, demon roll) being made and to learn first hand about this foodie product that has fascinated me for a long time. By the way, I know from the KF access stats that this product is among probably the top 3 that have appeared on KF! Visually, it is a very compelling piece of sushi. As someone with a background in design and currently doing product and brand development, this is a product that I often recall.

The master was looking rather tired at 10 am this morning when I arrived and he still had a long, long day ahead of him! Chef Ujita gave a quick demonstration of how they make their Demon Roll. First you have to understand that 7 is the luck number in Japan and you want to have a lucky year ahead. So, the eho-maki has 7 ingredients rolled up inside rice and the egg wrapper. The ingredients are sliced shiitake mushroom simmered in sweetened soy sauce, kanpyo (dried gourd strips), chopped grilled anago eel, sliced takuan tsukemono (pickle), shrimp, cucumber and atsuyaki-tamago (thick egg omelet) strip. And this is all wrapped up inside that wonderful demon branded sheet of egg.

As Chef Ujita had a long day ahead of him so I asked the Okami-san 女将さん (proprietress), literally ‘woman general’, about the history of Onimaki and Hisagozushi.

Hisagozushi Master, Chef Ujita Rolling Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

Hisagozushi Master, Chef Ujita Rolling Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

Hisagozushi Master, Chef Ujita Rolling Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

Hisagozushi Master, Chef Ujita Rolling Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

"And here is Michael's Onimaki for 2010!"

Hisagozushi opened for business in 1945, the store has been in its current location since opening and now has counters in both Takashimaya Kyoto and JR Kyoto Isetan department stores. Hisagozushi, located in downtown Kyoto, is a small shop and uses lots of eggs in their various sushi offerings. Hisagozushi doesn’t have the space to cook eggs in addition to making sushi, so for 60 years they have been collaborating with a famous Kyoto egg shop. Hisagozushi is quite well known for their chirashi-zushi, which uses a lot of egg.

As I spoke with the Okami-san, I found myself beside myself for not picking up on this. First off, I have to say that this sushi roll is just the most compelling that I have ever seen. And, I didn’t realize how ‘Kyoto’ it is. The Okami-san was very understated about it, inarticulate almost. I distinctly felt that she might not be fully aware of how epic this was as she told me the story. “Well, about 10 years ago we and our egg maker were talking about making a new eho-maki. The egg maker suggested that we could make a wrapping with egg and we never liked the ones wrapped with nori because nori is rather hard to chew, and just quite plain.” I mean, every eho-maki in the land is wrapped with nori, right? Yes!

“So, we thought that if the wrapping were done in egg it would be more elegant — more Kyoto, and it would be easier to chew. The wrapping would be soft and tasty. And, our egg maker suggested that we could use an oni themed hot iron brand on the egg. We came up with an ‘oni’ demon design and that has been quite a hit ever since!”

This truly is one of the artifacts of Kyoto culinary culture that even in other season I often find myself thinking about.

Onimaki Box

Hisagozushi's Setsubun Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

Hisagozushi's Setsubun Onimaki 'Demon Roll'

Ehomaki - Directions for 2010 - This Year Face West by South-west

Setsubun Customs and Food
The main customs for Setsubun all involve food. Setsubun can be thought of as a kind of New Year’s celebration and you wish for plenty of good fortune for the new year and do anything possible to avert illness and bad fortune. The demon often seen at Setsubun brings bad fortune and you want to drive him out, especially out of your house.

Eho-maki – Lucky Direction Sushi Roll: Eat a sushi roll with 7 lucky ingredients facing the direction of good fortune for that year. (The direction changes every year. Eat it quietly and don’t stop while eating, wish for what you want in the coming year. (see this KyotoFoodie How to Eat Ehomaki and How to Eat Ehomaki article for more)
Mame-maki – Throw Beans Out Your Door: Put roasted ‘fukumame’ soybeans in a square wooden ‘masu’ cup and place in the ‘kamidana’ family shrine during the day on February 3rd. (If you don’t have a shrine, place in a high place, above the level of your eyes.) Between 8 and 10 pm throw beans out every door and window of the house (do the ‘genkan’ front door last) twice and say ‘Oni wa soto!’ (Demon out! 鬼は外) and close the door or window quickly and throw beans inside the room twice and say ‘Fuku wa uchi!’ (Good fortune and happiness in! 福は内).
Eat Beans: Pick up beans from the floor of the house, these are all charged up with good fortune now. This will keep you healthy and give you longevity. Eat the same number of roasted soybeans as your age, plus one. Eating off of the floor is not something normally done anywhere, least of all hyper-clean Japan. Traditionally, this is how it was done and Japanese homes have very clean floors. Now some companies sell ‘fukumame’ roasted soybeans in a hygienic sack that you can toss around your house, pick it up off the floor, open it and count out your beans, nice and clean. I have never thrown beans in the house. I just counted them out of the bag. Opps. Miwa checked various websites and this is indeed the proper way to do it. While I have never eaten off the floor, I like the idea because I am really into cleanliness. The floor in one’s home SHOULD be clean enough to eat off of – even if you do not do so in practice!
Hiiragi Iwashi – Put the Head on Your Front Door with Holly Leaves: The demon doesn’t like the strong smell of sardines, so grill one and eat it on Setsubun. The demon is afraid of getting his eyes poked. So, put the grilled sardine’s head on a holly stick with plenty of holly leaves and then put that on or around your front door. The smell will drive off oni and he will be afraid of getting his eyes poked by the thorns on the holly leaves if he were to try to come in your house. Aren’t Japanese demons easy to deal with? No magically passing through walls and so on! (see this KyotoFoodie Hiiragi Iwashi article for more)

Origin of Ehomaki
There are two competing theories regarding the origin of ehomaki. One says that merchants in the late Edo and early Meiji eras Senba (a part of Osaka) ate this special makizushi at Setsubun hoping for a new year of prosperity. Therefore this custom is more common in the Kansai region, rather than Kanto. Another theory states that a samurai under Toyotomi Hideyoshi coincidentally ate makizushi at Setsubun the day before a battle and was victorious; it then quickly became a custom. Peko likes the merchant theory best. source Setsubun Ehomaki, Mame-maki and Grilled Sardine

Here is our first Onimaki article, Setsubun: The Day Before Spring, Demons, How to Eat Eho-Maki and Throw Your Beans.

Kyoto Hisagozushi 'Honten' Storefront

Hisagozushi
Hisagozushi honten (main store) is located on Kawaramachi Street just north of Shijo Street. It on the west side of Kawaramachi Street, next to OPA shopping center. The nearby Shijo-Kawaramachi intersection is the heart of Kyoto. Hankyu Kawaramachi Station is there as well as Takashimaya Department Store. The honten offers both takeout and sit down dining.

