The other day I was up in Shiga Prefecture, just over the East Mountains from Kyoto, on the shores of Lake Biwa and I was given a package of whole sugatani ayu, a trout-like sweetfish from Lake Biwa as a gift.

Itadakimono: A Gift Humbly Received
The giving of small gifts in Japan is an important part of the culture and gifts are very often food. Ayu, the sweetfish that inhabit rivers in Japan and Lake Biwa are prepared in a myriad of ways. Ayu Sugatani 鮎姿煮, is whole ayu simmered in sweetened sake and soy sauce with sansho. The small, 15 cm fish have been simmered a very long time, so you can eat everything; the head, bones, fins, internals. There is no bitterness from the internals and I didn’t even notice that I was eating bones. In Japan it is said that eating the bones of fish is very nutritious.

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai ’10 Grain’ Rice

Jukkokumai Rice
I made some rice (also some itadakimono) with jukkokumai 十穀米, literally ’10 grains rice’. Jukkokumai comes in small packets and contains 10 kinds of grains that can be added to the rice cooker to make white rice more hearty and nutritious. There are lots of variations, 5, 10, 15 grain, and each company’s mix usually contains a unique assortment of grains.

I was intending the jukkokumai to be for breakfast but as I hadn’t eaten much today I decided to have some with my simmered ayu itadakimono for a midnight snack.

It just took a minute to prepare and tasted wonderful. I took one ayu out from the vacuum pack and cut it into thin sections. I simply placed it atop the rice and voilà! The gokokumai would have been a little bland all by itself and the simmered ayu would have been too salty alone. This was the perfect combination.

Oyu-wari Imo-jochu
I washed it down with some sweet potato shochu (imo-jochu) in hot water (oyu-wari). On a cold winter night, just before bed, shochu with hot water really hits the spot! The imo-jochu variety has a very strong and peculiar taste and bouquet. Imo-jochu is popular with older men in Japan. Women, as a rule, can’t stand the stuff.

Whole Simmered Ayu – In the Package

Whole Simmered Ayu – Sliced

The left side is the head and the right is the tail.

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai Rice

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai Rice – detail

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai Rice – How to Eat

Sorry about the horrible photo, I was eating with one hand and photographing with the other. So, you just scoop up some rice with a piece of ayu.

Other Ayu Related Articles on KyotoFoodie
Wagashi: Ayugashi or Waka-ayu Sweetfish Shaped Confection
Wagashi: More Kawaii Father’s Day Wagashi

Kikizake: A very large tasting event was held featuring premium sake breweries and shochu distilleries over the weekend which Peko was lucky enough to attend.

Just over the East Mountains from Kyoto is Otsu City. Otsu is the capital of modern day Shiga Prefecture and was the capital of Japan 500 years BEFORE Kyoto became the capital! Otsu, situated on the southern end of Lake Biwa is an historic city with many delicacies and the area makes an excellent day trip from Kyoto. This kikizake event was held at the Otsu Prince Hotel.

With 108 breweries and distilleries attending, there is plenty to drink. Complimentary boxes of bread (served like popcorn in a movie theater) and bottled water tables helps the visitors drink-a-plenty!

I went with an old friend, a prof from undergraduate school, that arrived in Japan just the day before. I was invited by Kitagawa Honke Sake Brewery (article series). I told my guest that sake is made from just rice, water and koji. As we tasted the offerings of sake, he was incredulous at the variety of flavors and fragrances could be produced with just the three ingredients.

Quite a Crowd!

There were several thousand visitors tasting all kinds of excellent sake and shochu.

Matsunotsukasa Brewery – Tasting Fine Sake

Upon recommendation of Mr. Kitagawa of Kitagawa Honke Sake Brewery, we tried most of the offerings of Matsunotsukasa Brewery. I hadn’t seen their sake in Kyoto before, but I will be looking for it in the near future!

Matsunotsukasa Brewery’s Line-up

Beautiful labels, beautiful flavors!

Matsunotsukasa Brewery

Matsunotsukasa Brewery

Matsunotsukasa Brewery

Kikuhime Sake Brewery

Another recommendation of Mr Kitagawa was Kikuhime Brewery. More excellent, excellent sake!

Shoshu from Kyushu

By the time we got down to the high-powered shochu section, we weren’t in a condition to drink a whole lot more but we sample plenty of shoshu never-the-less, just a few drops at a time!
Kikizake Event Brochure

In the end, we managed not to get to drunk but were able to sample a whole lot of wonderful sake and found some very interesting shochu as well!