Otokomae Tofu Products

Otokomae Tofu is a company based in Kyoto prefecture that burst onto the supermarket shelves several years ago and is by all accounts a runaway success. The company name is very unusual, ‘otokomae’ means handsome or good-looking. (You will no doubt notice the character ‘男’ all over the packaging and even on the tofu itself, in some cases, ‘男’ means ‘man’.) Think of a tofu company in the English-speaking world called Handsome Guy Tofu. It is an ironic name in a country the traditionally displays little or no irony in public life and commerce. This brand name has helped the company score some marketing and PR points, I think. However, Otokomae Tofu makes the very best tofu that I have eaten. There are some famous old tofu shops in Kyoto, Morika and so on, and their tofu is very good but I don’t see the same quality among such a variety of products. So, I really like Otokomae Tofu and eat it at home a lot. Most supermarkets stock at least some of their products. They are a bit more expensive that other tofu, but the extra cost is well worth it, especially if you like tofu. The other day I bought a package of the cheapest tofu I could find in the supermarket, about 90 yen and it was indeed flavorless compared to Otokomae Tofu. Several of Otokomae Tofu’s products are so rich and creamy that they can just be eaten like ice cream or yogurt, right out of the package with no soy sauce or garnish.

Otokomae Tofu has an impressive line-up of products and I think I have tried them all, except for some minor seasonal ones. Here is a selection of what I like and also what is generally available at larger supermarkets in Japan. First, my favorites:

Fav 1: Purveyors to Nabe Gourmands: Otokomae Tofu 男前豆腐
This is Otokomae Tofu’s first product, the recipe that literally made the company and brought the founder to Kyoto. The specially developed package contributes to the unique taste and very dense texture. This tofu is very handmade looking and is not the usual square block. It is wrapped in gauze-like fabric and the package has a water trap at the bottom so it is well-drained of water when opened. This keeps the tofu damp and fresh but removes excess water.

The fragrance is fruity and the richness of taste is created with plenty of premium soybeans from Hokkaido. This tofu was made for nabe and sukiyaki. In fact you will notice the vertical red stripe on the right side of the package that reads 鍋将軍御用達 (nabe shogun goyotachi). If you have seen the film or read the book Shogun, you will know that this means military general. Nabe shogun or yakiniku shogun is a term used for someone who feels compelled to do all the cooking when having nabe or yakiniku with friends or family. (I am one of these slightly compulsive, perfectionist types.) Goyotachi means to be a purveyor of goods, usually culinary related, to the Imperial Household. Many confectionaries in Kyoto boast this inscription their noren curtain or shop interior. This ironic populism illustrates more of Otokomae Tofu’s clever humor sense and marketing acumen.

Otokomae Tofu (男前豆腐)

Otokomae Tofu Package Detail - Notice the Water Trap at the Bottom (男前豆腐)@

Otokomae Tofu After Unwrapping

Fav 2: Otokomae Aburaage 男前油揚げ
Aburaage is tofu that has been sliced thin and deep-fried. Aburaage can be used in soups and takikomi gohan. Aburaage is usually light and airy due to the deep-frying process. Otokomae Tofu’s aburaage is impossibly dense and heavy, with an equally dense and robust soy taste.

Aburaage can be used in many quick and healthy Japanese dishes such as soup, stir fry, takikomi-gohan and so on. (Aburaage recently appeared on KF in this okowa recipe and this niku jaga recipe.) I think that it can be easily adapted into Western cuisine quite well and could appeal to people that aren’t big tofu fans.

Otokomae Tofu’s aburaage is surely the best aburaage that I have encountered. If you can get your hands on some, I think you are sure to be pleased!

Otokomae Aburaage

Fav 3: Creme Fraiche Tofu? Oh yes! Meet, ‘Johnny’ 風に吹かれて豆腐屋ジョニー
This is the Otokomae Tofu’s second product and probably their most well-known. ‘Johnny’, or properly, ‘Wind Blown Tofu Shop, Johnny’ is a tofu product without peer on the supermarket shelves, both in terms of taste and image.

 ‘Johnny’ in a package shaped like a surfboard, the barcode for the product is a wave with a surfer riding it! (see photo below) This is the first Japanese tofu to sport a Western man’s name as the product name. (Tofu products named with Japanese mens’ names con be found in Japan.)

Otokomae Tofu’s founder told me that this tofu has become such an iconic product that some Japanese children think that ‘Johnny’ means tofu and don’t use the word ‘tofu’ when telling their parents what they want to eat!

Now, when I think of kids and their favorite food, I have to admit that I don’t think of tofu. Kids want ice cream, right? Remarkably I sometimes find myself sitting on the kitchen floor eating this tofu right out of the package with a spoon and no soy sauce or other flavoring. This tofu is impossibly rich and creamy, it coats the palette and the taste lingers like ice cream. The taste, consistency and texture reminded me of creme fraiche, only with a ‘soybeany’ taste. If you didn’t know it were tofu, you might not realize it when encountering ‘Johnny’ for the first time.