Hisagozushi also has takeout locations in the food courts of Takashimaya Kyoto and JR Kyoto Isetan department stores in Kyoto.

Hisagozushi’s sushi is good, maybe a little pricey for a budget traveler. If you want to purchase the Onimaki, best to make a reservation on February 2nd and pick it up Feb 3rd. Hisagozushi does offer some other Setsubun and Eho-maki sushi but the Onimaki is the one to write home about!

Hisagozushi website: www.hisagozusi.co.jp (Japanese only)
English menu: Yes, with photos and easy to understand.
telephone: 075-221-5409 (probably no English spoken)
Address: Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Kawaramachi-dori Shijo-agaru, Shioya-cho 144 (京都市中京区河原町通四条上ル塩屋町144)

Hisagozushi Kyoto Takashimaya Department Store Location - Waiting in Line for Ehomaki

Map to Hisagozushi Honten

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum: Food and Drink in Kyoto

SHARE! Kyoto Support Topic: Department Stores in Kyoto: Takashimaya, Daimaru and Isetan

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

＊Sorry about the poor quality photos, I only had my mobile phone with me on this trip.

Customers Waiting in front of Sushi Dai

On my most recent trip to Tokyo, I met the Tokyo Fixer, AKA Shinji Nohara.  We met earlier in 2009 at a Bon Appetit photoshoot at Kichisen. I didn’t know much about Shinji, he was very low key but with a Hollywood celebrity photographer, so I figured that he must be a bit of a mover and shaker. But I live in Kyoto and Kyoto is decidedly non-mover and shaker. And, Shinji didn’t have his website URL on his weird, fire engine red (and translucent) business card. De rigeur in Tokyo, I assume. His card just said that he was a ‘contributor’ and had a nondescript webmail email address on it. If you are really connected, under-promoting yourself is cool. Less is more.

So, fast forward few months and I am watching (actually mostly listening while I work) Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour – A Taste of Tokyo on YouTube. The clip was about Tokyo-style sushi, which is called fast food in Kyoto.

Shinji in the Rear View Mirror on A Cook's Tour - A Taste Of Tokyo

So bad boy celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is in a car, early morning, on the way to Tsukiji Market chatting with his guides and I glance up and see the driver in the review mirror. I was like, masaka, isn’t that … that dude… that Tokyo dude… … Shinji? Yes, it is!

So I emailed Shinji and I’m all like, dude, I just saw you on YouTube, dude, you’re famous. I was like, dude, how about lunch or coffee next time I am in Tokyo?

Shinji was like, dude, I’ll take you to my favorite sushi bar in Tsukiji Market — at 5 am for breakfast!

I was like, dude! I am there! And, my friends were all like, dude!

Sushi Dai Counter Seats 13 Lucky Sushi Pilgrims

Shinji was quite emphatic about arriving when the restaurant opened, at 5 am. Trains don’t start running in Tokyo until like 5 am and I was staying all the way across town. He kindly arrived early and got in line.

I invited along a Tokyo native, entrepreneur friend and we met up for sushi on a cold early December morning. We got to Sushi Dai at about 5:50 to find Shinji at the very head of a growing line and next to him are these two suave smokers speaking French. They seemed to be with us, but I wasn’t sure until we paid. My friend chatted with the French guys as Shinji and I chatted and go to know each other better.

Then, we got into the cramped little restaurant and it was time to eat super fresh, quality nigiri sushi!

Maguro 'Tsuke' Nigiri Sushi

Shinji Nohara Sipping Tea with French Model Guys

Shinji Nohara Sipping Tea with French Model Guys

About Shinji, the Tokyo Fixer
Like I said, Shinji is the Tokyo Fixer, he doesn’t fix broken one-touch mochi makers or broken purikura machines, he fixes you up with photoshoot or movie locations, celebrities or the best damn meals available on planet Earth! When Anthony Bourdain came to Tokyo, Shinji fixed him up. (I am assuming only with food.) Be sure to check out TokyoFixer.com.

About Sushi Dai
Unlike the rest of Tsukiji Market, Sushi Dai is an oasis of civility, warmth and smiles. Prices are quite reasonable considering the quality of the sushi served. There are a number of other restaurants on either side of Sushi Dai and they had no lines and appeared to be nearly empty. Wow, this is one popular restaurant!

There are several nigiri sushi sets to choose from. We had the 4,600 yen set but I think there were two that were cheaper starting ate around 2,500 or 3,000 yen. Our set included about 12 kinds of sushi and at the end they give you another of whatever you would like. I couldn’t decide and asked the chef, did he recommend the hobo or kan buri? He said, well, how about I make both for you, just a little smaller? They didn’t really seem smaller to me — and I had no complaints!

Shinji out did me though, this dude is a real pro! He ordered kawahagi which comes with a piece of kawahagi liver on top of the meat.

Business hours are 5 am to 2 pm. The restaurant only seats 13. Expect to wait in line. Try to arrive before 5 am. If you need details talk to Shinji.

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum: Food and Drink in Kyoto

SHARE! Kyoto Support Forum: Shopping, Souvenirs and Kyoto Meibutsu

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

Aburi Sanma Bozushi 炙りさんま棒寿司
From last week or so, I have noticed in the fish and sushi section of a few stores a bozushi like sabazushi (pickled mackerel on sushi rice) that is made with the seasonal sanma, or Pacific saury. The saury is quite a bit smaller than the mackerel, so I imagine that it is quite difficult to make pressed bozushi sushi with. I bought this one at the food court of Takashimaya department store.

Sanma Aburi Sushi: Seared Saury Pressed Sushi

Depachika デパ地下: Department Store Food Court
This article is in our series (with too few articles) called depachika. Depachika means department store (underground) food court; depa (department store) and chika (underground). If you are in Japan and hungry, it is hard to go wrong with depachika food. While department stores used to be very expensive in Japan they are much more reasonably priced now. Generally, shopping at the department store food court will cost you only a bit more than an average priced supermarket. Shopping depachika-style is a lot of fun because the food courts are just SOOOOO over the top. If you are staying at a hotel near a department store you can always buy a lot of depachika food and eat it in your room. That would be cheaper than eating out at even a moderately priced restaurant.

Sanma Aburi Sushi: Seared Saury Pressed Sushi

How did it taste?
This was really great! The sanma was very rich and oily, even more than mackerel. I realized that this must be the most oily aozakana of them all. Before pressing on sushi rice, the fish is lightly seared with a flame. This is aburi. The sushi rice was pretty good, not too sweet, not too sour. There was a thin layer of pickled ginger between the fish and the rice.

