Japanese Food Quotes

“[...] j'ignore à peu près tout de la gastronomie japonaise. Je sais seulement qu'ils consomment une quantité inimaginable de poissons. En fait, je répète ce qu'on dit habituellement à propos du Japon, je ne fais aucun effort de recherche. Je suis un parfait écho.”
― Dany Laferrière, I Am a Japanese Writer: A Novel

“So intensely was the spaghetti glistening that it looked as if it were alive. She transferred it into a bowl, then opened up the fridge and took out the packet of Calpis butter, the pollock roe in its polystyrene tray sealed with clingfilm, along with a pack of shiso leaves, an unusually dark green for the season.”
― Asako Yuzuki, Butter

“The last one is a fun rice ball.
The filling is ground black sesame and walnuts flavored with sweet honey. We made a rice ball out of that...
... and coated it with kinako soybean powder."
"Huh... a sweet rice ball."
"I've never seen a rice ball coated in kinako."
"Ha ha ha... this is fun."
"The black sesame and walnut isn't just sweet--- it also has a wonderful scent. Come to think of it, this really is the taste of Japan."
"The taste of good old Japan too."
"Sesame, walnut, powdered soybeans and honey. The combination of these sweet flavors...
It soothes the heart, doesn't it?"
"This really is like a dessert.”
― Tetsu Kariya, The Joy of Rice

“Shiokara is a dish made by fermenting finely chopped seafood (usually squid) in a mixture consisting of salt, rice malt and the creature's own internal organs.”
― Tetsu Kariya, The Joy of Rice

“Tsukudani is a condiment for rice made of seafood, meat or seaweed that has been simmered in soy sauce and mirin.”
― Tetsu Kariya, The Joy of Rice

“Kinako is a powder made from roasted soybeans and used as a seasoning or ingredient of traditional Japanese sweets.”
― Tetsu Kariya, The Joy of Rice