Johnny: Surfboard Shaped Tofu Package

Johnny Package Detail: With Surfer 'Design Barcode'

Johnny Package Detail: Surfboard Shaped Tofu Package

Fav Package Design: Nippon Danji 日本男児
Nippon danji is the name of this tofu and it is a silky soft tofu intended for yudofu (tofu hot-pot). Nippon danji expresses the qualities in the ideal man and is based on bushido, or the samurai spirit. The Japanese notion of masculinity includes the following values:

・to always takes full responsibility for his actions (no excuses)
・to always do what he says he will do (no need to make promises)
・to not complain (not be weak)
・to protect his family, society and country
・to never betray another

Interestingly this tofu package features a bare-chested guy drinking directly from a huge bottle of sake. There is nothing like this on the supermarket shelves!

Manly Silky-soft Tofu Nippon Danji Package

While hard drinking isn’t ‘officially’ a part of Nippon danji, it is said that the men of Kyushu are the most masculine men in Japan and that they are in general avid drinkers. Japan’s strongest alcoholic beverage, shochu comes from Kyushu. (However, I think the — official or unofficial — hardest drinkers in Japan are from Kochi Prefecture in Shikoku.)

Sake bottles in Japan come in two main sizes; 72o㎖ and 1.8ℓ. The guy in the picture is drinking from the 1.8ℓ bottle!

Thanks to this package design, I suppose the day is now coming when a tofu package will include a parental advisory!

Manly Silky-soft Tofu Nippon Danji Package - detail

Tagline (bottom): 本物の男前はあなたを裏切ったりしない。Honmono no otokomae wa anata wo uragittari shinai.
Meaning: A real man would never disappoint you.

Tofu, that makes a statement!

Some Other Popular Otokomae Tofu Products
Here are a few other products that you ought to be able to find in most large grocery stores in Japan.

Product: Masahiro Yudofu
This is tofu for yudofu, simmering in broth. The face on this package is that of the man who actually makes this tofu in the Otokomae factory. The underside of the plastic package has a 男 character which impresses the character into the tofu which makes for an attractive presentation.

Masahiro: Masahiro is the name of the man on the production line that makes this tofu.

Masahiro: Attention to Detail

Product: Atsuage Fujiyama 厚揚げフジヤマ
Atsuage is tofu that has been deep-fried, but unlike aburaage it has not been cut thin before deep-frying. Atsuage tofu is great in soups and nabe. When I do sukiyaki, I often use atsuage instead of regular tofu.

These come in triangular pieces, hence the reference to Mount Fuji in the product name.

Atsuage Mount Fuji

Product: Otokomae Kinudofu 男前絹豆腐
Kinu is silk in Japanese and the softest tofu is called kinogoshi: silken tofu. This product is Kyoto-style, extra soft and only available in winter.

Otokomae Kyoto-style Silken Tofu, Limited Edition for Winter

Where to Buy Otokomae Tofu Outside of Japan
Currently Otokomae Tofu is available in limited quantity in the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore. Visit Otokomae Tofu’s Facebook page for the up-to-date list.

United States
California
Mitsuwa Marketplace
21515 Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
TEL: (310) 782-0335

Mitsuwa Marketplace
3760 Centinela Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
TEL: (310) 398-2113

Mitsuwa Marketplace
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd. #119
San Diego, CA 92111
TEL: (858) 569-6699

Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA
TEL:(714) 557-6699

Mitsuwa Marketplace
675 Saratoga Ave.
San Jose, CA 95129
TEL: (408) 255-6699

New York
Katagiri & Co., Inc.
224 E 59th Street
New York, NY 10022
TEL: (212) 755-3566

Sunrise Mart (SoHo)
494 Broome Street
New York, NY 10012
TEL: (212) 219-0033

Sunrise Mart (East Village)
4 Stuyvesant Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003
TEL: (212) 598-3040

Dainobu (Midtown)
129 E 47th Street
New York, NY 10017
TEL: (212) 755-7380

Daido Japanese Market
522 Mamaroneck Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605
TEL: (914) 683-6735

Nara Japanese Foods
169 Main Street
Port Washington, NY 11050
TEL: (516) 883-1836

New Jersey
Mitsuwa Marketplace
595 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020
TEL: (201) 941-9113

Chicago
Mitsuwa Marketplace
100 E. Algonquin Road
Arlington Hts., IL 60005
TEL: (847) 956-6699

Hawaii
Marukai Wholesale Mart
2310 Kamehameha Hwy,
Honolulu, HI 96819-4531
Phone: (808) 845-5051

Don Quijote
801 Kaheka Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
TEL: 808-973-4800

Hong Kong
Hong Kong Apita (Uny)
Cityplaza2
18 Taikoo Shing Rd.
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
TEL: 852 2885 0331

Singapore
Isetan Singapore
435 Orchard Road
Singapore 238877
Singapore
TEL: 65 6733 7777

Links and Reference
Otokomae Tofu’s English Facebook Page
Otokomae Tofu’s Japanese Website

Hondo Miso doesn’t just make traditional things, a real shinise is said to develop with the times. Honda Miso now offers an ‘instant’ type miso soup that is quick and easy to make and does have the refined taste of Kyoto. It is called Ichi Wan, which literally means ‘one bowl’, because it makes just one serving of miso soup. I don’t usually go for instant foods but this looked like it could be a winner and it is from Honda Miso so I gave it a try.

Ichiwan Miso Soup Package

Honda Miso Ichiwan Miso Soup 本田味噌本店 一わんみそ汁 油揚げ
Honda Miso’ Ichiwan Miso Soup comes in three flavors and I chose abura age which means deep fried tofu. The shell looks like monaka as in this article but it is made from fu, which is wheat gluten. Inside is Kyoto-style sweet white miso, abura age and daikon radish, these ingredients are freeze dried and reconstitute immediately upon application of hot water.

