Yamagata and Yamadera November 16, 2009

Buildings on the cliff at Ryushakuji overlook the town of Yamadera below.

On the 4th of July weekend, we took Friday off and took a trip to Yamagata. I was inspired by my previous trip to Japan, when we spent 3 weeks studying haiku poet Matsuo Basho’s Oku no Hosomichi by following the same route through Tohoku. When we arrived in Yamagata on that trip, I caught a cold so I couldn’t complete the Gas-san to Yudono-san hike (I was deterred by the flying snow-rain at the cable car base) so I’ve been wanting to complete my unfinished trip since then. Plus, I remembered the area, particularly Yamadera, was so beautiful. We certainly weren’t disappointed this time around.

To get there we took the shinkansen to Sendai and then the local line to Yamadera. On my previous trip we were in Yamadera on the 4th of July too, and I remembered that the streets had seemed to be lined with cherry vendors. I was really looking forward to bunches and bunches of delicious Yamagata cherries. Unfortunately, this year’s weather led to a bad stone fruit crop, including cherries, so there were just a few sellers this time.

This carving is at the temple at the base of Yamadera. You can rub the statue where you’re having trouble to feel better. As you can see years and years of rubbing have made him so smooth and shiny. We saw lots of older ladies come and rub his feet before starting up the 1000 stone steps to the mountaintop temple of Ryushakuji.

A stone statue

The big main gate is about halfway up.

You can tie your omikuji here.

Looking up, you can see where water has worn rounded caves into the stone.

A small building on the cliff

The view of the town below (also called Yamadera) from the viewing platform.

Intricately carved dragons

At the top there is not just one temple, but many buildings, including this one, which appears to be the priest’s house, and a vegetable garden.

A string of omikuji.

A huge lantern.

me, Alex, and Alex

After spending the day in Yamadera we had a quick soba lunch before catching the train to Yamagata city. We met up with my friend Alex from Boulder, who is working as an ALT in Yamagata.

First we went to a nearby yatai center where we enjoyed some beers and local specialties. Just find a stall with open seats, pull up a chair, and order away. One interesting dish we tried was dashi tofu. Yamagata dashi isn’t dashi as in the kombu and bonito broth that’s used in Japanese cooking, it’s a finely chopped mix of okra, eggplant, shiso, and other vegetables and seasonings that you can plop onto your tofu. It’s neba-neba (sticky-slimy), but was surprisingly good; definitely better than that other neba-neba food, natto, in my opinion.

After that we headed to a tachinomiya (standing bar) called Maneki Buta. You might guess from the name that their specialty is pork. Alex recommended the grilled pork with daikon, raw on the inside and seared on the outside pork liver, and the gyu-suji nikomi. It was all tasty.

My culinary revelation with organ meats continues. Not only is chicken liver good, this raw on the inside and seared on the outside pork liver is pretty good too. It’s tender and creamy textured and cooked just enough.

See more from our trip at Alex’s photoblog.

Mt. Myogi Hike November 8, 2009

In June we went an a sort of “farewell hike” with some of our friends who were leaving Gunma. We went to Mt. Myogi, which is one of the three important mountains of Gunma (along with Mt. Haruna and Mt. Akagi). As you can see, the trail is quite challenging, but the views are great. We had a great hike, and managed to avoid any rain. After the hike we enjoyed some strawberry soft cream and went to a nearby onsen for a relaxing post-hike soak. To see more pictures from our hike, check out Alex’s photoblog.

Golden Week’s last stop October 2, 2009

On the last day of our Golden Week adventure we had a long stopover in Singapore on our way back to Japan. We checked our bags for our next flight and then headed out for some delicious dinner at Jumbo Seafood on the East Coast. Mmm…. it was so good. We had pretty much the same things that we’d had there on our previous trip, since we had such good memories of it and we couldn’t decide whether we preferred chili crab or black pepper crab. Both are fantastic. Along with our spicy sauced crabs we also ordered deep-fried man-tou buns (like tasty doughnuts for sopping up the chili sauce), bamboo clams, and lime juice. We dug in as soon as the chili crab arrived. As you can see it’s plenty messy so it would have been impossible to get a picture of the black pepper crab by the time it showed up.

Wouldn’t you know it, I just learned today that they even have two Tokyo locations. I don’t know what their prices are like, but it might be worth a try (It must certainly be cheaper than a ticket to Singapore).

So finally, here is the wrap-up of our Golden Week adventure:

Bali: Dinner at Mozaic

Bali: A day at the market and cooking class

Bali!

Java!

Singapore!

Alex’s Photoblog: Singapore

Alex’s Photoblog: Java

Alex’s Photoblog: Bali

Bali: Dinner at Mozaic September 29, 2009

While we were planning out trip to Indonesia, the New York Times had a timely review of Mozaic Restaurant in Ubud. It sounded like it was worth a try. It was also ranked as the fifth best restaurant in Asia by the Miele Guide, so I decided that that was the clincher.

