Designing a Table Setting
The traditional Japanese table setting is simple and uncluttered. No fussy floral arrangements, no ostentatious linens, no multiple pieces of silverware for each course. Just clean and simple.

This time, I’m going to set up a long, low table for sitting on the floor. I have some nice lengths of fabric with Japanese patterns to use as a tablecloth, and an interesting assortment of serving dishes. I got really lucky in San Francisco's Japantown yesterday, and found some elegant table runners, placemats, chopsticks and dozens of serving dishes, so I now have a lovely assortment of attractive tableware. I may go so far as to create an ikebana floral arrangement, but other than that, and a candle or two, I’m going to let the food itself serve as the main aesthetic element.
12:06 AM PDT Permalink |

Awesome!
My birthday getaway to San Francisco was fantastic from start to finish. We stayed at the Hotel Miyako in Japantown in a room on the fifth floor overlooking the garden, with a nice view of Geary Street and the Peace Plaza pagoda. We had a quick dinner at an all-you-can-eat sushi place called Umeko. And then Rene treated me to the most wonderful surprise: orchestra seats to a stage performance of The Lion King at the Orpheum Theater. Words fail me to describe the experience, but if I must, then these will have to do: exhilarating... dazzling... opulent... a feast for the eyes and the ears... an African extravaganza! Before the opening pageant was over, I already knew that I can't wait to see it again.

Afterwards, we went back to the Miyako for a soak in the furo and one of the best night's rest I've ever had in a hotel. We requested a late check-out and headed back to Umeko again for lunch. Their all-you-can-eat buffet includes nigiri sushi, sashimi, sushimaki, tempura, steamed crab legs & lobster, pot stickers and egg rolls, oysters on the half shell, miso soup, assorted vegetables and fresh fruits.

When it came time to go shopping in Japantown, I must admit I got a little carried away. But with the abundant variety at such incredibly low prices, I couldn't resist. I bought every imaginable size and shape of Japanese serving dish, a sushi knife and a cleaver, a set of steamer baskets, two sushi molds for shaping rice balls, several pairs of lacquer chopsticks, two table runners, and a matching set of placemats, napkins and chopsticks for six, and finally...a beautiful clay pot! I searched for one last month and couldn't find it, so I was quite pleased to find one for all those Asian recipes that are best cooked in a clay pot.

I also stopped by the Japanese grocery for a few staples, like pickled ginger, tofu, soy sauce, miso, kombu seaweed, and sake. So... with the exception of the fresh fish and vegetables, I think I'm all set for my Tampopo dinner & a movie.
08:46 PM PDT Permalink |

O-Tanjobi
Today is my birthday, so I'm off to San Francisco's Japantown with Rene for a little R&R. While I'm there, I hope to get some shopping done as well, not to mention enjoying copious quantities of sushi at Isobune or Hana :>)

For my Tampopo dinner, and as a little birthday present to myself, I'm going to purchase several items I've been coveting for awhile. I want a mandolin for uniform slicing, a grill pan for stovetop grilling, a REALLY sharp knife, and a set of rectangular dishes in a classic Japanese design for receiving sushi and other bite-sized foods. There's a wonderful Japanese housewares shop there that will surely have a nice selection of those items at modest prices.

But since Rene always likes to surprise me, who knows what else he has in store...
12:45 AM PDT Permalink |

Japanese Cooking Utensils and Serving Dishes
Preparing a Japanese dinner doesn't require a lot of fancy or expensive cookware. In fact, with the exception of a few modest time-saving devices, the average kitchen probably already has everything needed to prepare a basic Japanese dinner.

A few months ago, I wrote an article for ThingsAsian titled Japanese Cooking Utensils and Serving Dishes There's lots of useful information for those who are just getting started with preparing Japanese cuisine at home.
12:07 AM PDT Permalink |

A Chronology of Japanese History and Culture
Jidai is the Japanese word for the division of time into specific eras throughout its history, from prehistoric times to the present day. Distinct periods in Japan's history are also categorized according to its reiging emperor, or the ruling shogunate. An imperial era begins with the emperor's ascension to the throne and ends with his death. The divisions of the shogun era are based on the length of the most powerful clan's reign of power. The most recently completed era in Japan is the Showa era, which began with the the ascension of Emperor Hirohito in 1926, and ended with his death in 1989, ushering in the present era which is Heisei, with the ascension of Emperor Akihito.

