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shun no mono: natsu

torakris

By torakris
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

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torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

Summer has finally hit Japan.

What are some of your favorite summer foods?

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

Hiyayako-tofu.

For example I made one yesterday that was rounds of white silken tofu set in black bowls, ringed with a sauce of reduced pomegranite juice and few pomegranite seeds and salmon roe atop.

Zaru-soba.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

When I think of summer foods in Japan the first things that come to mind are noodles

anything cold

zaru soba

zaru udon

somen

hiyamugi

hiyashi chuuka

then of course there is eel, the stamina food of Japanese summers

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

Yes, but unagi is around August. I simply love eel. Fortunately I can get good quality Korean eel that has only been filleted and flash frozen. But I sometimes keep a few tins of eel in sauce to dump out on some rice for a quick meal for myself.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

smallworld

smallworld

Posted
Posted

Edamame, of course!!

And also unagi, ayu, aji and katsuo.

Eggplants, cucumbers, shishito, shiso, okra and myoga are now available year-round, but I still like them best in the summer.

Ultimate summer menu:

Fresh edamame

A simple aemono of myoga, cucumber and wakame

Grilled eggplants topped with lots of ginger and katsuo-bushi

Hiya-yako (topped maybe with a mixture of shiso, mentaiko and sesame oil)

Katsuo-tataki

All washed down with with lots of ice-cold Ebisu beer or mugi-cha, and followed with:

Ume-shiso gohan (or maybe Kristin's tomato-don!)

Or (more likely- who has the energy to make all the above in the heat??)

A giant icy glass bowl of somen

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

tissue

tissue

Posted
Posted
When I think of summer foods in Japan the first things that come to mind are noodles

anything cold

zaru soba

zaru udon

somen

hiyamugi

hiyashi chuuka

then of course there is eel, the stamina food of Japanese summers

When I was in Japan, I went to restaurant where you eat cold somen. There is this water flowing thing that goes around the table where the noodles flow in front of you and you have to stick your chopsticks in there to grab some to put in your bowl.

It was cool.

herbacidal

herbacidal

Posted
Posted

When I was in Japan, I went to restaurant where you eat cold somen. There is this water flowing thing that goes around the table where the noodles flow in front of you and you have to stick your chopsticks in there to grab some to put in your bowl.

It was cool.

it does sound really cool.

i'm just imagining certain caucasians with minimal chopstick dexterity trying to do that.

:biggrin:

Herb aka "herbacidal"

Tom is not my friend.

smallworld

smallworld

Posted
Posted

They do the bamboo somen nagashi at summer festivals- it looks so fun! There are lots of small bamboo forests around where I live, so sometimes I'll see families setting up somen nagashi in their courtyards- one time I really wished I was friendlier with the neighbors!

This won't happen for a month or so, right now the bamboo are being harvested for Tanabata. A useful plant, bamboo!

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

more summer foods include:

awabi (abalone)

suzuki (sea bass)

and of course the fruits: watermelons, sakuranbo, melons, biwa, and the hakuto (white peaches)

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

In the summer I also like to prepare

cold miso

and sort of a cold version of ochazuke (but with ice and water no ocha)

hmmm... a cold ochazuke WITH ocha, haven't tried that yet, something to try though

and of course:

http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r335.html

Edited by torakris (log)

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

  • 1 month later...
margaret

margaret

Posted
Posted

It's been hot and humid and sticky here the past few days, and a friend showed up from Japan with a case of somen just in time.

It's customary in Japan to give gifts at this time of year, usually to members of your company or people in the neighborhood. Somen seems to be a particularly popular choice, so most people in Japan end up with pounds and pounds of unwanted noodles.

So she brought her extras to us, poor and somen-deprived in the US. Lucky us. We chopped up tons of fresh shiso, lots of fresh garlic, some wasabi. No negi in the house, so we went without. Big bowl of ice filled with cold somen noodles. I've been waiting all summer for this.

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I have a cupboard full of somen!

This summer has been so cold I haven't even wanted it.

Yesterday at noon it was 19 C (59 F)

at noon

in Tokyo

in August! :shock:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

Well, with the heatwave that is dessicating Europe, you're very lucky.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

  • 10 months later...
smallworld

smallworld

Posted
Posted
It is summer again! :biggrin:

Yup!

Tonight's menu:

edamame

Katsuo no tataki (seared bonito sashimi)

Fresh corn on the cob

Grilled eggplants

I could happily eat the same thing every night.

So how does everyone serve their katsuo tataki?

Tonight I plan to serve it on a bed of fresh mizuna and top it with kaiware-na, shiso and myoga, drizzled with ponzu-shoyu. Sometimes I use, instead of or in combination with those toppings, grated daikon, sliced negi and ginger.

But piling on the toppings tends to cover up the beautiful deep-red katsuo, which is a shame. Does anyone showcase the fish by serve the toppings seperately? Do you pour the ponzu-shoyu on the katsuo or give a little dish full to each diner for dipping?

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

It is that time of year for my absolute favorite fish:

ayu (sweetfish) :biggrin:

not to mention lots of vegetables at their very best

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

helenjp

helenjp

Posted
Posted

Hmmm...I just don't feel like eating in this heat, let alone cooking.

I'm going on a major asazuke kick, to at least reduce the heat and steam in the kitchen.