“Sardine sashimi. It tastes better when you eat it with ginger instead of wasabi."
"Look at the shine on that skin! These sardines are fresh!"
"They're small but fatty."
"And they don't smell fishy at all. As a matter of fact, they have a nice scent."
"Marinated sardines. You half-dry the sardine with the backbone still in it, and then marinate it in vinegar. Then you add small amounts of sugar, soy sauce and chopped red chili...
...and leave it in the refrigerator for a day."
"Hmm... it feels nice biting into the firm flesh."
"The spicy and sour flavor goes well with the fatty sardine."
"Fried sardine fish cakes. You mash the sardines after removing the head and the organs, add chopped spring onions, ginger juice and salt for the flavoring...
... then make them into an oval shape and deep-fry them."
"It's very crisp, and it must be nutritious since the bones have been mashed inside it too.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“And the last one is the chicken-skin hot pot. The best parts of a chicken to eat are the skin and the innards. There are many ways of cooking them, but this chicken-skin hot pot is easy to make, and it tastes great.
First you heat the pot, place the chicken inside...
... and slowly cook it inside the pot.
Once the oil from the skin comes seeping out, you add the innards to the pot. You basically use the oil from the skin to stir-fry the innards.
After the innards have been slightly cooked, you add some spring onions which have been cut around two inches long...
...and finally add sake and soy sauce to it.
The oil from the chicken skin and soup from the innards have not been thinned down with any kind of broth or dashi, so the young people will love its rich, strong taste and scent. And anybody can make it once they see it being made.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“Each person has a different idea about how they want to finish off a meal.
The Japanese are avid noodle lovers. Eating ramen after having a drink is a classic thing for the Japanese. And then there's curry udon; the Japanese people love curry. So I'm sure there are many people who want to finish off the meal with that.
If those two are a little too heavy, then kitsune udon or warm sōmen would be a lighter alternative."
"Hmm?! So that's what you mean..."
"Some people want to eat something sweet after a drink. And for them, there's red beans with shiratama dumplings...
... and anmitsu for those who want something a little heavy.
For those who don't have a sweet tooth, there's tokoroten...
... and we also have grilled rice cakes wrapped in nori.
And for the extreme sweet lovers, we've made Western style desserts as well: frozen yogurt, chocolate parfait, vanilla milkshake and donuts.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“Ah, chopped horse mackerel."
"Yeah, but it's not just an ordinary chopped horse mackerel."
"Oh?
What?! You're wrapping the chopped horse mackerel in a dumpling skin?! And you're going to deep-fry it?!"
"Here you go. Deep-fried chopped horse mackerel dumplings. It's another one of Tatsu's ideas. Eat it with Japanese mustard, ginger and soy sauce."
"So this is another one of your creations, Tatsu. Ha ha! That's a pretty wild taste!
The chopped mackerel is half raw. And the spicy Japanese mustard and ginger sting your nose and wrap up the flavor of the dumpling!"
" Ha ha . Just playing around!"
"Playing around, huh..."
"Here. Tatsu's special 'Everything Rice.'"
"Whoa! It's got so many things on it! Curry, omelet, hayashi-rice, salted cod roe and nori, three slices of deep-fried pork cutlet with demi-glace sauce and stewed offal.
Ha ha ha ... this is so sumptuous, it's over the top!"
"Heh heh. You know how we homeless people collect leftovers and eat 'em all together, right? Interestingly, they kinda taste better than when ya eat 'em on their own."
"I see! You've got a point... this really is a dish that only you could've come up with, Tatsu."
"Just playing around!"
"Playing around!”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“This one is skewered guts. It's all the guts except the liver."
"It's got that unique texture of a gut, with a slightly bitter taste!"
"The flavor of the guts tends to seep out when you make soup with it, but this retains all its refreshing original flavor!"
"This is a fin skewer. As you can guess from its name, it's the dorsal fin of the eel...
... wrapped around a skewer with ribs and garlic chives."
"This is my favorite one!"
"They throw these parts away when they make kabayaki."
"Ah! I understand why this is your favorite, Yamaoka-san! The eel and the garlic chives create a rich, savory flavor!"
"I never thought eel and garlic chives would go so well together!"
"The dorsal fin of a left-eyed flounder is called an engawa, and it's considered a delicacy. It's the most active part of the fish's body, so it's fatty and good to eat."
"The same goes for the eel."
"This one is the collar. It's the meat around the neck, below the eyes...
... which I cut open and skewered after taking the head off.
The head bone is very tough, so this is the only part of the eel I throw away."
"Hmm, so it's called the "collar" because it's the area around the neck."
"It has a complex flavor to it too. It's totally different from the stomach meat, the guts or the dorsal fin!"
"It kind of tastes like a mixture of fish and lamb meat! There are so many other skewers, right?!"
"Yahata-maki, which is eel meat wrapped around burdock.
Tanzaku, where the meat has been cut like strips of paper.
Smoked eel.
And of course, we can't forget the famous kabayaki.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“Chicken meat, gizzard, chicken skin and chicken wing.
This time, I added about 10 percent more water to the Takazasu I gave to you...
...and let it sit for about a week to blend the alcohol and flavor together. And I've warmed it just like the last one so that it will be 118 degrees when poured into the cup.
If the temperature is any lower than that, the sweetness of the sake becomes too distinct and it loses its lightness."
"Hmmm! This one tastes so light, even though it's the same temperature!"
"After eating for a while, people tend to start getting a bit tired. If you warm this sake up to the right temperature, it helps you continue to eat."
"That's right. And this sake is not only light, but it also has a strong, rich taste...
... so it can capture the fatty parts like the chicken skin and chicken wing and boost their flavor."
"This way, you can continue to eat, and you'll never get tired of drinking.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“The stewed offal here is motsunikomi. It can also be translated as "stewed giblets." It is made by stewing beef or pork giblets with ginger and vegetables, and flavored with either soy sauce or miso.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Izakaya: Pub Food

“Hm. A dal bean curry, eh? It looks similar to Chana Masala, a Punjabi dish that uses chickpeas...
!
This viscous stickiness...!"
"It's Natto!"
Gooey texture and savory flavor are melding together inside my mouth! Was natto ever this delicious?
"Wait... this is no normal natto! Could it be..."
"Yes, sir. This natto I made by hand using charcoal smoke. It's charcoal-aged natto.
After I added the natto spores to a batch of soybeans, I stored them in an underground room. There I lit a charcoal fire and then kept the room at just the right temperature and humidity to ferment the soybeans.
As this process takes several days to complete, I prepared it ahead of time, over my summer break."
"The carbon dioxide generated by the charcoal fire impacts the maturation of the soy proteins. It gives the natto a richer flavor. It also halts bacteria death in the beans, preventing the typical smell of ammonia from developing!"
"Did you know all that?"
"I heard a little about it once. It's supposed to be a really hard process that takes loads of time to finish!"
"And she made it by herself?!"
"But that isn't all.
There's another flavor--- a deeper, more savory one that resonates across the tongue like a deep bass chord."
"Oh, that?
As a special hidden seasoning, I added shoyu koji."