JOMON (10,000 - 300 B.C.) The earliest of Japan's historic eras, during which tribal clans were formed, hunter-gatherers made the first pottery from coils of clay, and the first emperor, Jimmu the Divine Warrior, is believed to have descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami in 660 B.C.

YAYOI (300 B.C. - A.D. 300) This second historic era marked the first cultivation of rice, early metalworking, and the use of the potter's wheel, all of which were introduced from China and Korea. The era gets its name from the area in Tokyo where an archaeological excavation revealed wheel-turned pottery. The Shinto religion began to organize, and family clans formed small local governments.

KOFUN (YAMATO) (300 - 645) Family clans grew in size and power. Interaction with continental Asia increased. Enormous gravesites with keyhole-shaped mounds called kofun were built to house the remains of powerful clan leaders. The Yamato clan established its family lineage back to Jimmu and the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami, marking the beginning of the imperial dynasty that includes the present day emperor. Both Buddhism and the written alphabet were introduced from China. Emperor Shotoku Taishi (574-622) established a centralized government and encouraged the spread of Buddhism and the teachings of Confucius.

ASUKA (645 -710) Family clans continued to rise in power, along with a great governmental reformist movement called Taika no Kaishin (Taika Reforms), modeled after the Tang Dynasty. The Empress Kogyoku was removed from the throne and replaced by her younger brother, who became Emperor Kotoku. His inner minister Nakatomi no Kamatari, who later joined the powerful Fujiwara clan, helped facilitate the Taika no Kaishin.

NARA (710 - 794) Nara was designated as the imperial capital of Japan. Buddhism became more widespread through the encouragement of the imperial family and was eventually adopted as the state relition. The Kokiji (Record of Ancient Matters), a written record of the early myths and legends was compiled, along with Nihon shoki (Chronicle of Japan).

HEIAN (794-1185) The imperial capital was moved to the city of Heiankyo, now known as Kyoto. Ties with China were severed. Imperial power diminished with the rise of the bushi warrior class. Buddhism continued to flourish in Nara and spread throughout Japan. Japanese culture grew more refined. Literature emerged with the development of the simplified kana alphabet. Murasaki Shikibu, a daughter of the Fujiwara family and lady-in-waiting to the Empress Akiko, wrote the world's first novel, Genji Monogatari, the Tale of Genji, in 1002, while other women of the court added to the proliferation of Japan's growing literary collection.

KAMAKURA (1185-1333) The rise of Japan's feudal system began with the establishment of a military government in Kamakura by the warrior Yoritomo of the powerful Minamoto clan, Japan's first shogun, with the title Seii Taishogun, Great General over the Barbarians, bestowed upon him by the emperor. The Emperor Go-Toba became a figurehead on the throne in Kyoto, as the shogunate siezed power over the people of Japan. The invasion of Mongol tribes under Kublai Khan, although defeated, weakened the power of the Kamakura shogunate.

MUROMACHI (1333 -1568) Ashikaga Takauji established a new shogunate in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. Zen Buddhism emerged as a distinct scion of the religion. Japanese culture flourished and grew in refinement, including the arts of brush calligraphy, painting, topiary gardens and the tea ceremony. The 10-year Onin no Ran (Onin War) further weakend the Kamakura shogunate, and Sengoku Jidai, a great civil war ensued. European weaponry was introduced by the Portuguese, and Christianity was introduced by Francis Xavier.

AZUCHIMOMOYAMA (1568 -1600) The country was reunified after the civil war by the great warrior Oda Nobunaga, whose work was continued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi after his death. Hideyoshi attempted imperialist colonialization in Korea without success. The aesthetic and martial arts continued to flourish among the ruling class. Christianity continued to spread.

EDO (TOKUGAWA) (1600 -1868) Tokugawa leyasu established a powerful shogunate in the city of Edo (now Tokyo). Japan closed its ports to foreign trade, with the exception of Chinese and Dutch traders at Nagasaki. Christianity was restricted. A strong governmental and social hierarchy brought peace and order to the country. Cities grew in size and number, and free commerce flowed between them. The middle class of merchants and artisans grew in wealth and power. Music, theater, literature, publishing and especially Ukiyo-e printmaking and painting reached its height. Commodore Matthew C. Perry demanded entry into Tokyo Bay, and Japan opened its ports to foreign trade for the first time in two hundred years. The Boshin Senso, a great civil war against the Tokugawa shogunate brought about the fall of the feudal system in Japan.

