Chef Okumura launched his French osechi 20 years ago. At that time people in Kyoto mainly had Japanese-style osechi but they were ready for something different and people were surprised but happy to try it. It is still a hit, every year hundreds of families celebrate the new year with Chef Okumura’s osechi.

Restaurant Okumura's Osechi Jubako Box

Restaurant Okumura's French Osechi

Restaurant Okumura's French Osechi - Box 1

Ichinojyu Top Box Contents (from top to bottom, left to right)
Ham and Cheese Quiche, Karasumi Salted Mullet Roe and Sauteed Chestnuts
Amadai Poele Steamed and Grilled Young Sea Bream
Potato, Cheese, Kyoto Vegetable and Truffle Galette

Marinated Scallops with Julienned Kintoki Ninjin Carrots
Homard Lobster Ratatouille
Beef Terrine (and Gold Leaf)

Kuro Mame Black Bean, Lotus Root with Katsuo Powder
Wagyu Beef Roast Teriyaki
Wagyu Beef Chili Con Carne

Restaurant Okumura's French Osechi - Box 2

Ninojyu Middle Box Contents (from top to bottom, left to right)
Aomi Daikon, Dill and Vinegared Lotus Root Wrapped in Smoked Salmon
Matsutake, Kinusaya Peapods and Kuruma Ebi Shrimp Vinaigrette
Caviar

Vinegared Flounder Sashimi and Kabura Turnip Roll
Lobster and Plum Blossom Shaped Kintoki Ninjin Carrot and Nagaimo
Flounder Galantine

Ikura in Yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit)
Foie Gras and Truffle Terrine in Kabosu (Japanese citrus fruit)
Kazunoko, Simmer Ayu and Komochi Kombu

Restaurant Okumura's French Osechi - Box 3

Sannojyu Bottom Box Contents (from top to bottom, left to right)
Marinated Sea Bream Sashimi, Wine Steamed Abalone, Kiku Kabura Pickled Turnip, Daitokiji Natto on Pine Needle and Hajikami

Marinated Sangoshi (Young Spanish Mackerel) Sashimi,
Ryuhi Maki (Kombu Wrapped Flounder) Chrysanthemum Petals

Yuzu Sauce Marinated Managatsuo (Japanese Butterfish) Grilled, Grilled Salmon Misozuke, Yellowtail Buri Teriyaki

Iimushi Sake Streamed Mochi Rice with Kabura and Kintoki Ninjin Carrot, Boiled Crab Legs

Restaurant Okumura Staff Packing Osechi Boxes

The Osechi Rush
After our second interview on December 30th, I snapped this great photo of friendly and personable Chef Okumura. I asked him he wanted to put on his chef hat and pose but he said no thanks, as is is best. He looks tired because he just finished making more than 300 boxes of osechi!

Osechi is usually made on the 29th and 30th, and shipped by ‘cool’ delivery on the evening of the 30th to arrive anywhere in the country on the 31st. All the work has to be done in the space of about 48 hours, max. So, usually there is no sleep for chefs and kitchen staff making osechi.

Chef Shinzo Okumura - A really nice guy!

We have a few more articles coming about Chef Okumura and his French kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto. Stay tuned.

Now, I would be remiss if I did not tell you that I went with a slight bit of trepidation because I have heard from two different sets of foreign tourists that tempura dinner at Yoshikawa was not good. More about that below. We had a very good kaiseki dinner but I just want to show you two dishes; pickled mackerel sushi served on a completely psychedelic colored persimmon leaf and tempura kakiage on rice with tea poured over the top.

Sabazushi Served on Autumn Psychedelically Colored Persimmon Leaf

Kakiage Tempura at Yoshikawa
Kakiage is sliced vegetables and sometime seafood that is mixed together with tempura batter and deep fried. ‘Kaki’ means to mix or stir and ‘age’ means to fry in oil. With tempura, usually the items are battered and deep fried individually. Kakiage can be more oily than regular tempura because it has a lot more surface area and batter.

Yoshikawa’s kakiage tempura was so light and unoily that it was almost not tempura to me. I had a hard time making out what exactly was inside it because everything was sliced so finely inside. It was so light and delicate that it seemed more like quiche or dashi tamagoyaki than tempura to me. At Yoshikawa the kakiage is the last course of the kaiseki meal and it is offered three ways; there is donburi style on rice, something that I cannot recall at the moment and chazuke style on rice with hot tea poured on. Chazuke is a very prosaic home cooking type dish. At a restaurant and inn of such distinction I thought that it must be quite interesting so I order chazuke and was very impressed.

Kakiage tempura was introduced on KyotoFoodie way back when we started in this article about Tenshu in Gion and recently briefly mentioned on OpenKyoto in this article about 500 yen dinner at Marugame in Kyoto.

How to Eat O-chazuke
Here are some photos that show the process of eating chazuke, or more politely o-chazuke. Chazuke works like this; you start with rice and some flavoring on top, pour on hot tea, stir it up a bit and using your chopsticks to eat and/or slurp it.

To the right of the rice bowl is wasabi paste and there is a plate of tsukemono pickles and chirimen jako. The wasabi can be added to the chazuke if you like wasabi but the tsukemono is a side dish and doesn’t go on the top of the rice.

I have found that just o-chazuke for dinner is an excellent way to lose weight.