I think that I have only had this sushi once before, I can’t remember exactly. So, it is rare. If you see it, it is worth a try. I have seen both seared and non-seared, if you have a choice I would go for the seared variety as the taste is more complex and the searing contrasts well with the fattiness of the fish.

Sanma Aburi Sushi: Seared Saury Pressed Sushi

Kanji (Chinese Character) Lesson
Sanma 秋刀魚: 秋 autumn, 刀 sword, 魚 fish (the fish really looks like a dagger in shape and color)
Aozakana 青魚: 青 blue, 魚 fish
Abura ga notteiru 脂がのっている: There are two similar characters that can be read as ‘abura’; 油 oil and 脂 fat. Some Japanese may be mistaken about the proper character I have heard.

Sanma 秋刀魚: The Autumn 'Sword' Fish

SHARE! ‘Kyoto Support’ Forum Department Stores in Kyoto: Takashimaya, Daimaru and Isetan

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

Learning to Make Kyoto-style Sushi from Chef Tanigawa

About Helena Chlepnac and Sushi Fusion
Helena is lives in Switzerland and does Sushi Fusion, a sushi catering company and now offers sushi classes which are very popular. Helena has over 300 students learning to make sushi in Switzerland!

Prelude to Sushi Lesson: Furosen Sake and Funazushi Day Trip
Before learning to make Kyoto-style sushi from the Iron Chef defeater, we went up to Shiga Prefecture for a day to experience a bit of Shiga’s culinary culture.

First we visited Uehara Sake Brewery to see the how they make the world’s greatest sake: Furosen. We were given a tour of the brewery and a generous tasting. Uehara Sake Brewery revived the tradition of using wooden barrels for brewing sake and Helena remarked that her favorite champaign maker is the only one that continued to use wood while everyone else changed to stainless steel. Now, how is that for good taste!

Uehara Sake Brewery and Sixth Generation Owner Mr Uehara

Uehara Sake Brewery Tasting Furosen Sake

This is the greatest sake in the world.

Two Year Old Funazushi

In the afternoon we visited a tsukemono maker called Marucho that has been making tsukemono with Shiga vegetables since the Edo era to see how they make their pickles and Shiga’s meibutsu (famous product): funazushi. Funazishi is made from a special variety of carp from Lake Biwa that has been salted and fermented with rice for 2 years. It is a variety of narazushi (fermented fish ‘sushi’) which is the origin of modern-day sushi. Fermented fish is not popular even among many Japanese foodies for reasons that you can imagine. It is not bad though.

At Marucho they make the real deal; funazushi that has been made with the finest wild carp from Lake Biwa and fermented for 2 years. (The cheaper funazushi is made with aqua-cultured carp and only fermented 1 year.) This proper way of making funazushi is called hon-jikomi (authentic production). This requires frequent washing and changing of the rice. This is what separates the good funazushi from the bad. Additionally, the bones of the carp are quite robust and the two year fermentation process softens them to nearly the same as the meat.

Marucho generously offered us a sample of their best, hon-jikomi funazushi. Helena remarked that if she didn’t know that it was fish, she wouldn’t have known from the taste. Funazushi made the old-fashioned way is not fishy and is surprisingly sour. If you like cheese, you would probably like funazushi. The best funazushi is nearly bursting with eggs. The taste of the eggs really reminded me of mimolette cheese, both in flavor and in texture.

It was a fun and interesting day, but I sensed that Helena was really looking forward to her sushi day!

The Main Event: Sushi Lesson at Kichisen

Helena went to the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market with Chef Tanigawa bright and early and selected fish with him. From mid-day the lesson began in the kitchen. Helena learned how to make most all the summertime Kyoto sushi styles from Chef Tanigawa. Miwa translated and I only joined the party late in the afternoon, just in time to eat.

This is what Helena learned:

1. How to Clean and Prepare Fish

• Ayu (Sweetfish)
• Tai (Sea Bream)
• Saba (Mackerel)
• Hamo (Pike Eel)
• Ika (Squid)
• Akagai (Red Shellfish)

2. How to Make Kyoto-style Sushi

• Hamozushi
• Sabazushi
• Sasamaki Zushi
• Ayuzushi
• Isomaki Zushi
• Ryuhimaki
• Temarizushi (ball-shaped, similar to nigiri sushi)
• Kikuzushi (chrysanthemum flower-shaped, similar to nigiri sushi)
• Komakizushi (Kinzanji Miso, Shiso and Cucumber)
• Tsukemono Sushi (also nigiri sushi)
• Inarizushi (deep fried tofu pockets stuffed sushi)

Cleaning Fish at Kichisen

Sea bream ‘tai’ for several kinds of sushi.

Cleaning Fish at Kichisen

After cleaning the tai for sushi, the head is split for soup or rice. Nothing is discarded.

Making Sushi Rice

Chef Tanigawa kindly gave Helena his recipe for sushi rice — I got a copy of it too.

Helena Shaping Rice for Hamozushi

Chef Tanigawa Demonstrating Cutting Hamozushi

Chef Tanigawa Demonstrating Cutting Sabazushi

Finishing-up in the Kitchen

Epic Sushi Plate One

From top to bottom; hamozushi, sabazushi, inarizushi, sasamaki.

Epic Sushi Plate Two

From top to bottom, left to right; ayuzushi, kikuzushi, temarizushi, isomaki, komakizushi, tsukemono (nigiri) sushi, ryuhimaki sushi.

Assortment of Kyoto-style Sushi

My fav was the one on the bottom right, it is called ryuhi maki. It is a ‘bozushi’ made with tai on rice with sansho leaves wrapped in soft and chewy kombu and has slices of raw green yuzu between each piece. At the back right is one of Kichisen’s exquisite homemade umeboshi. On the lower left is ayuzushi.

Hamozushi (Pike Eel Sushi) – detail

Hamo is only eaten in Kyoto.

Sabazushi (Mackerel Sushi) – detail

Sabazushi is perhaps Kyoto’s most common and popular sushi.

Sasamaki (Sasa Bamboo Leaf Wrapped Sushi) – Wrapped

Sasamaki (Sasa Bamboo Leaf Wrapped Sushi) – Unwrapped

This is kodai, literally ‘small tai’ (young sea bream).

Temarizushi (Ball-shaped Sushi) – detail

This is squid (ika), notice the sprig of green kinome sansho leaf under the squid.

Q&A with Chef Tanigawa after the Feast

Chef Tanigawa said that he is open to doing such lessons occasionally for chefs from abroad. If you are a chef and going to be in town and want to learn from a Kyoto master chef, feel free to send us an email.

SHARE! Kyoto Food and Drink Forum

Tweet! Tweet! Find out what’s going on in Kyoto right now, follow me on Twitter.