MEIJI (1868 -1912) After a great uprising against the Tokugawa shogunate, the Emperor Mutsuhito, now known as Meiji, was restored to the imperial throne of Japan. The shogun, samurai and bushi became common citizens under the rule of the emperor and Japan strived to build up its military and industrial power. Japanese colonialism on continental Asia resulted in two wars, the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, and the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, as well as the occupation of Korea in 1910.

TAISHO [1912-1926] The Emperor Yoshihito reigned over Japan. Economic growth continued in Asia and the Pacific islands. The beginnings of political reform began with the support of a Liberal party government. Emperor Yoshihito, in failing health, appointed his son Hirohito as Regent.

SHOWA [1926 -1989] Hirohito, Japan's longest ruling emperor ascended the throne. Military occupation in Asia continued. Japan joined the Axis powers in World War II and waged war against the United States. Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A constitution was drafted and a democratic parlimentary government was established. U.S. troops continued to occupy Japan during the post-war reconstruction. Japan joined in the economic and technological boom of the next four decades, becoming one of the most prosperous and significant economies in the world. Japan hosted the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, and the 1970 World Expo in Osaka. Japan resumed diplomatic relations with China in 1972. Emperor Hirohito died January 7, 1989.

HEISEI (1989- ) Prince Akihito ascended the imperial throne in 1989, where he has ruled to the present day. The economy of Japan continues to flourish in peace and prosperity on both a domestic and global level.
12:03 AM PDT Permalink |

About Japanese Cuisine
For those of you who are generally unfamiliar with basics of Japanese cuisine, I wrote an article for ThingsAsian a few months ago entitled Of Rice and Zen: The Essentials of Japanese Cuisine. It's a good place to start.
12:52 AM PDT Permalink |

Oops!...
I just realized that I've overlooked the obvious with my Tampopo dinner: The movie is all about a quest for the perfect bowl of ramen, and I haven't included a single noodle dish in my repertoire. Yikes! But that's because I make homemade ramen all the time...at least once or twice a month. I add chicken, mushrooms, napa cabbage, onions, ginger root, soy sauce, sesame oil and water or chicken broth to packaged ramen noodles, par-boiled and stir fried with the extra ingredients. Y-U-M!

So I'm not especially inspired to make ramen for this particular dinner. I'm much more focused on trying some new dishes. And besides, there's so much more food-related humor in the film than just the ramen, that I think just about anything goes...
12:11 AM PDT Permalink |

A Little Background on Tampopo
Food, Glorious Food! And the thousand ways it ignites the human spirit, from a decadent culinary orgy, to a humble yet perfect bowl of steaming-hot ramen, is the stuff of which Juzo Itami's Tampopo, is made. This bacchanalian, "spaghetti western" romp features Itami's real-life wife, Nobuko Miyamoto in the title role of Tampopo, a noodle shop owner struggling to make a go of it after her husband's death, and Tsutomu Yamazaki as Goro, a rakish trucker whose character might best be described as "Shane-meets-Henry Higgins."
12:17 AM PDT Permalink |

Tracking Down Exotic Ingredients
Thanks to my shopping bonanza on AsianFoodGrocer.com last month, my pantry is pretty well stocked with Japanese ingredients. They had a special, free shipping on orders over $50, so I stocked up on a few extras.

But I’m still missing some things. AsianFoodGrocer.com was out of stock on gari shoga, that delicious pickled pink ginger that goes along with sushi. They were offering it for a great price, so no wonder they were out of it. But now I’m left to find it here in Napa. Most of what I’ve been able to find in the past has been way overpriced and packaged in such tiny jars that my son would easily be able to devour the whole thing at a single sitting. But I think one of our better grocers has half-pint tubs of it for a better price.

Trader Joe’s carries both sushi rice at a reasonable price and big bags of sembei crackers for about $3. I saw fresh daikon radish at the gourmet grocery where I bought my fresh vegetables last month, and they also carry sushi grade tuna, along with a beautiful selection of other fresh fish and seafood. The only challenge I anticipate is finding Japanese eggplant this time of year, and tobiko, those tiny orange fish eggs that are sometimes used as a garnish for sushimaki. I may have to settle for garden variety eggplant, and skip the tobiko, but I hope not, because it's always such a tasty and colorful ingredient.

