Japanese Cuisine Quotes

“I reckon we always meet the people we're supposed to meet, which is why you ended up walking through that door.”
― Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives

“Japanese cuisine did not change all at once but in stages.”
― Bee Wilson, First Bite: How We Learn to Eat

“Katsuobushi is dried bonito, or skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). Chunks of the fish are smoked and dried into hard blocks, which keep for several months. Along with kombu, katsuobushi is the other main ingredient used in making dashi. Throwing the whole block of fish in the water won't work; it must first be shaved into flakes with a tool that resembles an inverted carpenter's plane. However, almost no one actually prepares the flakes by hand anymore; home cooks buy bags of them at the grocery store or use instant powder preparations instead. Although bonito is the most popular type of dried fish for making dashi, many others are used as well, such as mackerel (sababushi), bluefin tuna (magurobushi), and sardines (niboshi).”
― Tetsu Kariya, Japanese Cuisine

“They shared the monkfish-liver pâté and the finely chopped tuna and scallions with ginger sauce.
"Remember the time we had puffer fish at that restaurant in New York?" Isaac asked as he tasted the monkfish.
Elliott slowly shook his head as he answered. "How can I forget? I was scared to death. Every time I have liver, no matter where it comes from, the puffer-fish liver crosses my mind. I sat there praying that the chef knew what he was doing when he cut out the poison part."
"You didn't seem scared," said Isaac.
"That's because I didn't want you to think I was unadventurous. We had just met then. I was trying to impress you."
"Well, you did," said Isaac. "I'd been in town for only a few months, and I thought you were such a sophisticated New Yorker. I was trying not to seem like a rube."
"You know," said Elliot, "I read that Japanese fish farmers are mass-producing poison-free puffer fish."
Isaac shrugged. "Kinda takes the mystique away, doesn't it? I mean, where's the thrill? Where's the risk? You might as well be eating tuna.”
― Mary Jane Clark, Footprints in the Sand

“A special treat has been prepared----ayu, a troutlike fish caught in the Nagara River from the Gifu area. It is served whole over a bed of rice, once a currency and now a sacred grain.
"Very fresh," the chef informs us with a proud smile. "Caught this morning."
"It's considered a delicacy," my father says as the chef leaves. I haven't managed a taste yet. I'm watching my father, observing how he'll eat the fish.
He brings the bowl to his face, then uses the ohashi to grasp the tiny sweetfish and take a bite, staring with the head. I blink. Oh, okay. That's how it's done. I pick up my ohashi and copy his moves.
My teeth sink into the fish. I wait for my gag reflex to kick in, but it doesn't. The skin is crunchy and salty, but gives way to a softer, sweet inside, tasting like watermelon. My saliva glands kick into overdrive. Just like that, I'm all in. If ayu is on the menu, I'll have two.”
― Emiko Jean, Tokyo Ever After

“An indigo bottle is placed in front of us. "First rule of sake." Yoshi picks up the flask and one of the matching ceramic cups. "Never pour for yourself." He pours a shot for Taka and me. I reciprocate, pouring one for Yoshi.
We hold the cups close to our faces and sniff. Sweet notes rise up and we toast. "Kanpai!" Then we sip. The rice wine goes down cold but warms my belly. A few more sips and my limbs are warm, too. Scallops and yellowtail sashimi are served. We sip more sake. By the time the yakitori arrives, our bottle is empty and my cheeks are hot.
The group of salarymen have grown rowdy, their ties loosened. Yoshi winks at the pink-haired girls and they collapse into a fit of giggles. My God, to have such power over the opposite sex.
Gyoza is next. The fried pork dumplings dipped in chili oil burn my mouth but soak up some of the sake, and I sober a little, just in time for the group of salarymen to send us a round of shōchū, starchier than the sake but delicious all the same. We toast to them, to the bar, to the night, to Tokyo. My stomach is near bursting when the chef places agedashi---fried tofu---in front of us. Finally, Taka orders fermented squid guts. I don't try it, but I laugh as he slurps them up.”
― Emiko Jean, Tokyo Ever After

“In Japan, the most honored guest eats first. That's me. "Itadakimasu," I say, keeping my back straight as I take a bite of prawn. In kaiseki, the focus is on the food's essence and is reflective of the rhythms of the seasons. The meal is heavily influenced by nature. It's May, so our menu will be inspired by spring and feature bamboo.”
― Emiko Jean, Tokyo Ever After

“Sweetfish with pickled plum. I like it!"
"This is the season for pike conger, but since they're better down in Kyoto I decided instead to use sweetfish that was caught this morning in the Kano River."
"Wow, this one is such a pretty, light pink color. The flesh is smooth, and it has a nice, firm texture..."
"It's saltwater eel sashimi. Tastes rich."
"Lessee, then the last one is..."
"It's flyingfish sashimi from Sagami Bay. Please try it with the miso vinaigrette."
"Hmm... flyingfish has a strong taste that's probably too much for most people.
But this miso dressing gives it a nice, rich flavor.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Japanese Cuisine

“Karasumi is salt-cured, sun-dried mullet roe. A specialty of Nagasaki, it is similar to the Italian bottarga, Greek avgotaraho or Turkish tarama.