Fu is a common ingredient in Kyoto cuisine and was popularized by Buddhist monks in centuries past.

How To Make Ichiwan Miso
1. Unwrap
2. Break apart dried wheat gluten ‘fu’ shell
3. Pour on hot water
4. Allow to reconstitute (I waited about 1 minute)
5. Stir a bit and enjoy

Ichiwan Miso Soup Unwrapped - Perhaps a Bit Bland to the Eye and Senses

Ichiwan Miso Soup Broken Apart in the Bowl

Ichiwan Miso Soup Served

Ichiwan Miso Soup - Fu, Daikon and Agedofu

How did it taste?
The taste is the classic Kyoto-style sweet miso soup but I was struck by the variety of textures. The fu is very soft and gooey, the abura age is spongy and chewy and the daikon slivers are quite crunchy and chewy. I was really impressed with the taste and especially the textures. In addition to being quick and convenient, it was fun to make and eat!

My only criticism, as someone that has designed and developed a few products is that after the shell is broken apart and reconstituted, the shapes of the chunks of fu are unpleasant to the eye. This wouldn’t pass muster as Kyoto-style. I removed a few particularly uneven shaped and large pieces of fu before I took the photos above. Sorry, I cheated. I think that what they need to do is to score or perforate the fu somehow so that it breaks into more regular or square shaped pieces. That would make it ‘Kyoto’ and that would be quite a feat for instant soup but with a little Japanese kaizen, I am sure they can perfect the design!

Honda Miso Honten Retail Store (本田味噌本店)

This is the entrance to Honda Miso, it is about a 3 minute walk from the Imperial Palace.

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Map to Honda Miso Honten

View OpenKyoto/KyotoFoodie Map in a larger map

This meibutsu tsukmono is from Kamekura a shinise in Kameoka, a small and quaint town west of Kyoto. Kamekura is perhaps best known for its senmaizuke, a Kyoto winter favorite and favorite omiyage for visitors to the ancient capital.

Chrysanthemum Turnip Tsukemono Package

Kiku Kabura (Chrysanthemum Turnip) from Kamekura  亀蔵の菊かぶら
The white flesh of the turnip is meticulously cut to simulate the thin petals of a chrysanthemum flower and naturally dyed yellow with gardenia seeds, called kuchinashi in Japanese. The greens of the turnip are used as the leaves of the chrysanthemum. These are both pickled in a sweet brine. I was surprised at the sweetness of this pickle, but some tsukemono can be quite sweet, especially in Kyoto.

How to Eat
Like all tsukemono, this goes especially well with rice and generally as a side dish to the whole meal. Drinkers may enjoy tsukemono with beer, sake, shochu, wine, etc. However, tsukemono that goes well with drink is usually saltier than sweeter.

Chrysanthemum Turnip Tsukemono

Kabura Turnip Starts Out Looking Like This

Chrysanthemum: Not quite the right variety, but I will keep looking for the right flower.

Chrysanthemum Turnip Tsukemono - detail

Chrysanthemum Turnip Tsukemono - 'Bottom' of the Turnip

Chrysanthemum Turnip Tsukemono - 'Top' of the Turnip

Chrysanthemum Turnip Tsukemono - Served

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There are a number of ways that the pod may be cooked and eaten including grilled, sauteed and tempura. The pod is pleasantly bitter and cooking takes the bite off the bitterness. We sauteed ours in miso which is a perfect contrast to the bitterness of the pod. (This is not Kyoto cuisine.)

Washed and Sliced Akebi Pod

Miso Sauteed Akebi (Miso Itame) あけび みそ炒め
Miso itame is a common way to saute vegetables in Japan. First the vegetable is sauteed with oil then a mixture of ryorishu (cooking sake), shoyu, mirin, sugar and miso is added and sauteed for a few more minutes. Miso itame is a very tasty, quick and versatile dish that combines the taste of sweet, pungent (miso) and salty.

Ripened and Opened Akebi

Recipe for Akebi Miso Itame あけび みそ炒め

Ingredients

• 1 akebi pod (inner fruit removed)
• 2 tablespoons oil (sesame oil is nice)
• 1-2 teaspoon miso paste (same as for miso soup)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons of ryorishu (cooking sake or sake)
• shiso leaf (fresh green shiso leaf) optional

I used at least 2 teaspoons of Kansai-style sweet miso paste which is light in color. Tohoku style miso is red and saltier and you might want to go easy on the amount if you are using that style of miso. Adjust amount based on the kind of miso you are using and of course your taste.

Preparation
If you would like to remove some of the bitterness you can soak the pod halves or slices in warm water for 30 to 60 minutes. Pat dry before sauteing.

Mix all the liquid ingredients together in a bowl, dissolving the miso paste and sugar.

Heat a fry pan and add several tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add sliced akebi pod and saute covered until akebi softens, this should take about 2 minutes.

Pour in liquid ingredients, reduce heat and simmer down until little liquid remains. This should take 1 to 2 minutes. Due to the high sugar content, the mixture will quickly burn – don’t allow that to happen. Once the liquid has been reduced, serve on a plate and garnish with chopped shiso leaf.

