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.

Kyoto Handmade Ice Cream Shop Chibeta: While Japanese love ice cream and Häagen-Dazs is big here, handmade ice cream shops, the likes or which there are several in my hometown, are a rarity. Chibeta, located in Nishijin, the old weaving district of Kyoto, makes great ice cream in very novel flavors. Inspiration for flavors are either traditional Japanese foods or ingredients or seasonal fruit. When I first walked into Chibeta several years ago, it was spring and I was astonished to see sakura mochi ice cream in the ice cream case. It was quite an amalgam of flavors!

While there is no mochi in this ice cream it is flavored with the salted sakura blossoms (shiozakura) and leaves that flavors sakura mochi. It has the pronounced perfumy fragrance identical to sakura mochi that is provided by the blossom and leaf. The taste of the ice cream is very rich and creamy (low fat diary products are not common, I drink 4.4% milk here) and it is salty. Quite unexpected!

Sakura Mochi Ice Cream

‘Sweet’ plus ‘salty’ is a delicious combination. In the US we have salt water taffy (but the taste is not particularly salty, as I recall from my childhood). Sweet and salty are not uncommon in traditional Japanese sweets. I am unaware of it in ice cream though.

I thought that the combination of creamy, sweet (not too sweet), sakura and salt was well worth writing home about. Salted sakura blossom and leaf ought to be easily obtained abroad, so this ice cream ought to be available throughout the world in the near future, I am hoping! (Aspiring sakura mochi ice cream makers abroad can click the ‘Source Delish!’ link above for help sourcing shiozakura.)

If you are in Kyoto and planning on visiting Chibeta, please keep in mind that sakura mochi ice cream is only available in the spring. There are plenty of other wonderful flavors to try though!

More about Sakura Mochi on KyotoFoodie
Sakura Mochi (History and Kanto-style)
Sakura Mochi (Kansai-style)

Sakura Mochi Ice Cream

Sakura Mochi Ice Cream – detail

Notice the pink fleck on the left center and the bits of leaf on the right.

Sakura Mochi

Again, sakura mochi looks like this.

Chibeta Sakura Mochi Ice Cream Package

Kyoto Handmade Ice Cream Shop Chibeta
Chibeta is located on in the Nishijin district of Kyoto on Senbon-dori, just south of Imadegawa-dori. From the intersection of Senbon and Imadegawa Streets, you just go three (short) blocks to the south and Chibeta is located on the east corner of Senbon and Sasayacho Streets intersection.

Chibeta Storefront

Map

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In Kyoto, this year’s sakura blossoms have begun to fade and fall, pavements are covered in pink petals and streams are covered with them to the extent that the water cannot be seen. The sakura season is not over for foodies though, we may still feast on sakura themed yummies for another few weeks. This is sakura mochi, as it is made down here in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe.

Kansai Style Sakura Mochi
Kansai, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe has it’s own distinct version of sakura mochi. Kanto (Tokyo) style has a pink crepe-like wrapping around the anko (azuki paste), however down here in Kansai, it is typically made with steamed mochi rice formed into a ball.

In terms of taste Kansai-style is quite different in texture, but less in taste. The sakura taste, the salt ‘hit’ and the perfumy fragrance of the salted sakura leaf are the same. It is softer and more chewy and ‘ricey’ than the Kanto variety.

I like both styles very much, usually I prefer Kyoto style to Tokyo, but in this case I think that Kanto style is actually more sophisticated and refined. I can’t think of anything else in Japanese culinary culture in which Kanto-style is more sophisticated. This Kansai-style sakura mochi is more ‘homey’ and country-style.

Both styles are readily available most anywhere in Japan and one sakura mochi is not much more than a bite, so you can easily try both! Both taste wonderful, I would say that if you are enjoying sakura mochi with maccha, Kanto style is a bit more suitable.

See this article for more about Kanto-style sakura mochi , a photo with the anko filling and the history of this wagashi confection.

Sakura Mochi

Some people don’t eat the leaf, but you absolutely must!

Sakura Mochi

What is Sakura Mochi?
Sakura mochi is a spring wagashi confection popular throughout Japan. There are various renditions and generally there is a mochi or mochi rice ball filled with anko that is wrapped in a salted sakura cherry leaf. Sakura mochi is said to be invented in 1717 in Edo (present day Tokyo) by a guard named Yamamoto Shinroku at Chomei-ji Temple utilizing sakura leaves from trees planted by Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune along the nearby scenic Sumida River. The enterprising temple gaurd then began to sell his tasty invention.

In Kanto (Tokyo) sakura mochi is usually made with a pink ‘crepe’ filled with anko and wrapped with a sakura leaf. In Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) usually steamed mochi rice is shaped into a ball filled with anko and wrapped with a leaf.

While I purchased this sakura mochi at a fine wagashi store here in Kyoto, it is definitely of the Kanto ‘crepe’ variety.

Kyoto Sakura Blossoms

Sakura Mochi Package

Sakura Mochi

Sakura Mochi

Sakura Mochi

How did it taste?
Before it gets to your mouth, sakura mochi is experienced by the nose. The fragrance of sakura is very intense. It is pervading and perfumy to the extent that you might think that it is artificial and fake, but it is natural.

If you have had stuffed grape leaves, sinking your teeth into sakura mochi will immediately remind you of that wonderful dish.

The mochi is soft and inside is anko (fine ground azuki bean paste). The sweetness pleasantly contrasts with the saltiness of the preserved leaf.

As you chew, there is a wonderful and intermittent squeakiness on your teeth from the leaf.

Sakura Mochi – Cross Section