Kuchiko is pressed sea cucumber ovaries and comes in small, triangular sheets that can be eaten either raw or grilled. It's called kuchiko when raw and konoko when dried.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Sake

“Ruibe is a traditional Hokkaido dish using salmon or trout. It uses frozen salmon, thinly cut into sashimi slices. The fish is not thawed, but eaten frozen with soy sauce and wasabi. The origin of the name for ruibe is from the Ainu word ruipe in which ru means "melt" and ipe means "food.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Fish, Sushi and Sashimi

“Cubes of Mita's Kuroushi Beef."
"Oh, raw meat?
At first glance, it looks raw, but it's actually been cooked. And when you bite it all the juice from the meat comes seeping out!"
"Ohh... if it was raw, you wouldn't get such a succulent juice coming out of it. This has been cooked very skillfully."
"One has soy sauce with Japanese mustard, and the other has soy sauce with wasabi on it. Two different sauces to enjoy."
"We slowly roasted a prime tenderloin of the Mita Beef, and then cut away the meat on the outside...
... to take out the meat on the inside."
"What an extravagant thing to do."
"Hmm, this meat is top-notch, but Mamiya's skills have definitely improved. It's not easy to cook the meat so delicately..."
"This one is wrapped in a bamboo sheath... I wonder what's inside.
Oh, it's tilefish."
"And underneath is..."
"It's shredded snow peas with tilefish on top...
... wrapped in a bamboo sheath and steamed.
Please pour some kuzu sauce on it...
You can also place some wasabi on it if you want to."
"The fish has been steamed to perfection. If he had steamed it any more, the flesh would have become tough, but if he had steamed it any less, it would still be a bit raw. It is just soft enough, and the juice is still left in it too..."
"The snow peas have sucked up the flavor of the tilefish and have bloomed in flavor.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Vegetables

“Takikomi gohan and maze gohan are two methods of cooking rice mixed with other ingredients, and they cover a wide range of similar dishes. Roughly speaking, takikomi gohan is a dish where the ingredients are cooked together with the rice, while maze gohan is a dish where the ingredients are mixed into the rice after it is cooked.”
― Tetsu Kariya, The Joy of Rice

“In the bottom right is the grilled fish of the day--- in this case, teriyaki yellowtail. Top left is a selection of sashimi and pickled dishes.: Akashi sea bream, Kishu tuna, and flash-grilled Karatsu abalone. Seared Miyajima conger eel, served with pickled cucumber and myoga ginger. And in the bottom left is the matsutake rice--- the mushrooms are from Shinshu, and wonderfully fragrant. I'll bring some soup over shortly. In the meantime, enjoy!'
Nagare bowed and turned back to the kitchen.
'Let's tuck in,' said Tae, joining her hands together in appreciation before reaching for her chopsticks.
'It's delicious,' said Nobuko, who had already reached into the bento and sampled the sea bream.
'The sashimi looks wonderful, but these appetizers are simply exquisite. Let's see... rolled barracuda sushi, dash-maki omelette, and those look like quail tsukume balls. And this simmered octopus--- it just melts on your tongue!”
― Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives

“As Hideji's gaze skipped between the various dishes, Nagare went on:
'Stewed arame and deep-fried tofu. Okara 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

“Miyajima oysters, simmered Kurama-style, miso-glazed baked butterburs with millet cake, bracken and bamboo shoot stew, chargrilled moroko, breast of Kyoto-reared chicken with a wasabi dressing, and vinegared Wakasa mackerel wrapped in pickled Shogoin turnip. In the bottom right you have a hamaguri clam broth thickened with kudzu starch. Tonight's customer asked me to create something that evoked both the lingering winter and the onset of spring, which led to the dishes you see here.”
― Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives

“Starting from the top left: thinly sliced Akashi sea bream sashimi, with a prickly ash bud and miso dressing-- to be enjoyed with the ponzu dipping sauce. Miso-glazed Kamo aubergine. Maizuru cockles sandwiched between slices of myoga ginger. Gizzard shad marinated in sweet vinegar, served in a miniature sushi roll. Fried matsutake, conger eel grilled two ways, Manganji sweet pepper tempura, abalone pickled in Kyoto-style sweet white miso and then grilled. Fish paste noodles, Kurama-style local chicken, smoked mackerel with a pine nut stuffing. Fresh soy milk curd and vegetables pickled with red perilla.”
― Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives

“Seeing as it's cherry season, I've gone for an imitation of a lunchbox from a blossom-viewing picnic. On top of that folded kaishi paper is the wild vegetable tempura. Ostrich fern, mugwort, devil's walking stick, koshiabura and smilax. There's some matcha salt on the side, or you can try it with the regular dipping sauce. The sashimi is cherry bass and halfbeak. Try it with the ponzu. For the grilled fish dish, I've gone with masu salmon in a miso marinade, together with some simmered young bamboo. Firefly squid and wakame seaweed dressed with vinegared miso, overnight Omi beef, and deep-fried chicken wing-tips. In that wooden bowl is an Asari clam and bamboo shoot broth.”
― Hisashi Kashiwai, The Kamogawa Food Detectives

“In the top left you have simmered Nagaoka bamboo shoots and wakame seaweed from Izumo, served in a Karatsu-ware bowl. Next to that, on the long Oribe dish, is grilled masu salmon seasoned with pepper tree leaves. The square Kutani bowl is dashi-simmered egg scrambled with green peas. The next row down is a series of five small Imari plates. Starting on the left: white miso clam gratin; salad of finely chopped cockles and Kujo green onion; tilefish sashimi with a ponzu, miso, and pepper-tree-leaf dressing; slow-cooked Tamba chicken in a salt koji marinade. At the end, on the right, is pickled sweetfish sushi, served whole. The round dish at the bottom is a selection of wild vegetables: butterbur buds, devil's-walking-stick, ostrich fern, momiji-gasa, bracken shoots, and smilax. Normally those would be served as tempura, but I've gone for something a little different and deep-fried them Western-style instead. Sprinkle them with matcha salt if you like, or they go very nicely with this green peppercorn-infused Worcestershire sauce." Nagare produced a bottle of white wine. "Now, will something like this do?"
"Hang on a moment," said Kana, reaching for her digital camera again.
"My friend in Tamba makes this," continued Nagare. "Hundred percent Chardonnay grapes, fermented in small French casks, apparently. Has an elegant flavor--- perfect for spring, I'd say.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“Dad, what was that soup you mentioned just now?" asked Koishi as she wiped the table down. "Kenoshiru, did you say?"
"Chopped vegetables--- daikon, carrot, and so on--- deep-fried tofu, and konnyaku, simmered in kombu stock. Apparently the trick is to mix in something called jinda--- mashed soybeans, basically--- right at the end."
"Why did you say that made her father a kind man?" asked Koishi as she made her way into the living room.
"See, the snow's so deep in winter up there that they can't pick the traditional seven herbs of spring," replied Nagare, folding up his newspaper and following her. "So instead of making seven-herb porridge on the seventh of January like everyone else, they make kenoshiru soup. A huge pot of it, which they eat right through until the middle of January. Apparently the original idea was to give women a break from working in the kitchen all the time."
"Hear that, Mum?" said Koishi, kneeling in front of the family altar. "Sounds like the real gentlemen are all up in Hirosaki."
"Hey, we're even nicer in Kyoto. Kikuko knows that better than anyone."
"You keep telling yourself that, Dad," said Koishi, her eyes opening slightly as she joined her hands together and prayed.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“Shokado bento boxes were originally paint boxes, you know--- that's why they're divided up into squares like that. Anyway, in the top left are the appetizers. Wakasa winter mackerel, marinated in vinegar and served sashimi-style; Hinase oysters simmered in a sweet soy and mirin sauce; Kyoto-reared chicken, deep-fried in the Toji temple style using a yuba batter; vinegared Taiza crab; stewed Shishigatani pumpkin; and Omi beef, marinated and deep-fried Tatsuta-age style. All served bite-size. In the top right is what we call 'imobo'--- dried codfish stewed with ebi-imo taro. I've served it with grated yuzu from Mio. Should brighten up the flavor a little. Bottom right is a selection of sashimi: lightly salted Wakasa tilefish served on a bed of kelp, and Toyama winter yellowtail, sliced extra thin and wrapped in thin slices of lightly pickled Shogoin turnip. Try those with a bit of the shredded shio-kombu--- kelp simmered in soy sauce. And bottom left is the rice, cooked in soft-shelled turtle broth. It's a very delicate flavor, so you can eat it just like you would plain white rice. In that little sake cup is some squeezed ginger juice--- try drizzling that on the rice, if you like. It'll really bring out the flavor. The soup is white miso with chunks of millet cake. Take your time, and enjoy!”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“Everything on this platter is hamo eel or ayu sweetfish: two essential parts of Kyoto summer cuisine," explained Nagare. "Starting from the top left: miniature hamo sushi rolls. One teriyaki-style, and one shirayaki--- without any seasoning, that is. Next to that, in the small bowl, is shredded hamo eel skin, pickled and served with okra. On top of the bamboo grass leaf are two little ayu, caught in the Katsura River--- salted and grilled. In the glass sake cup is a delicacy known as uruka--- basically the salted entrails and roe of the ayu. Similar to shiokara, if you've had that. The deep-fried dish in the middle on the right is ayu fry. They're sprinkled with sansho pepper salt, so you can enjoy them as they are. Bottom right, on the perilla leaf, is hamo no otoshi: boiled slices of the eel, served with pickled plum paste and myoga ginger. Bottom left, meanwhile, is hamo no hasamiyaki, which is seasoned with white miso and fried between slices of Yamashina eggplant.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“Here's the soup. Nothing new, but if you're going to have broth in summer, it has to be botan-hamo: lightly boiled hamo eel, named for the way it's cut into the shape of a peony to remove the bones. As for this ayu rice, the only ingredient is in the name. The fish are deboned, so all you need to do is sprinkle some of these chopped mitsuba leaves on top. The pickles on the side are eggplant and myoga ginger. Now, you tuck in, and I'll bring you a cup of hojicha.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“He detected a faint hint of tonkatsu in the broth, but the base was definitely chicken rather than pig bones. The broth wasn't quite transparent, but it was a great deal clearer than the turbid liquid that usually accompanied ramen these days. It seemed quite possible there was some kind of fish stock in there too. A garlicky, gingery aroma rose from the bowl.
The noodles were the thin, straight type, and cooked slightly on the firm side. On top of them lay two slices of roast pork and another two of kamaboko fish cake. These were accompanied by bean sprouts, pickled bamboo shoots, and negi onion.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