SHOYU KOJI
Instead of salt, soy sauce is added to the koji bacteria and mixed with the rice until thick. Then it is left to ferment at a constant temperature for several weeks.

So that's the black stuff that was in that jar!
Shoyu koji has over ten times glutamic acid---an umami component--- than shio koji does.
I see. While the strong flavor of curry spices drowns out most other seasonings, shoyu koji's flavor is powerful enough to that it is instead a savory magnifier!
Her curry takes full advantage of her detailed knowledge of fermentation techniques! It is truly a magnificent dish!
"The creamy Japanese-style curry roux has blended in with the natto's gooeyness beautifully!"
"The mound of crisp, minced green onion on top is hard to resist as well!"”
― Yūto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 7 [Shokugeki no Souma 7]

“Stewed arame and deep-fried tofu. Okra croquettes. Kikuna leaves dressed with sesame and miso. Kurama-style sardine. Hirosu tofu ball in broth. Pork belly simmered in Kyobancha tea. Fresh tofu curd with sour plum paste. Oh, and Kioshi's rice-bran-pickled cucumbers. Nothing too extravagant. If anything, the highlights are probably the firmly cooked Goshu rice and the miso soup with ebi-imo taro. Anyway, enjoy the meal. Oh, and make sure you put a good sprinkle of sansho pepper on the soup--- it'll warm you right up.”
― Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives

“Kajii's memories of Niigata were cut off at the age of eighteen, when she moved to Tokyo. Going by the research Rika had done online, some of the places Kajii had suggested had since closed down. She had nonetheless made detailed plans to eat whatever local delicacies she could from the list: the praline cake eaten at festivities and gatherings; the raisin and buttercream swirl pastries; the Le Lectier yōkan; butter from Sado island; the Kenshin junmai ginjō sake that had been Kajii's father's favorite; the buttery waffles at the chain of restaurants owned by Kajii's local yoghurt factory; the place in the old town serving a rice bowl topped with a large cutlet; the set meal served on a tray in the restaurant that specialized in rice cooked in a traditional stove...”
― Asako Yuzuki, Butter

“They were brought over a mix of different kinds of rosy-seabass sashimi. The surface of its skin had been lightly scorched. On her first bite, Rika widened her eyes at the deep sweetness of the meaty flesh.
Next to appear was her bowl of rice, its shining white grains forming a mound over the rim of the bowl. Rika picked up her chopsticks and tucked in. On the other side of the table, Reiko was biting into her onigiri wrapped in dense black nori. Both of their expressions took on an ecstatic cast. Each individual grain of rice was so intensely sweet. She could sense not only the flavor of the grains on her tongue, but their shape as well. When she chewed them, the inside of her mouth loosened, and when she made to greedily absorb them and taste them, she could feel the insides of her body whirring round as if all its cogs were moving. A soft heat rose up from her solar plexus. Cutting the taste with the pumpkin pickles, pale pink millet roe, and the umeboshi brought out with the rice, she worked her way through in small mouthfuls.”
― Asako Yuzuki, Butter

