[WEB ARTICLE] Kimata Syoya (JO1) - Elle Gourmet (6 October 2022) regular column (Part 2)

[dreamweavernyx]

Part 2!

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[Photo 15]

Fried amadai (tilefish) presented together with broth

Kimata: The grilled item has arrived! It’s a fried amadai (tilefish). Wow, there’s also takikomi-gohan (rice cooked in flavoured broth) below that! What is this broth that you’ve served on the side?

Chef: This is a special rich sauce made from the bones of the fish; first, break up the amadai over the top of the rice, and eat it. Next, please pour over the sauce, and enjoy the way the flavours all come together inside of your mouth.

Kimata: Woah~! It’s crunchy. ASMR!!

Kawashiri: Hahahaha!!

Kimata: There’s a variety of vegetables inside, too. There’s so much I want to say about this dish. The white fish is firm; it was cooked without turning too flaky. The broth also matches it really well.

Kawashiri: It’s crunchy, and then firm underneath… I wonder how to find the words to describe it. The texture is great, but the flavour is mild so it’s very calming. It’s the calming taste of home-cooked food.

[Photo 16]

Kawashiri: This fish-bone…sauce? Broth? is super delicious. I could definitely just drink this on its own.

Kimata: I’d want to drink this in the mornings instead of just plain water! How did you go about making this?

Chef: For this, [...] we cook it down for a period of two hours, you know. And then, we’ll strain it after boiling, and add a little soy sauce to the strained liquid…

Kimata: …I might try making it. To drink in the mornings.

Kawashiri: I mean, I wanna drink it too! (laughs) But surely you won’t be able to make it that easily! I mean, he said it’ll take 2 hours, you know? Won’t you need to start preparing it from the night before?

Kimata: I’ll do it all!

Kawashiri: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but we haven’t even gotten to the star of the show, the nigiri sushi, yet, you know. But even then, we’re already this satisfied.

Kimata: We’re just getting started~!!

[Photo 17]

Finally, the start of the nigiri sushi

Kimata: It’s finally here, the nigiri sushi.

Chef: Well then, I will begin making the sushi.

Both: Yes please!

Kimata: Red sushi rice! This is Edomae-style, after all.*

[ T/N: Edomae-style sushi rice is usually prepared with red vinegar. ]

Chef: First up is the hirame (flounder). After that, we will have the botan-ebi (botan shrimp). We understand that you like shrimp.

[Photo 18]

Kimata: I reallyyyyyyyyyyyy love shrimp. Wow! Wow! I was thinking of ordering something like this for my hometown tax payments*. I’ve saved them all in my favourites, and have kept them under KIV, so all that’s left to do is to put them in my shopping cart and order them.

[ T/N: Hometown tax is a system of tax returns by which people in urban areas can contribute to rural regions (usually in exchange for gifts of local products from that region) and receive a tax credit. ]

Kawashiri: But once they arrive you’ve got to clean them all out and everything, right?

Kimata: I’ll totally do it! Where is this shrimp from?

Chef: Today’s shrimp comes from Alaska. During this season they are especially plump, and more delicious than the ones from Hokkaido.

Kimata: Wow, it looks so delicious! I hear that you turn the other parts of the shrimp apart from the body meat into tempura. Please do!

[Photo 19]

Chef: Here is the botan-ebi topped with caviar, please enjoy.

Kawashiri: Syoya, the shrimp’s here!

Kimata: The moment I’ve been waiting for. It always looks so good whenever I order it. It’s so pretty. It’s like, don’t you think the shape (of the shrimp) looks like it was made for sitting on top of sushi rice?

[Photo 20]

Kawashiri: Hahahaha! If you eat this, botan-ebi will become your number one sushi bias.

Kimata: Man, this is delicious! The texture is really great as well. This will totally make you feel rejuvenated, you know. Like that feeling when you go to the sauna. It’s a rejuvenating shrimp.

Kawashiri: Syoya, you prioritise the texture of food, huh.

[Photo 21]

Next up, as dishes are put out one by one showcasing the fusion with French technique…

Chef: This is otoro (fatty tuna belly) topped with shallots.

Kimata: This must be French, this sha…llot…?