Washed and Sliced Akebi Pod

Akebi Pod Miso Itame

Akebi Pod Miso Itame

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Home Cooking: Kyoto-style Sweet Potato (Sui-to Poteto) with Cinnamon

Classic Modern Japanese Sweet: Sui-to Poteto
Sui-to Poteto is a classic that was invented in 1949 by Matsuzo Inoue, the patisserie at the exclusive Imperial (Teikoku) Hotel in Tokyo. Though he was based in Tokyo, his philosophy about food seems informed by Kyoto’s culinary culture; select quality and seasonal ingredients and endeavor to bring out the taste of the ingredients. Chef Inoue’s creation can now be found in confectionaries and bakeries all over Japan.

The sweet potato came to Japan some 300 years ago and is now a very common ingredient in many wagashi confections. (See below for details.)

Kyoto Cinnamon Omiyage: Yatsuhashi
Cinnamon came to Japan in the 8th century. At that time cinnamon was considered more a medicine than a spice. It was used to cure stomach aches, fever, improve blood circulation and warm the body. Yatsuhashi is Kyoto’s ubiquitous confection, it is omiyage, or souvenir. Yatsuhashi comes in numerous variaties but is invariably mochi, either fresh or baked, that has been flavored with cinnamon. There are countless companies and stores in Kyoto that make and sell yatsuhashi, at least three have been in business for more than 300 years!

Therefore, we added cinnamon to our sui-to poteto to make it Kyoto-style.

Japanese ‘Satsuma Imo’ Sweet Potato

Steaming Satsuma Imo

Mashing with Butter

Mixing in Cinnamon

Kyoto-style ‘Sui-to Poteto’ Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes (about 500 grams total)
• 6 tablespoons sugar (we like natural brown sugar)
• 30 grams butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 egg yolk (one for potato mixture one for glaze)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt (if desired)
• sesame seeds

＊Our measurements are approximate and we assume that our readers are foodies, so please taste along the way and adjust as you see fit.

point: To be Kyoto-style the final product should not be too sweet and the cinnamon should not overpower any of the other tastes. You want to bring out the natural taste of the sweet potato, enhance it with sweetness and richness. The cinnamon should be the grab your attention immediately but be the finish. Complexity and subtlety is the point, but by no means be dull!

Preparation
Wash the sweet potatoes. Cut into 2 cm thick slices. Steam gently for 0ver low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Place in mixing bowl and remove skins after the slices have cooled enough to touch. It is important to gently steam the sweet potatoes at a relatively low temperature as this will increase the natural sweetness of the potatoes. (Best not to cheat and use the microwave!)

Mashing and mixing by hand, stir in butter and sugar. (A mixer can be used but we liked ours with a little chunkiness left. See last photo below for interior detail.) Mix in egg yolk and milk. Taste and add sugar and/or butter if needed. Stir in half the cinnamon and taste. Add remaining cinnamon as needed.

Gently form into roughly ping pong sized balls. Squeeze chakin shibori style if you like. Simply use damp muslin or similar cloth for this and rinse occasionally.

Brush on egg yolk glaze and add several sesame seeds on top. The second time we made this, I used white sesame seeds for some and sprinkled sugar on others.

Cook for 15 minutes in oven with broiler at 200 c or oven toaster. We tried both and definitely liked the oven toaster sui-to poteto best. You aren’t really cooking it through and through like a chocolate chip cookie, just getting it hot and browning the top.

Chakin Shibori – Twist and Squeeze in Muslin Cloth

Chakin shibori (茶巾絞り) is used to shape many wagashi confections.

Chakin Shibori Formed Sui-to Poteto

Notice the delicate texture imparted to the raw ‘sui-to poteto’ from the chakin cloth.

Egg Yolk and Black Sesame Seeds

Baking Sui-to Poteto

Sui-to Poteto – Served

Sui-to Poteto and Milk

Sui-to Poteto – detail

Sweet Potatoes in Japanese Culinary Culture
Sweet potatoes are more ubiquitous in Japan than you might imagined. They are used in all sorts of dishes, especially confections. Sweet potatoes came to Japan from South America through Southeast Asia, China and the Ryukyu Kingdom, present-day Okinawa and landed in Kyushu about 300 years ago.

Production of satsuma imo soon flourished on the southern tip of Japan (called Satsuma then) because of the volcanic soil and hot climate. Kyushu’s famed imo-jochu, the shochu distilled alcohol of the region, is made from these same sweet potatoes. Farther north in Japan wheat and rice is used.

Production of sweet potatoes was limited to the Satsuma region for some time until a horrible famine swept Japan. The people in present-day Kagoshima and Nagasaki prefectures fared significantly better than other areas because they had an abundant supply of rich and hardy sweet potatoes. After the famine, satsuma imo production was promoted by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Tokyo and quickly spread throughout the country.

from KyotoFoodie article Satsuma Imo (Sweet Potato) Caramel

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Donabe Takenoko Gohan (Bamboo Shoot Rice Cooked in Donabe) 土鍋竹の子ご飯
The variations of takenoko-gohan are many, I made this with chicken thigh. Shiitake mushroom is another popular ingredient. Using just takenoko is also very common and perhaps the most ‘Kyoto’ way to make this dish as it is simple, straight forward and focuses just on the taste of the natural, seasonal ingredients.