After we arrived we enjoyed these cream-filled gougeres (above) in the lounge before being seated at our table in the garden. The garden was enjoyable but very dark. We didn’t bring along the mini-tripod and of course didn’t want to use the flash, so I don’t have many pictures from that point on. Alex chose the “Discovery Menu,” which is a series of dishes based on six traditional Balinese ingredients: Kluwek nuts, daun korokeling (salam leaves), kecicang (ginger flower), basa gede (spice paste), belimbing (baby star fruit), and buah kaffir (kaffir lime). At first we were presented with a platter that contained all six ingredients for us to look at, smell, and taste. The fresh salam leaves had a spicy scent that reminded me of burned rubber. The ginger flower had crispy layers and a slightly gingery taste. The baby star fruit was a little bit crunchy and much more sour than a mature star fruit. This was one of the few ingredients that we could more than just a nibble to taste. The kaffir lime had a wonderful citrus scent, especially if we squeezed it.

I chose the Chef’s Tasting Menu so that we could share and try both meals. Both meals were very good. I think if I could only choose one I would choose the Discovery Menu. It was really delicious and seeing and playing with the ingredients in their raw state was fun and interesting.

Mozaic’s ingredients discovery plate, part of the “Discovery Menu”: from left, kluwek nut, salam leaves (daun korokeling), fresh ginger flower (kecicang), basa gede spices (ginger, galangal, lemongrass); not pictured are baby star fruit (belimbing) and kaffir lime (buah kaffir)

Another thing I really enjoyed about our meal was the freshly baked bread. Our waiter dropped by occasionally with a basket full of warm rolls with interesting flavors like different herbs and grains. The rolls were nice and crusty, and a good change from the mostly sandwich-type breads and sweet rolls that were are so accustomed to in Japan.

fresh langoustine carpaccio cured in vanilla and macadamia, Sturia caviar, pepper tuille and baby leaf

Discovery Menu
Mozaic Restaurant, May 3rd 2009

Amuse Bouche

Kluwek
Balsamic glazed barramundi, Balinese ‘kluwek’ infused black olive sauce, vanilla endives and sambal ‘kluwek’

Daun Korokeling
Selection of market fresh seafood in a fresh curry leaf infused meunière, roasted eggplant caviar, cardamom reduction and fresh yogurt

Kecicang
French duck magret, stir fried Asian greens, fresh lime leaf infused yellow bell pepper sauce and sambal ‘kecicang’

Basa Gede
Slices of grilled Australian beef tenderloin, four spiced chestnut purée, Balinese ‘basa gede’ and ginger scented sprouts

Belimbing
Fresh belimbing sorbet, confied young balinese star fruit and star fruit chip

Buah Kaffir
Baked lemon tart soufflé, kaffir lime custard, chili infused lemongrass sorbet and passion fruit sauce

Chef’s Tasting Menu
Mozaic Restaurant, May 3rd 2009

Fine de Claire oyster with Japanese wakame

Fresh Langoustine Carpaccio
cured in vanilla and macadamia, Sturia caviar, pepper tuille and baby leaf

Parrot Fish Steamed in Laksa Leaf
fresh spinner crab ravioli, roasted coconut and laksa leaf infused broth

Caramelized Wagyu Beef
ragout of sticky oxtail, seared foie gras, whipped turnip, burned bread emulsion and ‘jus gras’

Victoria Rack of Lamb
organic plum purée, toasted spice, Swiss chard and Guinness beer emulsion

Fresh A.O.C. ‘Fourme d’Amber’ Cheese
Apricot sorbet, black truffle honey and baked fruit ‘pastilla’

Valrhona ‘Guanaja’ Chocolate and Coffee Fondant
Spiced grape reduction, date puree and bitter espresso granité

Bali: A day at the market and cooking class September 15, 2009

On our first day in Ubud we took a cooking class at Bumbu Restaurant. The class began with a tour of Ubud’s market. The market is busiest earlier in the morning so we went back for an earlier visit on another day. Our chef-instructor Gus showed us around the market and explained some essential ingredients of Balinese cuisine. I really enjoyed the tour, where we learned a lot of things that we probably wouldn’t have learned on our own. On the other hand, if you’re going to do some shopping, don’t do it with your tour group. The vendors know they can really stick it to you when you’re with the group. You’ve got a lot more freedom to haggle and shop around when you’re on your own. Another tip is to steer clear of the vendors in the areas that get a lot of foot traffic-they charge more than the vendors further back in the market.