“Young sakura shrimp from the sea, and butterbur shoots from the mountains--- all cooked together with the rice." Nagare dished some of the rice from the pot into a small rice bowl. "Spring's the time of new life, after all. It's lightly seasoned, so you can enjoy it as it is--- or put a dollop of this butterbur miso on top and then pour tea over it if you'd prefer it chazuke-style.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“The sakura shrimp fishing season has just started in Yui, so that's the first catch you're eating. If you believe what they say, that means you'll live a long and healthy life."
Nagare removed the lid from the bowl, releasing a cloud of steam. Kana leaned over, closed her eyes, and took a deep sniff of the clear broth.
"It smells wonderful!"
"The only solid ingredient is diced tofu. Plus a garnish of pepper tree leaves."
"Just tofu? But this aroma--- it's so complex."
"The stock is from quick-grilled sweetfish bones. I had plenty of them left over from all that sushi."
"So that's what I'm picking up," replied Kana, sniffing the steam again. "Who'd have thought those tiny little bones could add so much flavor?”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“First, the sashimi: soy-marinated tuna with a wasabi dressing, fresh slices of yuba, and thin-sliced sea bream smeared with sesame-seed paste. Dashi-maki omelet; miniature tilefish sushi; boiled hon-shimeji mushrooms and mizuna leaves in a bonito flake and soy sauce dressing; and pickled turnip cut into chrysanthemum flowers. These skewers are quail balls, steamed prawn, and salted smashed cucumber.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“The grilled dish is miso-marinated pomfret, and the small bowls are simmered Horikawa burdock with Akashi octopus, Shogoin turnip, and Donko shiitake mushrooms. Those small fish wrapped in perilla leaves are moroko, stewed in a sweet soy and mirin sauce. The deep-fried dishes are winter mackerel, done Tatsuta-age style by marinating it first, and ebi-imo taro, fried straight-up. Wrapped around the green negi onion is roast duck, around the thicker, white negi is Kurobuta pork. Try dipping those in the wasabi or the mustard. As for the steamed rice with Seko crab, that'll taste best with these mitsuba leaves sprinkled on top.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“The pink ingredient in your fried rice: it had to be these." Nagare produced a packet of fish sausages from a plastic bag at his side. "You must have noticed them in the rice?"
"Oh yes," said Hatsuko. "You know, I think I remember seeing something like that in our fridge."
"I picked these up in Yawatahama. A local butcher told me this brand was the closest you could get to the type Aihachi Foods used to make." Nagare set the sausages to one side, then produced another packet from his bag. "Now, this was the other reason for that pink color."
"What's that?" asked Hatsuko.
"A Yawatahama specialty. Kamaboko flakes. Just like bonito flakes, except made from kamaboko fish cake instead of tuna. They were invented back before people had fridges, as a way of making kamaboko last longer. Normally you'd sprinkle them over things like chirashi-zushi, but your mother decided they'd be a good addition to her fried rice. They make a pretty decent drinking snack too, by the way." Nagare opened the packet and retrieved a handful of the flakes, which he began to nibble on.
"So it wasn't just the fish sausage, then," said Hatsuko, also sampling the flakes.
"That's right," said Koishi, grabbing a handful for herself. "Given what they're both made from, it's no wonder you remembered the fried rice having a fishy flavor."
"As for the all-important seasoning," continued Nagare, "I imagine she used a mix of shredded shio-kombu and sour plum. That's where that tart aftertaste you mentioned came from. Then I realized: sour plum is pink too. It all fits the color scheme, see?" He showed her a can of the shredded kelp and sour plum mix. Hatsuko gave a deep, appreciative nod.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“Starting in the top left: fugu from Mikawa Bay, fried karaage style, and boiled Kano crab. To the right of that are grilled skewers of duck meatball and Kujo green onion, and tilefish tempura. Shogoin daikon and millet cake, baked in a miso glaze; Horikawa burdock and hamo fish cakes in broth. Below that are sake-steamed hamaguri clams, stewed Kintoki carrots and Kujo green onion, and the grilled fish is miso-marinated pomfret.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“You quickly simmer the hamaguri clams in sake, mirin, and soy sauce, then serve them on the rice. At Fusa Sushi, the resulting leftover liquid was boiled down and used as a glaze for the conger eel and hamaguri clam sushi. But because Kazusa-meshi was so popular, there was still plenty of the stuff left over. Rather than waste it, the owner started taking it over to his brother next door--- who put it in his ten-don sauce. The owner of Fusa Sushi kindly told me the recipe."
"So that sauce I just ate was flavored with... hamaguri clams?" asked Keiko, gazing steadily at the photo.
"That's right. Now, the soup at Tenfusa was hamaguri broth. I made the fish ball the way he told me too, using a mix of hamaguri and white-fleshed fish. That's right--- the first time you visited, I happened to be serving a sake-simmered hamaguri stock for the soup. Of course, in that soup, the fish balls were made from sardines--- which your hometown of Ishinomaki is famous for. That, combined with the clam-flavored broth, explains why you found the flavor so nostalgic. You've quite the discerning palate, clearly!”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“The early-morning food is both perfunctory and delicious. Wedges of grapefruit and orange, a glass of blood orange juice and a bowl of rice threaded through with flakes of dried seaweed and beads of salmon roe as bright as Christmas baubles. It is the bowl of soup that is extraordinary. The usual light, instant miso has been replaced by a rich chicken broth, deeply savory, the beads of fat on its surface supporting a single floating mushroom.


