It might turn out that this once a week challenge will be the once in a week I eat well when I’m at home. This is because I am not much of a cook. Or rather, not much of a shopper. I have a muzak fear-induced dash-and-grab shopping policy for supermarkets, which when matched to intimidation by often baffling Japanese produce means I'll more often than not cook with anything familiar-looking, or just buy imported European food. I did for a time frequent a good local organic store (I’m sure there are more but I’m lazy), but was gradually driven away by the owner's obsession with the return of Maitreya and his insistence on sharing this news with me. I just want to quietly buy my carrots, please, minus the muzak and Maitreya. Nevertheless. In spite of being a reluctant cook, I am obliged to make food for myself, so I ought at least get a grip of the basics of Japanese cuisine. And in April I’ll be moving to the mountains (more Maitreya, but probably a different kind, and more on that another time), and will henceforth have little choice but to feed myself using the most basic of ingredients. And I do enjoy it if I'm honest – once the shopping bit is over. In fact I love cooking, but more than that … I love cooking and entertaining.
The first challenge: kinpira. Apparently the word comes from the name of the hero of an old puppet play and by association signifies something “strong”. By the way, kinpira is actually the technique, not the dish itself. R laughed out loud when I told him this was the first Mugwort project, as if it were something utterly unimpressive and undeserving of “challenge” status. I can now confirm that (for me at least!) it was a challenge and it was really fun to make as well.
Traditional kinpira is made with gobo which is burdock root and looks just like an old muddy stick. Witchy, like mugwort. You scrub it and soak it for a bit in vinegared water, and julienne it before sautéing it with your muzak/Maitreya carrots. If you’re in Kyoto you can get these long, deep red kintoki carrots (the word kintoki is strangely enough related to kinpira as, according to my trusty dictionary, Kintoki is the father of Kinpira in the eponymous puppet play, and connotes ‘red’). Gobo has a very wholesome, nutty kind of aroma. After sautéing very well so that it’s crisp and not soggy, you simmer it all in a shoyu (soy sauce)/sake/sugar mixture. Unfortunately I used too much of the shoyu mixture and it was a bit too deeply flavoured. As with all cooking if one flavor overpowers all the rest it’s unpleasant, so I guess the trick is to let the flavours of the gobo balance well with the shoyu etc. Which I didn’t manage very well…Another important part of the kinpira cooking process is eliminating the liquid by simmering it until it all evaporates. Anyway, for dinner I made to go with it yellowtail (buri) teriyaki (which was divine), white rice, age-ponzu (deep-fried tofu with yuzu (citrus) juice vinegar), and also a modern version of kinpira which uses asparagus instead of gobo and a little chili pepper. My neighbor and dear friend Yumika came over to eat with me, bearing cakes for dessert, and some raspberry and green tea macaroons from the lovely Kyoto patisserie, Monica.
In an attempt to find a more pleasant place to purchase my vegetables I’m planning a trip next week to the Nishiki ichiba, a great covered food market downtown. It will of course be subjected to the all important “shopping soundtrack and spirituality” test!
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