Near the market entrance you can find sellers with spices for basa gede (the basic spice paste that finds it’s way into nearly everything) like greater galangal, and the smaller and spicier lesser galangal, fresh turmeric roots, garlic, ginger, shallots, and chiles. The woman above is also selling palm sugar, tomatoes, and green bananas.

These small, slightly wrinkled green chiles are spicy. The larger red chiles (no picture) are called lombok chiles, and are not very spicy, more like a flavorful sweet pepper.

Vibrant purple mangosteens–a vendor showed us a trick to open them without a knife. Just clasp your fingers together and put your palms on either side, then give it a good squeeze. The fruit will pop right open with no mess. This works on passionfruit too.

This ramp leads downstairs from the courtyard to the meat and vegetable sellers. Vendors alongside the ramp are selling peeled and sliced fresh fruits.

The view of the vegetable and meat vendors’ area.

A vegetable seller with greens, eggplants, carrots, potatoes, and long beans. On the right you can see the hand of our chef-instructor, who is explaining the vegetables that we’ll use in our class later.

Walk inside from the vegetable area and you will find cooking wares like mortars and pestles, wooden spoons, and coconut graters and then a maze of hallways leading to vendors with spices, dry goods, and dried fish. Here you can see dried fish, garlic, chiles, and rice. In the background are sauces and other essentials like fermented shrimp paste.

A woman walks home from the market with her shopping. Later, a watermelon fell out of the basket and started rolling down the street. Luckily we were able to catch it and return it, or who knows where it might have ended up.

After the tour of the market we went back to Bumbu, where we started the lesson by making basa gede. Basa gede is a basic spice paste that each household can use in many different dishes. The recipe we made had fresh turmeric root, shallot, garlic, ginger, greater and lesser galangal, lombok chiles, candlenuts, white and black pepper, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, sesame seeds, and cumin ground together until almost smooth in this stone mortar and pestle and then fried with a tiny bit of fermented shrimp paste. Once you’ve prepared the paste you can use it to season a number of different dishes and it’s very convenient because you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer (if you do this leave out the shrimp paste until you’re ready to cook with it)

This is sambal goreng, or fried hot spices: chiles, shallots, garlic, and shrimp paste. It is mixed with grated fresh coconut and then cooked vegetables to make sayur urab, mixed vegetables.

This was one of my favorite dishes that we made: opor ayam, curried chicken. It was easy to make and delicious. I have made it a few times since we’ve returned to Japan–it took me a few tries to get the basa-gede right without fresh galangal, lemongrass, and turmeric but I think I’ve found some substitutions that work. I made sure to increase the amount of dried turmeric since the fresh root is much stronger. I added a yuzu half to the simmering curry; the aromatic citrus flavor replaces the scent of lemongrass. Finally I used ginger instead of galangal. Of course it’s not the same, but it’s the best I can do for now.

Here’s the rest of the menu from our class:

Basa Gede – Basic Spice Paste

Sayur Urab – Mixed Vegetables with Sambal Goreng (fried sambal)

Tuna Sambal Matah – Tuna with Raw Sambal

Tempe Manis – Sweet Tempe

Opor Ayam – Curried Chicken

Bali Sate Lilit – Balinese Sate Skewers

Opor Ayam – Balinese Curried Chicken
by Bumbu Bali (my updates in parenthesis)

about 5 tablespoons basa gede
1 chicken (2 chicken legs and chicken thighs)
1 tsp salt
2 stalks of lemongrass
1 carrot (2 or 3 carrots)
1 potato (2 or 3 potatoes)
(eggplant)
3 salam leaves (substitute bay leaves)
1/2 cup coconut milk

Cut chicken into large chunks. Put chicken and basa gede in a pot and mix well. (Cook for a few minutes until fragrant.) Add enough water to cover chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Peel the carrot and potato (and eggplant) and cut into chunks. Add to pot with salam leaves, lemongrass, and coconut milk. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes until sauce is thickened and vegetables are cooked through.

Basa Gede – Basic Spice Paste
by Bumbu Bali

10 shallots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 lombok chiles (substitute mild red peppers)
5 cm laos root (greater galangal), peeled and chopped (substitute ginger if necessary)
5 cm kencur root (lesser galangal), peeled and chopped (substitute ginger if necessary)
5 cm ginger root, peeled and chopped
10 cm fresh turmeric root, peeled and chopped (substitute generous 2 tbsp powdered turmeric)
6 candlenuts (or macadamia nuts)
1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp white peppercorns
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
4 cloves
4 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp dried shrimp paste

Pound all of the ingredients except oil and shrimp paste together in a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, grind dry spices in a spice grinder and then puree the remaining ingredients except shrimp paste in a blender (with oil in this case). Add oil (if you haven’t already) and cook in a skillet, stirring, about 5 minutes. Store refrigerated up to 3 weeks or frozen up to 1 month. When ready to cook, stir in shrimp paste and cook a bit more.