For those of you who are just getting started with stocking up on Japanese ingredients, here’s a link to an helpful article I wrote awhile back:

Stocking the Japanese Pantry

And once you’re ready to buy your Japanese ingredients, be sure to check out AsianFoodGrocer.com.
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

A List of Ingredients for my Tampopo Japanese Dinner
When shopping for ingredients for a classic Japanese dinner, it is always important to buy the best quality available. Japanese food is labor intensive, and the amount of work required to prepare it is the same, whether you use the cheapest or the finest ingredients.

Specialty Ingredients: Sembei Crackers, Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe), Nori (Seaweed Wrappers), Sushi Rice, Rice Wine Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Miso, Wakame Seaweed, Tofu, Kombu Seaweed, Daikon Radish, Wasabi, Kazuo (Bonito Flakes), Sesame Seeds, Soy Sauce, Mirin, Gari Shoga (pickled ginger), Sake, Japanese Beer

Fresh Ingredients: Cucumbers, Bay Shrimp, Sushi Fish (Tuna, Salmon, etc), Crab, Scallions, Garlic, Fresh Fruit, Lemon, Avocados, White Fish, Chicken Thighs (boneless), Chicken Breasts (boneless), Thin Sliced Beef, Large Prawns, Ginger Root, Carrot, Green Beans, Green Pepper, Large Mushrooms, Zucchini, Spinach, Japanese Eggplant, Napa Cabbage or Bok Choy

Basics: Eggs, Sugar, Oil, Cornstarch
12:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Deciding on the Dishes for a Japanese Dinner
So...I've finally decided on all the Japanese dishes I want to make for my Tampopo Dinner & a Movie. I still think it may be a little ambitious. The trick will be in the timing. As long as I do all my cold prep and marinades well in advance, and get the preparation order right, with a little help from my son Will, I should be able to pull it off.

Here's the menu:

Cold Dishes: Sembei Crackers, Cucumber Stuffed with Bay Shrimp, Sashimi with Grated Daikon , Assorted Nigiri Sushi, Temaki Hand Rolls, and Stuffed Tamago Omelets

Hot Dishes: Miso Soup, Seafood Dumplings, Chicken Rolls, Yakitori Skewers, Seared Tuna, Ginger Beef, Tempura Shrimp & Vegetables, Spinach with Sesame Dressing, and Eggplant with Miso

Dessert: Green Tea Sorbet with Fresh Fruit
12:14 AM PDT Permalink |

Tempura and Timing
I just realized that one of the the dishes I want to include on my Tampopo Dinner & a Movie menu is tempura. I’ve never produced a perfect batch of tempura, and with all these awesome cookbooks, I think I’m ready to give it another try. The only problem is timing. With all the other dishes I want to make, it may be difficult to get everything to the table simultaneously.

That’s the catch with choosing between serving a meal in individual courses, or serving it family style, with everything appearing on the table at once. With individual courses, the cook (that’s me) has to be up and down all evening, cooking, serving and clearing each course, so there’s no time to relax and enjoy the meal. And with a family style dinner, it’s a minor miracle if everything gets done at precisely the same time. But I do have an extra pair of hands this time, with my son in attendance. I may recruit him to help me pull it off, since I’ve pretty much decided to serve it all up at once.

I’ll have to meditate on this a bit longer, so check back for a definite menu tomorrow.
12:13 AM PDT Permalink |

Narrowing the Field
Okay, so I’ve accepted the fact that no matter how tasty all those recipes look, I can’t possibly prepare and serve them all at a single dinner. So… I’m gonna have to choose.

For appetizers, I definitely want to make the stuffed cucumbers from the Time Life cookbook, and some of the dumplings from The Joy of Cooking. Next will come the soup, and although all the cookbooks had a nice soup recipe or two, as far as I’m concerned, no Japanese meal is complete without a classic bowl of miso shiru. So for the soup course, I’m sticking with the tried and true.

And I definitely want to make some sushi and sashimi. Maybe a few nigiri sushi, some maki rolls, a few slices of tuna and salmon, and I may try some hand rolls or a couple of the more creative ideas from the Periplus Mini Cookbook.