Izuju: The Best Kyoto Style Sushi in Kyoto 祇園いづ重 京都寿司
I went to Izuju this morning and met the owner, Kitamura-san and heard all about their authentic Kyoto style sushi. It was quite an experience! Izuju has been in business for almost 100 years and is located on the corner of Shijo Street and Higashi O-ji, right across from the bright orange gate of Yasaka Shrine.

Izuju only makes Kyoto style sushi. The ‘edomae’ Tokyo style nigiri sushi, the kind we are most used to seeing abroad, is not available.

Famed Gion Izuju Owner Chef Kitamura-san

Some of Izuju’s greatest Kyoto sushi hits:

• sabazushi (pickled mackerel on sushi rice)
• sasamaki (sea bream, kinome and sushi rice wrapped in a sasa bamboo leaf)
• hakozushi (literally box sushi, in summer grill hamo pike eel and in winter sawara Spanish mackerel pressed onto to sushi rice in a wooden form)
• mushizushi (literally steamed sushi, this is a winter favorite, usually a lot of dashi in the rice then steamed)
• inarizushi (sushi rice with simmered vegetables in deep fried tofu skins*)

Of course there are other sushi dishes but these are the main dishes.

Inarizushi (inari sushi) is a Kyoto culinary fixture that has never moved me, Izuju’s astounded me though. Miwa says that Izuju’s inarizushi is the best in the world.

Izuju Kitchen Tour

After chatting over tea about sushi and Izuju with Kitamura-san, he invited me in back to see the kitchen. The restaurant is quite small, so I hadn’t realized that there was a kitchen in back. Several dark rooms with soot stained machiya rafters lead to a earthen hearth. I couldn’t believe my eyes, right here in the heart of Gion they are still cooking with wood! Using a handfull of used chopsticks, Kitamura-san fired it up and started simmering the days deepfried tofu inari pockets for inarizushi.

In the adjacent room staff were removing bones from aji horse mackerel for a seasonal sushi.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Firing up the hearth. On the left is where they cook rice and on the right is where they simmer inari pockets.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Now this hearth may look old, but it isn’t. They had it rebuilt 5 years ago and it needs repairs fairly often. There is only one person left in Kyoto making and maintaining these hearths, Kitamura-san said.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Simmering inari pockets.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour

Paper talismans from Atago Shrine to protect the home and business from fire is a very common sight even in modern Kyoto. As Izuju still uses a wood fire for cooking, they have a while lot of them stuck to the wall behind the hearth!

In the main kitchen they were cleaning fish and making inarizushi.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour: De-boning Aji

They are using metal tweezers to pull the bones out of these horse mackerel fillets.

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour: Inari Sushi and Rice Stuffing Mixture

Gion Izuju Kitchen Tour: Inari Sushi

Making Sushi: Sabazushi

Back out in front, at the entrence is where they make the sabazushi. Often times sabazushi is formed in a wooden box form, but Izuju makes theirs into a roll. The process is rather simple:

• Layout vinegared mackerel fillet
• Form rice to shape
• Place rice atop mackerel fillet
• Roll inside cloth for form
• Roll inside kombu

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

How to Make Kyoto Sushi – Sabazushi

Shinise Restaurant Interior

The interior of Izuju is quite an experience. Everything has a meaning and a reason for being there. Most of the decorations are from the restaurants past and were significant to its development.

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior: Storefront Sign

This boat and rice paddle used to be Izuju’s shingle! Quite a sign. Izuju developed a trademarked name for their sushi presentation which was served in large wooden ‘boats’ like the shape of the sign.

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior

Up to modern times, Izuju and similar operations did catering and takeout. These plates are what were used to serve their sushi at nice ‘restaurants’ in Gion. The paper one the wall is musical score from traditional Japanese Noh theater. The name for their trademarked sushi presentation comes from a Noh play, this is the score for that play.

Gion Izuju Restaurant Interior

Interior Details

The narrow vertical peices are Kitayama Sugi (Japanese cedar from the north mountians of Kyoto), the heavily abraded and eroded planks are from the inside of a well! I have never seen this before.

Interior Details

The plank here is from a wooden boat on Lake Biwa. Peices of wooden boats from Lake Biwa are a very common sight in Kyoto. Kitamura-san said that these peices were collected during the war. Even during a time of such hardship the previous owner still didn’t pass up a chance to score some interesting wood!

Kyoto Sushi Facts

I talked to the owner for an hour or so this morning and here are a few things that I learned. (I learned a lot!)

- Traditionally sushi restaurants were closed in the summer months, from right after the Gion Festival (July 17) to September.

- Before World War II most restaurants didn’t prepare food on site. The owner would get a reservation and budget from the customer and then order each dish from speciality shops. For example, Izuju was one of the top choices for sushi in Kyoto.

- Edo mae (Tokyo style) nigiri sushi came to Kyoto thanks to the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake with sushi shops that relocated to Kyoto.

- Izuju was previously located at the intersection of Sanjo and Kawabata streets. During World War II they came to work one day and found an order posted on their storefront say to leave within one week because the block was going to be demolished by the military government. (A number of neighborhoods in Kyoto were leveled during the war to make makeshift runways, firebreaks and etc. These actions were militarily useless and only increased the suffering of the Japanese people.)

Izuju packed up a wagon and moved to their current location. They never even unpacked as they thought that they would have to move again. Fortunately the war ended soon after, and of course they now have probably the very best location in all of Kyoto. They left the wagon in their storehouse for several decades, as it was when they left their Sanjo location.

- Izuju has used the same rice, fish and kombu dealers for their entire history. No competitive bidding for business here!

- Izuju has not changed their recipes or sushi line-up since they started. (They did have to add one item to the menu based on a law made my General MacArthur during the occupation.)

- They still cook over a wood fired hearth. There is no sushi restaurant in Kyoto that still does and there are only several tofu shops that still do. They use used chopsticks as kindling and the fire department gets called by mistake several times a year by people thinking there is a fire in the heart of Gion!

Highly Recommended

Izuju is a restaurant whose sushi I have had many times take out at friends’ houses, as omiyage, etc, although I have never eaten in the restaurant, even though I walk or bike past it once or twice a week. I was deeply impressed by this casual, friendly, down to earth yet extremely sophisticated and ‘bases loaded homerun’ tasty restaurant.

Izuju is old Kyoto, in the heart of Gion, right across the street from historic Yasaka Shrine. It could be so easy for them to be full of themselves, stuck-up and haughty. Yet Kitamura-san, the owner was so humble and so kind and so sincere in his love of sushi and his restaurant. While I was taking photos in the other room, customers started coming in and I sensed that they were truly grateful to be able to buy his sushi and that he was truly honored to serve them. I can only believe that the soul of this restaurant accounts for the taste. The taste, while sophisticated, historic and deeply Kyoto, I would describe as elevated homecookin.