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Served

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Pouring on Tea

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Pouring on Tea

Dinner at Yoshikawa Ryokan: Tempura Kakiage O-chazuke 吉川旅館 天ぷらかき揚げ茶漬け

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Pouring on Tea

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - Ready to Eat

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - How to Eat

Tempura Kakiage Chazuke - How to Eat

Yoshikawa Ryokan Inn
Yoshikawa Ryokan Inn and Tempura Yoshikawa Restaurant are at the same location on Tominokijo Street just south of Oike Street. You can go to Yoshikawa for tempura dinner only, or you can stay too. If you go just for dinner, you might ask for a private room.

Historic Yoshikawa Ryokan Inn and Tempura Yoshikawa Restaurant

Misunderstanding, Exaggeration and Lies and the ‘Bucket of Oil for Dinner’ Myth Story
I am a bit embarrassed to tell you about this. The first time I heard about dinner at Yoshikawa from the foreign travelers I distinctly recall hearing that the tempura was served in a bowl of oil. I imagined French Onion Soup in which the bread was the tempura and the soup was the oil. Come on, is there any food, anything, anywhere on planet Earth served in a bowl of oil? No one would eats anything like that, least of all Japanese.

I cannot count the number of times that I have heard fascinating (incredulous) stories from foreigners about all sorts bizarre things in Japan. There are certain things that Japanese just don’t do. In fact there are a lot of things that Japanese just don’t do. Yet, you often meet these fresh off the boat Western foreigners going on and on about how this or that Japanese was doing this weird thing and you are thinking to yourself, Self, in more than 10 years here I have never seen a Japanese do anything like that!

Some of it is just misunderstanding, usually due to language. Still, not excusable. But, the majority is, alas, just lies and exaggeration. When traveling with or hanging out with Japanese abroad I can’t recall once ever experiencing or hearing anything like that. Strange.

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Map to Yoshikawa Ryokan

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In Kyoto, it is said that the three most sophisticated cuisines in the world are French, Chinese and Japanese; and among these three, Kyoto Cuisine, or Kyo-ryori is the pinnacle of sophistication, visual beauty and subtlety of taste. Kyo-ryori is not just to eat, it is to be experienced by all the senses. It includes aspects of ikebana (flower arrangement) and sado (tea ceremony). Dishes are created with an emphasis on natural beauty and the seasons. Sophistication is achieved by subtlety, restraint and simplicity, not decoration.

This article is a part of our Japanese New Year’s Osechi Cuisine series done in cooperation with Kichisen restaurant in Kyoto. Here we introduce the main aspects of Kyoto Cuisine with photos of Kichisen’s Kyoto Kaiseki Cuisine.

Kyoto: His Highness the Emperor’s Kitchen

Kyoto has a history of more than 1,200 years and was the capital until the beginning of the modern era. Artisans throughout the country sought to refine their skills to come to Kyoto to serve the Emperor. Chefs were no exception. It is often said that Kyoto was the emperor’s kitchen for more than 700 years.

There are four types of Kyo-ryori:

Yusoku Ryori (有職料理): Yusoku Cuisine is ‘court food’ and was eaten by the Emperor and other high ranking nobles and aristocrats.
Kaiseki Ryori (懐石料理): Kaiseki Cuisine is ‘tea food’, originally Chakaiseki and developed with the tea ceremony. Small portions of food were served to a guest to accompany bitter tea. Kaiseki’s soul comes from the tea ceremony. Chakaiseki is one rice dish, one soup dish and three side dishes. Modern Kaiseki usually includes many more dishes.
Shojin Ryori (精進料理): Shojin Cuisine is ‘temple food’, vegetarian food eaten by priests and monks.
Obanzai (おばんざい): Obanzai is ‘home food’, Kyoto style. Though casual cooking, Kyoto vegetables are a central element and seasonal ingredients are presented in a refined, yet natural way.

Tenets of Kyoto Cuisine
・Bring the natural taste of seasonal ingredients ‘to life’.
・Don’t overcook, avoid using excessive heat.
・Present the food in the context of the season.

Examples
・In the winter, serve full-bodied food that steams, in the summer serve light food on a bed of shaved ice. In the winter use more katsuo-bushi (shaved fish) in dashi soup stock, in summer use more kombu (kelp).

・Impart the natural fragrance of the season by cooking fish in a fresh, green sakura (cherry) leaf in the spring and on a fallen, brown magnolia leaf in the autumn.

・Use the natural salt content of kombu to flavor dishes rather than straight salt.

・Bamboo shoots are naturally hard, serve them al dente.

image credit: All images in this article are used with permission of Kichisen.

New Year’s Kyoto Kaiseki

Taste of field, taste of wind,
Seasonal fish and vegetable are full of life.
The wisdom of the skillful cooks treats them with care
Pursuing the most wonderful tastes in the season.
You can well communicate with Nature through these dishes
And enjoy the pleasant moment to your heart’s content.

Spring Kyoto Kaiseki

Sense of Beauty, Sense of Season
Nature brings us the inevitable and perfect encounter of
Seasonal specialties, tableware and occasion:
A particular encounter never to recur again.
This harmonious sense of beauty of each season is
Our best entertainment.

Summer Kyoto Kaiseki

Autumn Kyoto Kaiseki

The most suitable tableware
Sunday clothes for the lovely gifts from Nature.
Not too gorgeous, not too elaborate, the ware should be.
Food is the first important, ware is the second.

Autumn Kyoto Kaiseki

Soft spring flowers, cool summer water
Elegant autumn leaves and winter garden covered with snow;
Delicate but fascinating changes of the season in Japan.
In this sophisticated and tranquil atmosphere
Authentic seasonal dishes can be enjoyed at their best.

The above images and poems come from Kyo-kaiseki Kichisen’s restaurant pamphlet, all are copyright and used here with permission.