See ‘How To’ below and this KyotoFoodie article on How to Cook Fresh Bamboo Shoots.
・How to Cook Rice in a Donabe
・Takenoko Gohan Recipe (Bamboo Shoot Rice)

Precooked Takenoko

Simmering in Dashi Broth
Note the dashi pack on the upper right.

Simmering with Chicken
The amount of dashi has cooked down to about half. Ideally this will be the amount of liquid needed to cook the rice in.

Before: In Donabe with Atsuage Tofu and Kombu Added

After: Done Cooking, Ready to Enjoy

Donabe and Takenoko Gohan Served

Takenoko Gohan – detail

How to Cook Rice in a Donabe

Water to Rice Ratio
For donabe, the main point is the ratio of liquid to rice. More water is needed than for a modern, electric rice cooker. The ratio is very simple though; use the same volume of water as rice. (If you add dashi, cooking sake etc to the rice, count that as part of the water.) Some say that you should calculate this after you have thoroughly washed the rice as it will absorb some water and swell a little bit.

Heat and Cooking Time
Cook for 7-8 minutes and allow to sit for 10 minutes after removing heat.

A donabe is very thick and heavy and can take 5 minutes or so to bring to a boil. After it begins to boil, reduce heat. Every donabe is different so you need to learn the unique characteristics of yours. If you cover the donabe immediately after turning down the heat it might boil over immediately. Not all do though, it depends of the shape, thickness of the walls and whether or not it contains a small hole in the cover to release steam.

So, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for another 7 or 8 minutes.

Then, remove heat and allow to sit for another 10 minutes. As the donabe is very thick, even once you remove the heat, it will just keep on cooking for several minutes as though the gas were still on.

DO NOT remove the lid during these 18 or so minutes.

One of the delightful things about cooking in a donabe is that the rice at the bottom of the pot will burn, or caramelize slightly. This is considered good, and is called koge in Japanese. However, if it smells burned, remove heat immediately. If it does burn, don’t worry, you will likely just have lost the bottom few millimeters of your dinner.

If the donabe has a steam release hole, this will make it much easier to understand what is happening inside the donabe. Once there is no more steam escaping, dinner is done. At this point if you remove the heat, dinner ought to be perfect. Just a slight koge at the bottom, but not burned.

In Japan, newer gas ranges have a sensor that magically senses when the rice is done and automatically turns off. That is really totally awesome. My current gas range doesn’t have the sensor and my dobabe doesn’t have the steam release hole.

＊Again, each donabe design is different, so cooking times cannot be standardized. You will have to find the ‘Zen of Rice Cooking’ for the particular donabe that you have. Even the season and the freshness of the rice influences how much water will be required. Shinmai, or ‘new rice’ has more water content.

Takenoko Gohan Recipe (Bamboo Shoot Rice)

• 3 cups or rice (I use a combination of lightly milled brown rice, white rice and oshi-mugi, or pressed oats)
• 5-6 cups of dashi
• 2-3 cups of sliced (precooked) bamboo shoot
• 1-2 cups of chicken thigh, with skin
• atsuage toru (deep fried tofu)
• cooking sake
• mirin
• shoyu
• kombu
• ki-no-me (sansho pepper plant leaves)

This is my recipe. I start with 5 or 6 cups of water and bring to boil and add ‘dashi pack’. See photo, it’s the tea bag looking thing. Of course dashi powder or concentrate is available, but if you use a dashi pack with natural ingredients, the taste will be completely superior.

Add the sliced bamboo shoot and bring to boil. If you are using canned or packaged bamboo shoot you can probably add the chicken right away, but I did my takenoko fresh today and it was still somewhat bitter after I ‘precooked’ it, so I boiled it alone in the dashi for about 20 minutes then added the chicken.

I simmered the takenoko and chicken in the dashi for about an hour total, until the amount of liquid had been reduced to about half.

I put about half cup of cooking sake (OK, probably a whole cup) in the donabe, added the rice after washing it and then measured out the required amount of dashi, which came to be all I had left. On top of this, I add the bamboo, chicken, sliced atsuage tofu and a few pieces of kombu. Finally one tablespoon each of mirin and shoyu. (If you can’t obtain mirin, you can skip it completely or add a tiny bit of sugar.)

Cover and cook as shown above.

After cooking (and sitting 10 minutes) turn over gently with a rice paddle or similar utensil, mixing the ingredients in the donabe. Re-cover for several minutes and then serve in a large bowl and garnish with ki-no-me (sansho pepper leaf) if you can obtain it.

Of course, this dish can be cooked in a conventional rice cooker or metal pot.

How to Cook Fresh Bamboo Shoots (Takenoko Akunuki) 竹の子のアクぬき
The western foothills of Kyoto produce several variety of bamboo shoots that are much sought after for various culinary delights.

I have had fresh bamboo shoots a few times this year but hadn’t made it myself yet. This afternoon I bought two small and tender looking shoots.

Removing the bitter, acrid taste is easily accomplished with boiling for about 90 minutes. This is called akunuki. The trick is to boil it with nuka, or rice bran. This is the same nuka that is used to make nukazuke pickles (of which I am a devotee of).

Asahori Takenoko (Morning Dug Bamboo Shoots)

The Takenoko ‘Precook’ Preparation Recipe
One kg of nuka (rice bran powder) for every kg of takenoko. (In Japan rice bran can usually be obtained free from any rice shop. Also, not every species of bamboo shoot is edible.) See photos below for complete process.