I was impressed with this restaurant beyond my ability to articulate. It is just so down to earth yet so elevated. I cannot think of a similar restaurant in Kyoto. (I am sure that there are some.)

For a sushi restaurant and a Kyoto shinise, Izuju is not expensive. If you are on a budget, you can enjoy a modest sampling of sushi, the likes of which you cannot find anywhere else in the world, including Japan, for like $10 or so. If you like sushi and are on a budget but can afford to spend like $50 per person on one nice meal on your visit to Kyoto, I would say that Izuju is THE place to go.

Map

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

This morning, once again, Tanigawa-san from Kichisen called and asked me to accompany him on a little culinary adventure up to Kibune. Kibune is a village in a mountain gorge in the north mountains above Kyoto, it is a top foodie (and date) spot, especially in the sweltering Kyoto summer. In Kibune they put deck-like constructions with tables over the mountain stream and people enjoy a wonderful meal of river fish while sitting atop the cool, gushing river.

I was out back in my new garden planting habanero peppers when Tanigawa-san showed up at my place in his 1988 Mercedes Benz 560 SL convertible — with the top down, wearing Ray Bans and this really horrible gangsta rapper t-shirt (see photos below).

We zoomed up to Kibune at top speed chatting about European brands, the size of the engine in his car (compared to that of the other Mercedes Benzs that we pass), business and food and then somehow I was made to give an recounting of my girlfriends and relationships since I came to Japan. (Five in ten years really isn’t that many but he seemed somewhat incredulous. Not that Tanigawa-san is in a position to be envious, his wife is extremely HOT.) As we zip up the the mountain road nearing our destination I ask him why we are going to Kifune. He corrects me: Kibune. (Officially it IS Kifune, but ‘real’ Kyoto people say Kibune, or so it has seemed to me over the years.)

Kifune Kawadoko, literally ‘River Floor’

Kifune Kawadoko

Kifune Kawadoko, The Mountain Lane and Tourists

Kibunejaya Entrance

Kibunejaya – We Have River Trout Tempura

Kibunejaya – Interior

Kibunejaya – Interior

Kibunejaya – Interior

Kibunejaya – River Fish Holding Tank

Kibunejaya – River Fish Holding Tank

Kibunejaya – Tanigawa-san, Okami-san and Deshi Kid

So, we get up to Kibune and pull into this kawadoko restaurant called Kibunejaya and one of his students appears from the kitchen. The last time I saw him he was being dropped off at Tanigawa-san’s friend’s stall at the Kyoto Wholesale Food Market to clean fish all day. The time before that he was literally beaten out of the kitchen by Tanigawa-san for scooping rice the wrong way, or some other little minor infraction. Minor to me, at least.

I was glad to see this kid up in Kibune. I sensed that Tanigawa-san was starting to believe that he just might amount to something.

Kibunejaya – Tanigawa-san and Okami-san

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch with Tanigawa-san

We had a quick lunch and I made friends with the family that runs the restaurant. They invited me back to do a proper interview and photoshoot for KyotoFoodie. I just have to make sure that I go on a sunny and warm day so that we can get some photos of people on the kawadoko. Kawadoko literally means ‘river floor’.

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch

Kibunejaya – Cold Somen Noodle Lunch

Kibune is about 30 minutes by train up into the north mountains from the city. It is a little village with an ancient shrine, a beautiful stream gushing through it and numerous restaurants.

The restaurants are unlike anything you can find in other regions of Japan, or so they say. Even my professor of urban design in graduate school told me that by law placing restaurants, or any other constructions over rivers is prohibited in Japan. The restaurants have deck-like constructions right over the top of the cool, gushing river stream. See, Kyoto is pretty hot and steamy in the summer. People go up to Kibune, sit atop this stream and are literally cooled by the temperature and the sound of the running water.

It really is chilly up there. We turned toward Kibune at the intersection for Kibune and Kurama and it was instantly colder. Tanigawa-san said 5 degrees (centigrade).

People in Kyoto love to go up to Kibune and have lunch or dinner atop the river and enjoy the refreshing chill of the water and breeze while enjoying mountain vegetable and river fish cuisine.

Kifune Shrine

On the way home, we zoom down the mountain a few hundred meters then Tanigawa-san parks. Where he parks isn’t a no parking zone, it isn’t somewhere that anyone would even consider parking, it is the entrance of a shrine! We climb the very steep stairway to the top and pray.

Kifune Shrine

Kifune Shrine Water – Take Out

Kifune Shrine – Mitarashi

This is where you wash your hands and purify yourself before entering the shrine proper.

Kifune Shrine – Going Home: Strike a Pose

Kifune Shrine – Going Home: Strike a Pose

Kifune Shrine – No Parking

Kifune Kawadoko: So Kyoto

This is the most elegant, famous (and expensive) restaurant in Kibune. This is the epitome of Kyoto to me. You are offered just a glimpse of the rushing river down this stone stairway and under a intimately scaled bridge-like passage way. Of course as you walk down the lane you can easily hear the rush of the river anywhere in the village, even if you cannot see it. The glimpse is so Kyoto.

Historically, Kyoto — the inland, landlocked capital — wasn’t much of a sushi town, but sabazushi was and is a very important part of the culinary culture. For centuries, Mackerel was harvested in fishing villages on the Sea of Japan coast and carried for several days on the ‘Mackerel Highway’ to Kyoto. The end of the Mackerel Highway, marked by an inscribed stone, is just a 5 minute walk down the street from Kichisen. Of course Kichisen makes sabazushi too and it is sublime.

Itadakimono: The other day I stopped in at Kichisen to chat with Master Tanigawa about tofu as a journalist from Bon Appetit was about to arrive in town and contacted me about a story he was researching. As Mr Tanigawa told me the Kyoto approach to tofu, he hollered into the kitchen ordering one of scurrying disciples to ready a sabazushi for me to take home. Now sabazushi is not cheap, from a famous shop it can cost 4,000 to 8,000 yen ($40 to $80 USD)! I was getting a whole sabazushi and from a restaurant that doesn’t even sell it. They only make it to give to good customers. Once again, I couldn’t believe my luck!

Sabazushi

Mr Tanigawa has praised sabazushi a lot when I consulted him about the soul of Kyoto cuisine because it is very ‘Kyoto’ — efficient, smart and refined. He rather made fun of ‘edomae’ nigiri sushi (from Tokyo). He said that it doesn’t take many smarts to make that, you simply cut up some fish, stick it on rice and dip it in soy sauce. Anyone can do that and it appeals to the unsophisticated. You see, Tokyo being uncultured isn’t anything new, that is the way it was — even 200 years ago!