Chef: It is raw baby Chinese onions, and we slice them and make them into shallot oil.

Kawashiri: So it’s a French ingredient that’s been prepared in a Japanese way.

Kimata: Let me take a moment to focus properly on this. I’m so tempted to just scarf it down in one bite, but let me eat a piece of pickled ginger first!

Kawashiri: Yeah, that’s important.

[Photo 22]

Kimata: Grown-ups don’t guzzle their food, they slowly eat and savour it… but the moment you say something like that you’re still a kid!

Kawashiri: Hahaha!

Kimata: The shallots taste so good! This is revolutionary~ I bet shallots will become a trending food item this year. A trendy food, for sure.

[Photo 23]

In the next instalment of “Real thoughts on ??? Sushi”...?

Kawashiri: I wonder what will come out next… A white fish?

Chef: Would you like to try guessing the next one?

Kimata: I like that kind of stuff! But there’s also the fear of not being able to guess it right, even though I’m the Sushi King…

Kawashiri: If only I get it right, then this corner might become “Real Thoughts on Kawashiri Sushi” from the next instalment onwards! (laughs)

Kimata: Please, no, otherwise I’d be in trouble!

[Photo 24]

Kimata: Judging by the looks, it looks like white shrimp, but it also kind of looks like flounder fin… I wonder what it is?

Chef: I think you might be able to tell instantly upon eating it. The texture has some bite to it.

Kawashiri: Syoya, you’re a master of food textures, after all! Well then, I’ll dig in. Hm? This is definitely something I’ve had before. I’ve got it.

Kimata: I’ve got it! I know what it is. Ready, and… Ah, but if I get this wrong, this will become Kawashiri Sushi?

Both: Hahahaha!

[Photo 25]

Kawashiri: The texture’s really chewy, huh.

Kimata: They probably adjusted the texture by pounding it a little… Uh…. I’m scared of getting it wrong, so Ren-kun, tell me your answer… (Ren whispers to Syoya) Eh, is that so! Man, this will definitely become Kawashiri Sushi! The answer is, ready, and…

Both: Squid!

Chef: That’s right!

Kimata: Man~ Squid can turn out like this. I’m moved. The texture is different from the squid that you’d get at regular sushi places.

[Photo 26]

The long-awaited dish for sea urchin lover Ren-kun

Kimata: And the next one is crab!! There’s nobody out there who doesn’t love crab. When you think about crab, you automatically associate it with a treat, after all.

Chef: This is not usually part of the course, but we’ll make it for you specially for today. This is shredded crab, topped with sea urchin.

Kawashiri: Ahhh! The sea urchin’s here! It’s a sea urchin pillow. Man, I want to sleep on that. (laughs)

[Photo 27]

Kimata: Eh, woah… There’s sea urchin on the crab! I don’t think I’ve ever had crab and sea urchin together.

Kawashiri: Hahaha! The crab meat is mixed with the crab miso* so it has good flavour too, so it’s truly a marriage of two rich flavours. The two starring actors have come together. I think it’s been quite a while since I’ve had crab.

[ T/N: Referring to the crab guts, often considered a delicacy. ]

[Photo 28]

Kimata: It melted away (in my mouth). Man, the sea urchin is really sweet. There’s no bitterness to it at all! It’s so good I’d love to have another.

Kawashiri: I love sea urchin, so…. somehow, I was super moved in the moment (as I ate it) (laughs).

[Photo 29]

Kawashiri: Usually when I go to a sushi restaurant in my own private time, I don’t end up talking to the chef this much. (It’s nice) to have them explain the sushi to you in this much detail.

Kimata: That’s true.

Kawashiri: Usually, I can’t make conversation with them except to tell them the sushi tastes great. But today, talking this much with the chef, learning about what secret ingredients got added and the like… listening to that while eating makes the food taste even better.

Kimata: That’s where your senses would focus on, after all!

Kawashiri: I just said something really good, didn’t I. (laughs)

Kimata: Counting up the number of seats at the counter in this restaurant, it’s just enough to fit in all of JO1 plus our CEO. The moment we had that appetiser at the start, I’d already thought to myself, “Ah, I definitely would love to come here with everyone”. (laughs)

Part 3 >>