• Wash loose dirt from takenoko.
• Peel away several of the thickest, outer sheaths
• Cut tip off and make several slices a few mm deep vertically into the sheet covering.
• Add takenoko and nuka to large pot of water. You can throw in several dried chilies too. (I highly doubt that this accomplishes anything.)
• Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat and boil for 90 minutes.
• Remove heat and allow to sit for about 2 hours.
• After cooking, remove sheaths carefully, one by one.

If you are not going to cook immediately, bamboo shoots will keep in the refrigerator for week or so in water. Change water everyday. (This will also help to leach out additional bitterness.)

I made takenoko gohan (rice with bamboo shoot) with these, the KyotoFoodie article is here.

Nuka (Rice Bran)

Ready to Boil: Takenoko Tips Trimmed and Sheaths Split

Takenoko in Water with Chilies

Nuka Added

Starting to Boil

Boiling Takenoko

Boiling Takenoko

Finished: Boiled Takenoko

Removed from Pot

Peeling Away Sheath Covering

Cleaned Takenoko

Takenoko Ready for Cooking

Note: I sliced these horizontal, like a gaijin. More Japanese would be to slice vertically, as it will be more beautiful.

Homemade nukazuke is turning out to be one of my all time favorite foodie discoveries! I cannot stop! I have been pickling springtime vegetables like kokabura (baby turnip), uri and nanohana (rape blossom) in my nuka pot the last few weeks and having great fun.

Here is another in our Nukazuka Report series.

In case you have not seen any of our previous nukazuke articles, nukadoko is a pickling bed made of rice bran and salt that is allowed to ferment and is used to pickle all sorts of seasonal vegetables in Japan. Nukazuke has a lot of vitamins and nutritional value provided by the rice bran.

Traditionally every household in Japan had a nuka pot or barrel. Nukazuke does not taste particularly exotic or ‘Japanese’. If you like fresh vegetables and you like fermented food, you would probably enjoy nukazuke.

Once fermenting, the nukadoko (pickling bed) is a combination of two distinct smells; a pungent, fruity fragrance reminiscent of yogurt and a big, earthy smell similar to pipe tobacco. Before fermenting, it just smells like you might expect rice bran to smell. However, once fermented it is transformed!

Vegetables can be lightly fermented in a day or so, or heavily fermented in 5 to 7 days. Higher air temperature increases the pace of fermentation.

Springtime Nanohana

Green, fresh and pleasantly bitter!

Nanohana
Nanohana is the blossom of the rape plant. Nanohana is a very popular vegetable in Kyoto and is in season from late winter to late spring. To me, it signals the coming end of winter. Nanohana can simply be steamed, be added to soups and stews, can be deep-fried for tempura and of course be pickled. Nanohana is often pickled in salt, miso and of course nuka.

Nanohana is rather bitter and this combined with the pungent ferment punch of nuka is quite unlike any other taste I have encountered. I found that I like nanohana pickled in nuka for about 5 days, on average, that is probably a bit long. It gets very sour and pungent but the bitterness of the nanohana is retained. Fermented this long, the ‘fresh veggie-ness’ of the nanohana is gone though.

Springtime Nanohana

Covering Nanohana in Nuka

Covering Nanohana in Nuka

Covering Nanohana in Nuka

Covering Nanohana in Nuka – Finished

Several Days Later

Turning the Nanohana and Nuka

Several Days Later – Done

Removing Nanohana from Nuka

Nanohana Nukazuke – Ready to Wash

Nanohana Nukazuke – Washing Off the Nuka

Rescued Nuka

This is how much nuka could go to waste. I strained the rinse water through a cloth to capture the nuka. Nanohana being very leafy, a lot of nuka gets stuck to the greens that cannot simply be brushed off by hand. By contrast, the nuka on cucumbers, carrots and so on can easily be wiped back into the nuka pot when removing them.

Three Kinds of Tsukemono and Rice

Three Kinds of Tsukemono – Nanohana and Uri

The uri on the right, the brighter green three slices are asazuke, lightly pickled with salt.

Nukazuke Report: Our nukadoko pickling bed started to get pungent, I knew it was time to pickle our first vegetables. I chose hinona, a traditional vegetable from neighboring Shiga prefecture. It is a very long and narrow turnip.

We hadn’t cooked hinona before but it is a common sight in Kyoto in the winter. Usually it is pickled in sweetened vinegar. I want to say that I have had it as Narazuke some years ago, but I maybe wrong.

Hinona is quite long so I softened them up with some salt first to get them to bend enough to fit in our pickle pot. I just washed them well and then sprinkled some salt on them and let them sit for about an hour.

Of ocurse, all the greens are pickled and eaten as well.

Hinona Turnip

Hinona Turnip Detail

This is a very beautiful veggie and I am interested in learning other ways to cook it.

Day One: Burying the Vegetables

Bury Vegetable in Nuka

Bury Vegetable in Nuka

Bury Vegetable in Nuka

Day Two: Mixing and Turning the Nukadoko
Mixing and turning the nukadoko is essential to prevent spoilage. It is required everyday. It takes less than a minute.

Mixing and Turning the Nukadoko

Mixing and Turning the Nukadoko

Pressing Down the Nukadoko

We are trying to figure out the Zen of Nukazuke and will post articles from time to time on our progress.