“On a deep bed of rice sits a neat rectangle of grilled eel fillets, a dish I could easily choose as my last supper if I could eat it here, in Japan. Those bronzed pieces of fish, shiny, soft enough to cut with chopsticks and tantalizingly savory, are the food I dream of when I am on the plane, and are now sitting in their shining box, dusted very lightly with fine green sansho pepper. What I refer to as Japanese dust-- the ground dried berries with notes of pepper and citrus.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“Oden is many things: a stew of fishcakes and radish, boiled eggs and root vegetables or bits of meat that need a long, slow cooking. Winter food that is both cheap and nourishing, though little more. But to me, right now, it is the most comforting thing that has ever passed my lips.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“Grilled mackerel, charred on the edges, on a small oval plate with a long pink shoot of pickled ginger and a snowdrift of grated radish.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“Japanese water is soft and its low mineral composition is better for making soup.
Miso soup sets me up for the day as surely as a bowl of porridge, though I have been known to take both. In Kanagawa or Kyoto, Okinawa or Sapporo, that soup may be made with dashi-- a delicate broth of smoked dried fish and seaweed-- and miso, a light (shiro) or red (aka) paste of fermented soybeans. Shiro miso has the color of thick heather honey or fudge, is lightly salty and makes for easy drinking. Aka miso is red-brown, more savory and umami-rich than the white, and makes, to my mind at least, a more soulful, almost melancholy broth.
Sometimes there are shreds of seaweed or a few tiny clams waiting at the bottom of your bowl, like treasure. Soup-- clear, aromatic and lightly salty-- is a gentle way to begin the day. I am lulled, sip by slow sip, back into the rhythm of life. I start my day in good heart.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“Rust-pink fish roe wrapped in a shiso leaf and fried in tempura batter. The fact that it is eaten in a plastic hut outdoors in January only adds to its deliciousness.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“A new sake was served, this one white and creamy--- an unfiltered nigori sake that tasted of jasmine, orange blossom, and vanilla.
King salmon with smoked soy sauce was followed by a bite of sea bass topped with a dollop of lime foam and sea salt. Fatty tuna was followed by an even fattier tuna, each delightfully buoyant and yet like velvet on her tongue. And then a mysterious dark yellow paste arrived, wrapped in a column of seaweed.
"Uni!" gasped Ruby.
"What in the world is uni?"
"Sea urchin--- it's a delicacy." Ruby swiftly ate the bite and moaned shamelessly, her eyes closed.
Cassie hesitantly popped the food into her mouth--- it was strangely creamy and coated her tongue with the tropical flavor of mango, in stark contrast to the crunchy, salty seaweed. It was, without a doubt, simply delightful.”
― Emily Arden Wells, Eat Post Like

“It's so tasty it's hard to believe that rice tastes like this with just carrots and fried tofu."
"It's healthy too," Tokuda added.
"Good for when you're tired," said Tokai.
The main dishes were lotus root cooked in soy and chili pepper, and the head and bony parts of yellowtail cooked in soy sauce and sweet sake. Both were mildly seasoned and went well with the rice.”
― Hika Harada, Dinner at the Night Library