Eggplants -- definitely nature's perfect summer food. I like them grilled till charred, then peeled and mixed with ginger, soy sauce, and mirin.

Nuka-zuke. I started a nuka-zuke barrel again, now that our kids are old enough to help us get through the pickles (in fact, they hang over the barrel counting the hours till they can grab something out of it).

Chirashi-zushi made with shiso leaves, sesame seeds, and chopped pickles, especially shiba-zuke. This is not only pleasant to eat in summer, it's great for those days when everybody is having dinner at different times.

Cheaper fruit - the price of fruit in Japan is a constant affront to a Kiwi! At least I can now buy those tiny Delaware grapes, which are nice to freeze whole and then drop into yogurt. I also like the bright red, yellow-fleshed plums (sumomo) around at present - perfect for hot, humid days.

Helenjp

* Pickles foodblog

* New Year foodblog

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

this morning on one of the news programs, they were talking to a farmer in Miyagi prefecture who grows myouga-take. I had never heard of this before, it looks like this:

http://www.sainet.or.jp/~jurian/news/products/myogatake.html

it can be eaten raw and is often sliced thinly placed in ice water and then served as a sashmi garnish or as a salad, it can also be added to soups and other dishes cooked as well as garnishes.

Though the link with the picture give gives a different shun (season for eating) on the tv they said it is June and July.

I don't think I have ever seen this in a store.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

helenjp

helenjp

Posted
Posted

I have seen myouga-take...I think they dry out very quickly, (like most san-sai).

They taste like myouga, but milder (no bad thing!).

By the way, does anybody go for chilled miso soup, or other cold soups at dinner time?

My husband hates chilled miso soup, but a family vote revealed a majority preference for cold soups (I guess the kids and I eat earlier, when it is still hot).

Any hot favorites for chilled soups with Japanese meals?

Helenjp

* Pickles foodblog

* New Year foodblog

torakris

torakris

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I saw myouga-take a couple days ago at the store and realized I have been seeing this for years and I always thought it was thin udo! :shock:

I made a cold miso soup for the first time last year. My husband, who doesn't really care for miso soup , loved it! It will definitely be on the menu more this year.

We all love cold soups, I make lots of gazpachoor Indian style yogurt based soups, but not normally with Japanese food...

With Japanese food one favorite is a cold Korean style wakame and cucumber soup with ginger, I also like simple tomato soups, avocado soups and cucumber soups.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

helenjp

helenjp

Posted
Posted
cold Korean style wakame and cucumber soup with ginger

A big favorite here too (with the cold-soup camp, that is). I usually make a batch of chicken broth and use it for chilled Japanese sumashi-style soup with pieces of small uri (gourd) and chicken pieces, and make the Korean soup the next day.

Helenjp

* Pickles foodblog

* New Year foodblog

  • 3 weeks later...
jrufusj

jrufusj

Posted
Posted (edited)
cold Korean style wakame and cucumber soup with ginger

A big favorite here too (with the cold-soup camp, that is). I usually make a batch of chicken broth and use it for chilled Japanese sumashi-style soup with pieces of small uri (gourd) and chicken pieces, and make the Korean soup the next day.

Oh yes, cold cucumber soup is great for the summer.

Another great cold Korean soup is 콩국수/kong guk su/cold bean soup. This is a soup of pureed soybeans (milky colored) served over noodles (basically somen or naeng myeon style). I never make it at home, as it is a lot of work and is very cheap in restaurants. However, having moved to Tokyo from Seoul and living in Kami-Osaki, I'm not likely to find a restaurant serving it near home. I'll go through my Korean cookbooks and look for a recipe. If I find one that looks likely to be good, I'll translate and post.

Jim

Edit: Okay, I've been travelling (and for much of the time had an internet hookup in the mountains of NC that only got me up to about 12.2, too frustrating to do anything but check work e-mail) and am on eGullet for the first time in a month. As I was catching up on unread threads, I noted that melonpan has posted a recipe for kongguksu in recipeGullet. Only disagreement I have is that I don't like thick, udon-style noodles in it.

Edited by jrufusj (log)

Jim Jones

London, England

Never teach a pig to sing. It only wastes your time and frustrates the pig.

  • 8 months later...
Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

Today, I bought two packs of ayu, six of them in total, for 380 yen per pack (760 yen in total).

gallery_16375_5_291930.jpg

I skewered them, salted them, then I grilled three of them at a time in the toaster oven for 12 to 13 minutes :raz: .

gallery_16375_5_96172.jpg

(I should have grilled them in the fish grill for much longer. :sad: )

I found this interesting webpage:

http://www2.jyose.pref.okayama.jp/cec/syok...x0918133640.htm

Click a photo above 動画, and a motion picture appears.

My blog
  • 2 months later...
Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

Tomatoes are in season right now. Yesterday, I bought a box of momotaro tomatoes at a local supermarket for 680 yen.

gallery_16375_5_62236.jpg

Momotaro is the predominant variety in Japan, accounting for 80 (according to one source) to 85 (according to another) percent of the domestic market. The variety was released by Takii in 1984, and was so named because it was pinkish (momo) and the grandson of the chairperson of Takii was Taro.

To be more precise, momotaro has developed into about ten varieties.

A brief description of momotaro can be found here:

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/vegetables/...taro_tomato.htm

My blog
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