Sabazushi on the other hand is not only food, it is a brilliant solution to a vexing design problem — how to get seafood to Kyoto 500 or even 1000 years ago. Sabazushi needs to pickle slightly, for a day or so — about the amount of time it took porters to walk to Kyoto from the sea. The flavors and fragrances of the bamboo sheath wrapping and the kombu covering, the ginger, vinegar and mackerel all mix and complexify. There is no waste with sabazushi, if you can’t eat it all today, that is fine. It will taste better tomorrow. The nigirizushi, from Tokyo will be spoiled the next day.

The Sabazushi Wrapping
Sabazushi is invariably wrapped in bamboo sheath and tied shut. A paper wrapping with the store name and logo usually covers the sabazushi. Here are some photos of what it looks like as sabazushi is unwrapped.

Sabazushi Wrapping

Sabazushi Wrapping – Unwrapping

Sabazushi Wrapping – Unwrapping

Sabazushi Wrapping – Unwrapping

This sabazushi is covered with kombu, not all is though. Mr Tanigawa recommends eating the kombu. I enjoyed it with the kombu attached and also removed. I especially liked eating just the kombu alone.

Sabazushi Served

The ginger in on a fresh sakura leaf. The ‘Kyoto’ approach is that just because the sakura have finished blooming that doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to enjoy it in seasonal and unexpected ways.

Sabazushi Served – detail

Just when you think that you have tried all the sushi in the world, you discover one in the very ‘un-sushi’ town of Kyoto that takes you aback! Sakurazushi, as made by Kichisen, is tai (sea bream) wrapped in salted sakura leaf. More than sublime!

Itadakimono: Recently Tanigawa-san at Kichisen has been bringing a lot of yummies, especially sushi for us to try. I just can’t believe my luck. He doesn’t like to see them appear on KyotoFoodie the next day, but with this one I knew that all you foodies around the world would have to hear about it!

Shiozakura is the salted sakura (cherry) leaf that is used for sakura mochi (sakura mochi ice cream) and here Tanigawa-san uses it to make Kyoto-style sushi. He said that the secret is to sprinkle the tai (sea bream) sashimi with salt, then put it in vinegar for a short time. Subtlety, complexity and surprise is the point. Atop the rice, where you would usually find wasabi in sushi, Tanigawa-san adds kinome (sprig of sansho). Two sakura leaves wrap the sushi which is garnished with a cherry petal fashioned from carrot.

Sakurazushi

Sakurazushi – Inside

Of course you don’t unwrap it when eating it, I just thought that I would show you what it looks like inside.

Sakurazushi – Inside

If you look carefully at the fish, in the middle of the sushi (lengthwise) you can see faint green, that is the kinome under the flesh.

Sakurazushi – Served

Verdant green maple leaf decorates the plate to suggest the season.

Eho is the direction of the god of fortune and happiness and she changes her direction every year. The ehomaki, rolled sushi, with 7 lucky ingredients, is eaten without pause or chatter while facing the auspicious direction of the year. We are hoping for an extra happy and prosperous year, so we bought a lunker ehomaki with 12 ingredients.

We hoped to buy our ehomaki this year from Hisago Sushi again, but they were sold out. Hisago, a very traditional Kyoto shinise makes an ehomaki (seen below) is not traditional in appearance but it tastes good and looks super funky. This year, we settled on a monster 12 ingredient sushi roll from an up-and-coming company in Osaka that we scored at Kyoto Takashimaya. It was pretty huge, so we cut it in half and split it. It was one of the tastiest sushi rolls I have ever eaten, with lots of fresh and yummy ingredients.

We also grilled some super-sized sardines. Miwa can’t future out why the demons don’t like sardines, they taste really good to us! (See this Setsubun article for more about demons, sardines and holly.)

Setsubun Dinner and Decoration

Setsubun 12 Ingredient Ehomaki

One half of this ehomaki KO’ed Miwa. I have great piks of her out on the floor, but she won’t allow me to post them. She claims that one half of this ehomaki was is equal to 6 bowls of rice. (Not even close.)

Origin of Ehomaki
There are two competing theories regarding the origin of ehomaki. One says that merchants in the late Edo and early Meiji eras Senba (a part of Osaka) ate this special makizushi at Setsubun hoping for a new year of prosperity. Therefore this custom is more common in the Kansai region, rather than Kanto. Another theory states that a samurai under Toyotomi Hideyoshi coincidentally ate makizushi at Setsubun the day before a battle and was victorious; it then quickly became a custom. Peko likes the merchant theory best.

Ehomaki Sushi Roll
Usually ehomaki has seven ingredients. Seven Gods of Fortune, also known as the Seven Lucky Gods 七福神, are the origin of this. Seven is considered the luckiest number in Japanese culture too. The usual ingredients include kampyo, shiitake, eel and egg. However, ehomaki can contain more ingredients. The metaphor of the roll is essential, ‘roll’ is the ‘maki’ in makizushi, and all that good fortune is rolled-up tight in the sushi roll.

How to Eat Ehomaki
The ehomaki custom requires that you face the eho, auspicious direction for the year, this year it was east by northeast, because that is the direction the the god of happiness and good fortune. The god is called Tokutoshijin.

So, you get your ehomaki, face the direction and eat the entire makizushi without stopping, eat quietly, don’t talk to anyone until everyone is finished and most importantly, make your wish for the new year. Some say that you should close your eyes while you eat too. Oh, and eat one whole roll yourself.

Marketing: The Death and Rebirth of Ehomaki
After WW2, eating ehomaki at Setsubun nearly disappeared in many regions, especially large cities. The nori (seaweed) union got together, planned a big promotional campaign and reintroduce the culinary culture to Japanese which they launched in 1973. It was obviously a big success.

Setsubun Mame Beans, Otafuku and Oni Masks

Setsubun Grilled Sardine with Hiiragi

‘Stinky’ grilled XL sized sardine, tastes great to us but the demons can’t stand it.

Last Year’s Ehomaki from Hisagozushi

The yellow makizushi from Hisago Zushi is now a legend in Kyoto, and has the oni demon branded on the egg roll. We waited in line again this year but were unable to purchase one. The makizushi to the right is the conventional ehomaki.

Links

KyotoFoodie Setsubun Articles
Setsubun Ehomaki, Mame-maki and Grilled Sardine (this one)
Setsubun Customs: Hiiragi Iwashi (Holly and Sardine Head)
(2008) Setsubun: The Day Before Spring, Demons, How to Eat Eho-Maki and Throw Your Beans

Seven Lucky Gods

Kyoto Ryokan: Kyoto Summer Hamo Cuisine at Gion Hatanaka – part 2 (鱧料理)

Hamo ryori is served! Hamo is served five different ways; sashimi, broth, sushi, tempura and grilled. While eating is essential to the ryokan experience, a ryokan is not a restaurant.