Nukazuke Report: Our nukadoko is coming along well. The season is cold now so fermenting took some time. I added half a can of Japan’s best beer: Yona Yona Ale and kept the pickle pot warmish for a few days. We added a lot of turnip greens, not to eat but to add some germs and tasty veggie moisture content. After about a week of loving care, our nukadoko is going strong!

I am pulling up my sleeves and mixing the fermenting nukadoko around twice a day. It is great fun and just takes a minute. It is essential to mix nukadoko everyday, or it will spoil.

Miwa scored a nice enamel tsukemono pot on a Yahoo auction which we transferred our nukadoko to.

Adding Yona Yona Ale

Notice the partially exposed kombu.

Mixing Nuka, Adding Greens for ‘Juice’ and Germs

We had a lot of turnip greens whose turnips we are using for an amazing article on ‘turnip sushi’ (coming soon), we added these not to eat, although you can, for ‘juice and germs’ but you can use most any veggie that you have. This is a good way to put old veggies to use. Most people don’t eat the first few rounds of nukazuke though, this is to get the nukadoko up and fermenting and to start adding some taste to it.

Moving Nuka to New Nukazuke Pot

Mixing Nuka

Greens Added to Nuka

Pressing Down the Nuka

I added half a can of beer another day to help the ferment along.

Adding Beer to Promote Fermentation

We have some favorite shops in Kyoto for nukazuke tsukemono pickles but really wanted to be able to make our own at home. Traditionally every household in Japan made their own pickles, still many do. Nukazuke is quick and easy to make once you have a pickling pot full of fermenting ‘nukadoko‘ pickling bed. Just add some seasonal vegetables to the wet, salted rice bran powder and in a few days you will have some tasty, healthy pickles. Of course, it is fun too. With the passing of months and years your nukadoko will develop its own unique character and taste.

Nuzazuke is one of the Japanese culinary traditions that I would especially like to see adopted and spread abroad. It doesn’t taste particularly ‘Japanese’ or exotic, its just fresh, pungent veggies.

How to Make Nukadoko (Pickling Bed)

Nukazuke is quite simple to make provided that you can obtain the nuka (rice bran powder), which is a byproduct of milling brown rice into white rice. Other grain bran has been found to work abroad but we haven’t tried it. As Japanese style short grain white rice and brown rice is widely available, even cultivated abroad, you ought to be able to get a hold of nuka. In Japan you can get it free from rice shops.

Nuka Rice Bran Powder

We just got ours for free from our favorite liquor and rice shop, Kunitaya.

Nuka is mixed with salt and water and allowed to ferment. Bread and/or beer can be added to help the ferment. In Japan you can buy packaged pre-fermented nukadoko, but of course foodies make their own from scratch! You can also obtain a bit of ‘starter’ from a friend or tsukemono shop.

Flavoring agents such as whole chili peppers, ginger, dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, egg shells, shaved fish and so on can be added to the mix.

The nukadoko must be mixed and turned by hand once or twice a day to prevent spoiling. Once in the winter, twice in the summer is the usual rule. The more mixing the better.

Vegetables are buried in the nukadoko for several days to a week, depending on the vegetable and the temperature.

The salt and ferment of the nukadoko transforms the vegetables into a healthy, pungent pickle.

Ingredients

• 2 kg of lightly roasted nuka
• 400g of salt
• 2L of water
• 1 slice of bread
• dried kelp (kombu)

Preparation of Nukadoko (Pickling Bed)

Nuka: Roast the nuka in a large clean pan over moderate heat and mix well as it roasts to avoid burning. Of course, DO NOT use cooking oil. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In Japan they say that you are trying to get it hot enough to kill the ‘bad’ bacteria that will cause spoilage but not hot enough to kill the ‘good’ bacteria that will produce tasty pickles. Some report the proper temperature is 70 C, this is the temperature that nuka will start to change color ‘a bit’. Getting a fry pan or wok full of powder to a uniform and exact temperature seems quite impossible to me. I roasted ours in two batches until I could smell the nuka and the color darkened. See photo. Miwa was sure that I roasted it too much (and ruined it), but it seems to be fermenting well.

Keep in mind that you will need to add nuka powder from time to time to your nukadoko to replenish it, as a small portion is lost to mixing and removing vegetables. So, keep some on hand.

Roasting Nuka Rice Bran: Before

Roasting Nuka Rice Bran: After

The darker brown nuka is from the bottom of the pan.

Nuka Rice Bran

Water: Boil clean, fresh water and add salt. Once dissolved, remove from heat and add chopped bread. Allow the bread to soften and mash by hand when sufficiently cool. Allow to return to room temperature.

Mix: Add the roasted nuka to your pickle pot. Gently pour or ladle in water mixture while mixing and squeezing with your free hand. Mix and stir by hand for several minutes. The nukadoko should feel like wet sand when done.

Bread for Nukadoko

Soaking Bread for Nukadoko (Boiled Salt Water)

Mashing the Bread for Nukadoko

Adding Bread Mush and Salt Water to Roasted Nuka

Mixing in Bread Mush and Salt Water in Roasted Nuka

Mixing in Bread Mush and Salt Water in Roasted Nuka

Mixing Nuka, Adding Kombu

Pressing Down the Nuka

Pickle Pot: The pickle pot can be wood, ceramic, metal, glass, plastic, etc. Traditionally pots were wood or ceramic. We are using an enameled metal pot. You just want something that isn’t going to rust. Plastic is very commonly used in Japan now.

