Continuing on from “TRIBUTE to SEAFOOD – 15 Fish Dishes (Archives)/ Part Two: 6 through 10”

Deep-fried Genge [Eelpout],
★Toyama City, Toyama
It was almost 20 years ago that I visited a wintery Toyama for the first time with friends. Whipped around by freezing winds, we walked just a few minutes from Toyama station when we came across an izakaya with the name of a specialty written on the menu that we had never heard of before, a name with immense local character. “Deep-fried Genge”. We had no idea whether it was something from the sea or the forest, and when we asked the restaurant owner what it was, he perfunctorily (or maybe at a loss as to how to explain it) replied, “…Well, it’s sort of a deep-sea fish.” Deep-sea fish. Hmm…. Should we order it or should we not…? We ended up ordering it more out of curiosity than expectation. What he brought out was an enveloped thick white meat that looked like anago [conger-eel]. It was piping hot and crispy. We all took a bite and what filled our mouths was an indescribable savoriness. Since then, we have made it a rule that whenever we go to a rural restaurant and come across a dish that we have never heard of, whether it be cheap or expensive, whether it be questionable or off-putting, we order it. It’s been 20 years since I have had the deep-fried genge, but every time I hear the name “Toyama”, I remember the cold of the night and the savoriness of that fish.

Shako [Mantis Shrimp] Sashimi
★Himeji, Hyogo
All sushi-lovers will have heard of shako. It is standard fare at sushi bars. Having it raw, however, was something that had never even crossed my mind until about last year. Though not generally known even in Japan, there are a number of restaurants in Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima and an area by the Seto Inland Sea where they serve shako sashimi. I’ve heard that when shako dies, the enzymes from its own body melt it. In order to eat it, a relatively large shako is frozen live and then prepped using a unique method that helps to maintain the shape of the meat. It has a sweetness similar to jumbo shrimp, but with a distinct “shako flavor”. With any luck, it won’t be long until shako sashimi becomes as common as live mackerel and live squid in Tokyo’s restaurants.

Kin Fugu [Golden Pufferfish] Sashmi
★Takanabe Town, Miyazaki
About 10 years ago, I skipped work and accompanied my friend who was going to open a restaurant in Shonan and was travelling to Kyushu to check out foodstuffs. It was an amazing trip that included a visit to Miyazaki’s leading chicken farm, a famous shochu [distilled liquor] distillery that does not give tours and thus is close to impossible to see, and a discovery of the fascinating food culture of Kyushu. We were having a great night out with the locals at a small Japanese restaurant, and it was there that I first learned about “kin fugu”. This fugu is pufferfish, but it is not poisonous. Furthermore, I heard that it was delicious and cheap, so I helped myself to another plate. When I visited Miyazaki last year, I found one izakaya that served kin fugu, so I had it for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, it seemed to have shed its “cheap fish” image and had gradually established itself as a “local delicacy”. It is a shame that I can no longer refer to it as “affordable fugu”, but if it adds to the local specialty products of Miyazaki, then I’m all for it.

〜TRIBUTE to SEAFOOD – Overseas〜
Raw Murasaki Uni [Purple Sea Urchin]
★Dalian, China – Restaurant name undisclosed
We Japanese tend to believe that “Japan has the most delicious seafood,” but is that belief more wishful thinking or truth? If you look at a world map, you can see just how wide the earth’s oceans are, so it is only natural deduct that there is seafood that is just as delicious elsewhere. On the other hand, if you take the techniques for preparing freshly caught fish, such as “ikijime [a Japanese method of bleeding]” and freezing, then you add the skills a Japanese chef utilizes for preparing food and incorporating seasonal factors… Well, then it becomes quite tempting to believe that “Japan indeed has the most delicious fish.” However, several years ago I was astonished to eat seafood that tasted better than in Japan. This first-time experience happened in Dalian, China, at a restaurant that fell under the gourmet Chinese food radar. In Dalian, and various places around China and Korea, there are countless numbers of seafood restaurants that are equipped with incredibly large tanks. This restaurant, too, had a huge tank, but of course that does not account for delicious sashimi. Nevertheless, the uni I had there was fresh and (I suppose there’s certainly something to say for “freshly cracked”) it was by far the best tasting uni I have ever had. Maybe there are places in Japan where the uni tastes better… I bet that if were swimming around Rebun Island or Wakkani, Hokkaidoto, cracking open uni like an otter, they would be very delicious. In any case, I sure would like to taste uni in Japan that sets off fireworks the way that uni in Dalian did.

Gasami [Japanese Blue Crab]  Ganjang-gejang
★Busan, Seoul & other cities in Korea
This is such a delicious way to have gasami, and it is so abundant in Japan. Why hasn’t it made its way in to Japan yet?! The next time I go fishing, if I’m lucky enough to catch any gasami, I’m going to immediately call my Korean friend and ask them for the recipe for preparing Ganjang-gejang. Gasami has little meat. That is why in Japan, you usually only find it used in miso soup and it is no way a thriving industry. I love it so much that whenever I’m in Soul sucking on some gejang crab meat, I always think to myself, “If only I could take an oversized snow crab or king crab and dunk it in a huge vat of this sauce.” That thought is the gist of why I have plans next month to hop on an LCC to Korea and have some ganjang-gejang. Yes, of course seeking out restaurants in Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island serving delicious Korean short-ribs, jjigae and grilled pork belly barbecue is fun, but finding a restaurant that serves delicious ganjang-gejang is my ultimate mission.
I wonder how much fantastic seafood I will discover this year.