Everything in a ryokan is natural; the walls are earthen stucco, the floor is woven grass tatami mats, doors and screens are plain wood and paper, even the ceiling is wood. Artwork and flower arrangements are all seasonal and usually evoke the coming season.

The views outside are either into a well manicured garden that is a summary of the natural world, or in the case in a rural area, with a view focused on mountains, rivers, lakes, the sea and so on.

In this natural setting, the kaiseki meal is enjoyed. The meal itself is a work of art and has numerous references to nature, the seasons and even poetry.

Hatanaka Guest Room – Kaiseki Served with View of Garden

Before feasting our eyes on Hatanaka’s hamo kaiseki lunch, here is a bit about Japanese inns.

Ryokan (旅館)
Staying at a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan is, like much else in Japan, highly ritualized.

Upon arrival, guests are shown to their room and served tea and wagashi or senbei crackers usually with a small garden in view.

After relaxing a bit comes changing clothes. Guests change into more comfortable attire such as yukata, a light, cotton kimono, sometimes called a ‘summer kimono’. These are provided by the ryokan and usually have the ryokan‘s insignia or some local natural motif dyed on it.

Ofuro (お風呂)
Next comes a quick bath, or ofuro (お風呂). Ryokan are synonymous with not just eating, but also bathing and Japanese are bath aficionados.

Kaiseki Meal, Course After Course
Dinner is served in the room and is a procession of exquisite kaiseki courses that can easily last 2 hours!

After much eating and probably plenty of drink too, it is time for a long and relaxing soak in the bathtub.

An upscale ryokan will often have a private bath attached to each room. A large communal, segregated bath is usually the case with a more budget ryokan. Many ryokan offer both.

Hinokiburo (檜風呂)
Bathtubs are often made of hinoki (檜) wood, the Japanese cedar gives off a wonderful fragrance in the hot, steamy air of the bathroom. (note: Gion Hatanaka’s baths are made of koyamaki (高野槙) wood, which is said to be better than hinoki.)

When families stay together at a ryokan, it is not uncommon for the whole family to bath together.

Soap and shampoo is NEVER used in the bathtub. All washing is done before entering the bath, therefore the water can be used by several people. In Japanese homes water is sometimes used for several days and can be reheated every night with the push of a button. Also, bathing at night, rather than in the morning means cleaner bedding.

Onsen (温泉)
Many ryokan are located in mountain villages in onsen, or hot spring districts. Mineral rich boiling hot water naturally bubbles up from the ground in many of these areas. Japanese absolutely love onsen but Kyoto has no onsen. The water of Kyoto is still very good for bathing, never-the-less.

In an onsen village visitors often go out and walk around the village in their ryokan issued yukata after dinner and bathing in wooden clogs called geta (下駄). The unmistakable click-clack of wooden geta on the lanes can often be heard while finishing dinner. However, Kyoto is a large city and this is not usually done when staying at a Kyoto ryokan.

Hatanaka’s Ofuro and ‘Beauty’ Water
Hatanaka has both private baths attached to each room and a large communal bath. The water comes from deep underground and is the same water as Yasaka Shrine’s, called bijin-no-yu, literally ‘beautiful woman water’.

There is even a ‘bijin’ shrine inside Yasaka Shrine. This shrine is a popular destination for the maiko of Gion.

Hamo Kaiseki Lunch

Hatanaka’s Hamo Ryori Kaiseki

Tempura, sashimi and sushi ready to be served.

Hatanaka’s Hamo Ryori Kaiseki Served

The tables in the room is a traditional Japanese lacquer table. The black streaks are not painted on, they are a layer exposed from beneath the red that has been revealed by laborious polishing.

Hamo Otsukuri (Sashimi)

Of course, otsukuri (sashimi) is raw fish and hamo must be blanched, yet it is still called otsukuri and thought of as, served and eaten like sashimi. Notice that it is served on a bed of crushed ice with shiso leaf physically separating it from the ice. The other leaves and sea vegetables can be added to the shoyu prior to dipping the hamo.

Hamo Otsukuri and Dipping Sauces

On the left is a sauce made of umeboshi, pickled plum and on the right is shoyu.

Hamo Suimono (Soup)

The red spot on top of the hamo is also umeboshi paste.

Hamo Kyoto Vegetable Tempura

The long, golden brown piece of tempura is the eel spine, deep frying it makes it crunchy. It is called hone senbei, literally ‘bone cracker’. The hamo tempura is very white and under the hone senbei and red pepper.

Hamozushi (Hamo Sushi)

There are a lot of visual puns in traditional Japanese culture, here the sushi is served on a maple leaf shaped plate with a green maple leaf as decoration. Often, the coming season is hinted at, and of course, ‘maple’ means autumn in Japan.

Hatanaka Guest Room – Interior

Hatanaka Guest Room – View of Garden

Hatanaka Guest Room – Kaiseki Served with View of Garden

Very sorry: We did a video interview with chief chef Yoshihiko Yano while I sampled the dishes but the sound level turned out to be too low to use. Hopefully we can interview him again in the future.

English:
English website: yes
English speaking staff: yes
Location and Access: Located immediately south of Yasaka Shrine, about 3 minute walk from the intersection of Shijo Street and Higashi-oji Street in Gion.
Address: Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku Yasaka Jinja Minamimon Mae (京都市東山区祇園八坂神社南門前)
Telephone: 075-541-5315
Gion Hatanaka website
Map

View Larger Map

Disclosure: Paku was once employed by Gion Hatanaka Ryokan.

Kyoto Ryokan: Kyoto Summer Hamo Cuisine at Gion Hatanaka (鱧料理)

Mid-summer is the time for the most important festival in Kyoto, the Gion Festival. This festival is informally known as the Hamo Festival because the hamo, or conger pike eel is in season at this time.

Is the meat of the hamo especially tasty? No. But hamo is deeply loved in Kyoto and quite expensive.

We were kindly given an insiders view of the preparation of hamo ryori in the kitchen of one of Kyoto’s best ryokan, Gion Hatanaka by the owner Seiji Hatanaka and chief chef Yoshihiko Yano.

Fresh Seafood in Ancient Kyoto
The ancient capital of Kyoto is landlocked and of course it is a very, very rare Japanese that does not love to eat fish. With the seat of the government of the country in Kyoto, financial rewards to get fish to the capital market would be many.