Fermentation: Depending on the season and temperature fermentation will take 1 to 3 weeks. Using a seed starter will of course take less time. Adding beer will help speed fermenting.

The nukadoko needs to be mixed by hand once or twice a day, be sure that your hands are clean and free of lotions, creams and so on. If nukadoko is not mixed sufficiently, it will spoil.

We started our nukadoko without seed starter in February in our cold Kyoto machiya townhouse and ours wouldn’t ferment well, so I rigged-up a hot water bottle and old blankets to keep ours warm for several days, then it started to ferment nicely. I would imagine that in most houses in Western countries, even in the winter, this would not be an issue.

We will keep you posted on our progress. Making nukazuke seems like great fun and I think that this is another Japanese cuisine that could be widely adopted abroad.

Matsutake is one of the most well loved — and expensive — foods in Japanese cuisine and it has been an autumn favorite in Kyoto throughout the centuries. Matsutake is in season now!

Masutake (松茸) in Japanese literally means ‘pine mushroom’. In Japan it grows under red pines.

Matsutake and Sudachi

Walking through the Teramachi Shopping Arcade yesterday, I noticed that Toriichi Shinise was fully stocked with matsutake, both domestic and imported. Autumn is indeed upon us!

The rich, smoky, earthy flavor, and especially the fragrance are much loved by Japanese. The signature fragrance of the matsutake is best extracted and enhanced by steaming or simmering, therefore it is most commonly seen in broths and cooked in rice. Sudachi, one of the three Japanese citrus fruits essential for cooking probably goes best with the unique flavors of matsutake.

Matsutake cannot be cultivated, so all are harvested in the wild. The people who gather matsutake must brave rugged terrain and steep mountain slopes as well as occasional encounters with bears and wild boars, even the odd rattlesnake.

The most favored matsutake in Japan, domestic matsutake fetch up to about $2,000 per kilogram. That is VERY expensive! Therefore, more economically priced imports from China, Korea and now North America and Europe account for the more than 90% of matsutake in Japan.

By law, imported matsutake must be washed and this dilutes and damages the flavor and fragrance. Imported mushrooms simply cannot be as fresh as domestic ones as well.

The best flavor and fragrance is contained in matsutake in which the cap of the mushroom is not fully developed. When I first came to Japan, it was explained to me that the best matsutake look more like a penis than an umbrella.

Cooking and Eating Matsutake
Matsutake gohan (matsutake rice), matsutake tempura and matsutake dobin mushi, or matsutake simmered in broth, are all wonderful autumn foods in Japan.

One of my all-time favorite Japanese dishes is matsutake dobin mushi, which is absolutely wonderful. Dobin is a ‘clay vessel’ and mushi means ‘steamed’. So, matsutake mushroom simmered and steeped inside a ceramic pot.

A small teapot-like vessel is filled with broth, a shrimp, a cube of chicken maybe a ginnan nut and a few pieces of precious matsutake. It is then simmered for some time and served bubbling hot. It is served with a slice of sudachi, which is squeezed into the broth. This is allowed to steep for several minutes at the table, then the broth is then poured into a tiny cup and is sipped, piping hot, just like tea. The fragrance of the matsutake infused into the broth is just exquisite!

After all the ambrosia-like broth in enjoyed, the pieces inside the pot are usually eaten, but their best flavors have been lost to the broth.

Toriichi Shinise
Toriichi Shinise sells the finest seasonal vegetables. It is a specialty shop and it basically sells only one item per season.

Spring: Bamboo Shoots (mainly from Kyoto)
Summer: Kamonasu Eggplant (from Kyoto)
Autumn: Matsutake
Winter: Senmaizuke, thin sliced pickles made from very large turnips. (from Kyoto)

Toriichi Shinise – Storefront and Seasonal Offerings

Matsutake

The woven bamboo basket on the lower left is worn like a backpack by those gathering matsutake.

Matsutake Offerings

Prices are about $120 to $150 per basket! These are domestic matsutake.

Matsutake Split in Half

Matsutake and Sudachi

Matsutake and Sudachi – detail

The one at the bottom center is of optimal shape for matsutake, the cap is still not spread out.

Nicely Packaged Imported Matsutake

These are imported from Korea.

Chestnuts

Chestnuts are also pricey at Toriichi, these baskets are about $30 to $50 each. These are big, fat chestnuts.

Toriichi Shinise Staff Packaging Matsutake Gift Packages

Toriichi Shinise, while just a small shop in Kyoto is a name known to many throughout Japan and when people want to sent the best seasonal gift possible, seasonal vegetables from one of Kyoto’s finest specialty shops cannot be topped.

English Service

English brochure: none
English website: none (Japanese language website)

Service/Staff: not friendly, several of the staff can be quite rude
Hours: 9am-9pm, open everyday
Location and Access: Toriichi Shinise is located in the Teramachi Shopping Arcade, just north or Sanjo Street. Ten minutes on foot from Kawaramachi Station (Hankyu Line), 5 minutes on foot from Sanjo Station (Keihan line), 3 minutes on foot from Shiyakushomae Station (Subway Tozai line).

Address
Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Teramachi-dori Sanjo-agaru Tenshojimae-cho 523 (京都市中京区寺町通三条上ル天性寺前町523)
Telephone: 075-231-1508

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