For the main course, I want to make my yakitori skewers as usual, and I definitely want to try that ginger pork recipe from Japanese Homestyle Cooking. And from that same cookbook, I also want to make the Spinach with Sesame Dressing, and the Eggplant with Miso.

I think I’m going to skip the noodles this time, and I probably won’t even serve any plain white rice. Although it just seems wrong somehow. You gotta have gohan.

For dessert, I’m going to keep it simple with a green tea sorbet served with some kind of fresh fruit. Whatever looks best at the produce market on the day I go shopping. There should be no lack of luscious ripe choices at this time of year. For beverages, a steaming pot of green tea, some nice cold Sapporo beer, and of course, a bit of hot sake.

I know this may sound like a lot of food, but I’m going to keep the portions small, and pray for lots of tasty leftovers. My son Will is going to be here for my Tampopo dinner, and that kid has always been able to eat his own weight in Japanese food.
12:04 AM PDT Permalink |

Looking at Japanese Recipes
This evening, I sat down for a closer look at all the Japanese recipes in my cookbooks. As always, my vintage Time Life cookbook called The Cooking of Japan had the most tantalizing recipes. It’s not as glossy and progressive as my more modern cookbooks, but there is something about all those recipes, and especially the photographs, that inspires me. In it, I found recipes for a stuffed cucumber appetizer, and another for seaweed wrapped shrimp. It also has recipes and instructions for classics such as sushi, sashimi, tempura and yakitori.

Second runner up in the cookbook category was the tiny little full-color soft cover book called Homestyle Japanese Cooking, published by Periplus Mini Cookbooks. It has lots of lovely recipes, with eye-popping photos to go with. Appetizers included Sesame Chicken Loaf, and Chicken Stuffed with Scallions. Main courses included Sautéed Pork with Ginger, and Japanese Mixed Grill. For vegetable side dishes, Spinach with Sesame Dressing, Eggplant with Miso, and Cold Somen Noodles with Prawns.

A companion book called Quick & Easy Sushi & Sashimi, by the same publisher, has some creative variations on the old standards, including Temaki Hand Rolls, Inari Zushi filled with Crab, and Fukasa Zushi, little wafer-thin omelets with various fillings, rolled burrito-style into lovely little tamago pillows.

Even The Joy of Cooking had quite a few interesting recipes, the most tempting of which were the appetizers: Chicken Dumplings, Seafood Dumplings, and Beef & Scallion Rolls.

Oddly enough, Essentials of Asian Cuisine wasn’t such an inspiration this time. It was really wonderful for last month’s Vietnamese dinner, but I didn’t find a single Japanese recipe that tickled my taste buds. Ditto for The Gift of Japanese Cooking. Pretty to look at, but much too basic. It also lacks the vibrant photographs, which are always the best inspiration for cooking Japanese.

So, I think I’ve found plenty of recipes for my Tampopo dinner, and of course, I’ll probably end up improvising, as usual. But the only problem is how to narrow them down to a practical menu… I want to make them all!
12:17 AM PDT Permalink |

My Japanese Cookbooks
This evening, I raided my bookshelves looking for all my Japanese cookbooks. I didn't realize I had so many. As a basic bible, the Essentials of Asian Cuisine by Corinne Trang should serve me well again this time. I also have a vintage Time Life Book called The Cooking of Japan. It's got recipes for all the classics and lots of excellent photos. I have two Periplus Mini Cookbooks called Homestyle Japanese Cooking, and Quick & Easy Sushi and Sashimi. And then there's a lovely little one calle A Gift of Japanese Cooking by Mifune Tsuji. I also picked up a funky one at the Friends of the Library Sale last month. It's called Japanese Country Cookbook, by Russ Rudzinski. It was published in 1969 and its pages are printed on brown paper stock with wonderful pen and ink illustrations. I haven't prepared any of the recipes from it yet, but I may just give it a try this time. Believe it or not, The Joy of Cooking also has quite a few Japanese recipes. And just in case I run into any unfamiliar ingredients in the process, I have The Asian Grocery Demystified standing by. Of course, if I don't find what I'm looking for in all those books, there's always the Internet.

I am already so familiar with cooking Japanese food that I hardly need recipes anymore. But this time, I really want to try some new dishes, so I'm going to have to get my inspiration somewhere...and that's going to take a little research.
12:01 AM PDT Permalink |