Live Hamo in the Kitchen

Saba (Mackerel)
From the Sea of Japan, the Saba Kaido (Mackerel Highway) was developed to bring pickled mackerel sushi (sabazushi) to Kyoto. This was accomplished by porters literally carrying the carefully packaged sushi on their backs for several days along a ‘highway’ (foot path) through forests and mountains. (see this article for more about sabazushi)

Sabazushi is tasty and a longtime favorite, but live fish from the sea was another matter entirely.

Hamo (Conger Pike Eel)
The hamo is about as strong as it is ugly and this meant that it could survive several days journey to Kyoto in saltwater filled baskets — in midsummer. The hamo is a fighter, a survivor! When I see a hamo, I think, ‘kick boxer’ — industrial strength tough.

The best hamo come from the sea around Awaji Island and the Inland Sea. Hamo is said to taste best after the rainy season which lasts about one month and ends a few days before the Gion Festival’s climax parade of floats on July 17.

As fresh fish was expensive, the commoners that were able to afford fish mainly ate dried fish that had been preserved at the seaside then transported to Kyoto.

The other side of the story is the chefs of Kyoto.

The meat of the hamo is rather bland and the fish is bony to the extent that one wonders if there is a fish with more bones in all the seven seas. The trick is to use ones noggin to improve upon limited resources and this is of course the hallmark of the Japanese people.

Hamo on the Cutting Board

note: the hamo is dead before being pegged through the head, as opposed to being ‘pegged’ to death.

Cleaning the Hamo

Hamo Cleaned

The meat, guts and spine will all be used in hamo ryori, only the head will be discarded.

Bones
The bones of the hamo are situated and distributed throughout the flesh in such a way that removal is just not an option. Some fish, with small, soft and thin bones are eaten bones, head, guts, meat and all. The hamo bones are thick and heavy though, so, this is not feasible.

Chefs solved the problem by drawing upon Japan’s sword culture. A special purpose knife was developed for slicing the bones in the flesh so that it could be eaten. The goal of an adept chef is to put down 26 slices per 3 cm of hamo. That leaves each slice of flesh (and bone) about 1 mm in width! The hamo is 1-2 meters in length, so this involved a whole lot of cutting! This slicing technique is called honegiri in Japanese, literally ‘bone cutting’. (see video below)

Hamo Knife Comparison

The knife on the left is a sashimi knife and on the right is the hamo honegiri knife.

Hamo and Honegiri Knife

Hamo Honegiri

The meat and bones are sliced and the skin is left intact. The bones are substantial enough that slicing through them produces a very audible sound.

Hamo Honegiri

Hamo Honegiri

This is precision work for a skilled professional. The skin must be untouched by the knife.

Cutting the Hamo

Finally, the hamo is cut into bite sized pieces.

Variety of Flavors and Textures
Expert slicing takes care of the bones, next is how to deal with the unremarkable taste of the hamo flesh itself. The hamo flesh is a base to which other flavors and textures are layered upon. Variety is the strategy here.

Be sure to see the videos below for a look at the preparation techniques in detail.

Hatanaka’s Hamo Ryori Dishes
Otsukuri (sashimi) Hamo is not actually eaten raw, it is blanched, chilled and served in the manner of sashimi.
Suimono (soup) Hamo is dusted with kuzu (starch) and boiled and served in a delicate soup broth.
Hamoyaki Hamo is simply grilled with tare and salt and sesame.
Hamozushi Hamo is grilled with tare is pressed onto sushi rice.
Tempura Hamo and Kyoto vegetables are deep-fried. This includes honesenbei, the spine bone is deep-fried. Deep-frying it makes it edible. Very tasty!

Don’t miss our next article to see the meal served in one of Hatanaka’s beautiful rooms.

Hamozushi

Hamo grilled with tare sauce pressed onto sushi rice is a common sight in Kyoto in the summertime.

Video

Hamo Honegiri
The chief chef at Gion Hatanaka ryokan demonstrates how to make Kyoto’s much loved summer meals with hamo. Here he shows how the hamo bones are cut.

Hamozushi
Chief chef Yano demonstrates how to make hamozushi (hamo sushi).

Hamo Kuzutataki
Chief chef Yano meticulously dusts the hamo with kuzu starch and then gently boils it.

Hamotsukuri
Chief chef Yano makes hamotsukuri (hamo sashimi).

English:
English website: yes
English speaking staff: yes
Location and Access: Located immediately south of Yasaka Shrine, about 3 minute walk from the intersection of Shijo Street and Higashi-oji Street in Gion.
Address: Kyoto-shi Higashiyama-ku Yasaka Jinja Minamimon Mae (京都市東山区祇園八坂神社南門前)
Telephone: 075-541-5315
Gion Hatanaka website
Map

View Larger Map

Buri-zanmai Series (Part 3): Winter is the time for buri, or yellowtail. The meat is laden with oil and rich flavor. Here we make a quick and simple rice dish, Buri Sashimi and Shiso Donburi.

Buri Sashimi and Shiso Donburi:
Donburi is a popular ‘rice bowl’ dish in Japan. Here we make a decidedly nouveau, winter-themed donburi. Just fresh buri sashimi, finely chopped shiso leaves, shoyu, wasabi and a squeeze of sudachi all on a bed of warm rice makes this a quick and healthy meal!

Ingredients:

• buri (yellowtail) sashimi
• shiso leaf (10-15 per serving)
• shoyu
• wasabi
• sudachi

＊As with all home cooking recipes here on KyotoFoodie, we trust that our readers are fellow foodies and will be able to ‘wing’ the recipe and even alter and improve it.

Rice: Cook as usual for white rice. For a serving of two, use about one and a half cups of rice. Try to use Japanese-style short grain rice, ‘California rice’ is just fine.

Add dried kombu or sake for additional flavor.

We like mugi-gohan for this dish too. Add half a cup of pressed oats (oshi-mugi) if you like.

Preparation:
Preparation for this dish is quite simple. While the rice is cooking, the other ingredients can easily be prepared.

Shiso: Wash the shiso leaves and chop finely.
Wasabi and Shoyu: Grind fresh wasabi root if available. If not, use preserved wasabi paste. Mix wasabi paste with shoyu.
Sudachi: If fresh sudachi is available, simply cut in half and remove seeds.

Serve: Serve the rice in a large ‘donburi‘ style bowl and allow to cool somewhat for 1 to 2 minutes. Place the chopped shiso atop the rice. On the bed of shiso, place the sliced buri sashimi. Spoon on about 2 tablespoons of wasabi-shoyu over to the sashimi. Next squeeze on half a sudachi. If not obtainable, lime or lemon is a fine substitute. Bottled sudachi juice is also fine.

Enjoy!

Buri Sashimi and Shiso Donburi — Served

Buri Sashimi and Shiso Donburi — chopping Shiso