When I am eating eel donburi from a rust-red lacquered bowl and they bring me a cup of eel broth to go with it. Deeply smoky, slightly oily, dark as night.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“Tempura of orange pumpkin brought still crackling from the kitchen; slices of yellowtail sashimi in a puddle of sesame sauce; grilled bamboo shoots on a wooden skewer and a dish of rice porridge. There is grilled cod's roe with a pin's point of fresh wasabi, pickled butterbur buds and the earliest fiddlehead fern, simmered in dashi broth and curled up like a caterpillar. A pale-blue dish is filled with mustard greens and ground sesame.
As the light lifts, the room fills with weak and watery sunshine and I am brought a bowl of suitably pale miso broth with matchsticks of dried nori and balls of chewy white mochi. As I lay down my chopsticks a pudding appears of green-tea blancmange with two rust-red goji berries. Dessert for breakfast is something I can get on top of.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“A wedge of autumn melon the color of apricots with a honeyed scent you catch from three feet away.
A shallow lacquered tray of rust red, laid with eight individual dishes. Yoghurt in a thin glass dish; a single teardrop of deep-red syrup and a tiny green leaf float on its surface.
A deep-black raku bowl of okayu, the soft and soupy rice to gently lull us out of sleep.
A triangular dish of pickled vegetables and a single umeboshi plum.
A white bowl of chilled black hijiki seaweed and soybeans.
A pretty dish painted with wisteria flowers of the softest, stickiest silken tofu the color of the pages of an old book, decorated with a single yellow chrysanthemum flower and a lump of fresh wasabi the size of a pea.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“The fish on the rectangular plate are autumn ayu, salted and grilled. One of them is lightly smoked over wood chips from a mixture of cherry blossom and apple trees; the other--- with the roe--- is marinated in a yuzu-infused sauce. Feel free to garnish them with the finely chopped water-pepper leaves on the side. In the cut-glass bowl is some late-season hamo eel, in a tangy nanban-style marinade. You could sprinkle some kuro shichimi on there if you want to spice it up a little. Oh, and don't worry: All the fish is cooked right through! The Oribe bowl contains today's fried dishes: The breaded chunks of autumn eggplant and Omi beef are best paired with the miso sauce, while these two--- surf clam and vegetable tempura, and fried kuruma prawn fish balls--- will go nicely with the matcha salt. And the Karatsu cup is filled with a mixture of miniature taro, baby matsutake mushroom, red konnyaku jelly, and okra.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Menu of Happiness

“The skewers in the top left are inspired by those colored mochi balls people like to eat at this time of year. Shrimp dumplings, baby cucumber, and quail meatballs, all speared onto a willow branch. The thick omelet next to that is the sort of tamagoyaki you'd get at a Tokyo sushi restaurant--- cooked with shrimp paste. Then you have the sawara mackerel, grilled Kyoto-style in a sweet white miso marinade, and in the small bowl below, a selection of steamed vegetables. Baby taro, Kintoki carrot, pumpkin, lotus root, and Shogoin turnip. On that tissue paper in the middle are various edible wild plants, all deep-fried: ostrich fern, butterbur buds, momiji-gasa, angelica buds, and mugwort. Those are good with a bit of matcha salt, or you might want to try dipping them in Worcestershire-style sauce in that little pot. To the left of that, wrapped in the green bamboo leaf, is cherry-bass sushi, while the small bowl next to that is flash-boiled Omi beef, with a ponzu vinegar gelée.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Menu of Happiness

“He drained his first cup of sake, then maneuvered his chopsticks toward their first destination: the thick shrimp-paste omelet. Layered and rolled into a fragrant cakelike sponge, it was an irresistible combination of savory and sweet--- just the way Takayuki liked it.
Next, he began loosening the various elements from the willow skewer and popping them into his mouth. The shrimp dumplings were succulent, the salted cucumber refreshing, and the quail meatballs--- which included the soft bones ground up in the paste--- dense with rich flavor.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Menu of Happiness