baking cured fish

It's been a nice, chilled weekend. Out for drinks and all that kind of chill. There's a new Biermarkt opened up at Shops at Don Mills, but unfortunately, it was absolutely packed when we went, and no, I'm not waiting an hour for a beer.

We finished the last of these. Cured fish that my mother brought back from Tsukiji Fish Market, baked and simple and great. They don't even bother labelling the type of fish, because it's not important. It's always some kind of mackerel or other cheap fish. Curing and baking fish gives it a savouriness that is almost meaty - really something we should be doing over the grill.

I'm gonna be chilling for the next month or so, so please bear with me. I've been drinking a lot of bourbon lately, and it's been awesome. 30 more days of madness left!

DF

it was waiting for me

2009 Kuehn Florimont Riesling | AC Alsace Grand Cru

2004 Prinz Von Hessen Riesling Spätlese | QmP Winkeler Hasensprung | Rheingau

One of those days, just one of those days when you want to think only about happy things. I remember the first time I ate sushi and sashimi. Just a child, and at the age of 10, raw fish isn't food; it's a novelty, like Kinder Surprise eggs. Everyone knows you don't eat them because of the milk chocolate.

I first visited Tokyo when I was 12. What a great experience. What a great summer, in fact. My aunt and cousin visited us first, spending a few weeks in Toronto, before we all flew to Vancouver to stay with a family friend. Then, I flew back with them, spending about 6 weeks in Japan. I learned so many new things that summer, but my strongest memories are of the food. Everything was so new, so different . . . I was a pretty bad eater, picky and a bit squeamish, but I learned to try everything there. All kinds of fish, the most amazing hairy crabs - even the peaches and pears we ate get me worked up again. It was a summer of adventure, and I grew up a lot during those 2 months; truth to the Chinese proverb that One would rather travel 10,000 miles than read 10,000 books.

The novelty of raw fish has certainly worn off, and I've come to (grudgingly) respect it. If the purpose of cuisine is to concentrate and present the very essence of the ingredient, then in some cases, sushi is the pinnacle. For the Chinese, raw hardly seems like the proper way to eat a beautiful fish, but if we look outside the tunnel vision that familiarity sometimes gives us, we often find inspiration. I was hungry for seafood. Hungry for shellfish, something like abalone or geoduck - feeling adventurous. But the fishmongers weren't cooperating, and I was about to return home empty-handed when I saw the most amazingly pinkish red hunk of tuna. It was meant to be. Diana's Seafood, pulls through in the clutch again, and with a sense of humour too: man behind the counter says Beautiful huh? It was waiting here for you this whole time!

You skin it, section it, and slice it. Thick and even. Look at the colour, the beautiful grain of the meat, the way it almost seems translucent. Incredibly fresh, considering where we are. Absolutely divine in flavour and texture. What to drink? I had a few chardonnays, but I was tired, and wanted an energetic wine to pick me up. Riesling, you're up.

An Alsace, from the Grand Cru of Florimont, along with a Rheingau riesling, from the Winkeler Hasensprung vineyard. I've been becoming more skeptical of these Alsatian wines - all flash no substance. Slightly disappointed in the Kuehn, all awkwardly handled residual sugar, little texture or extract. But that's why the German was on the table. Perfect isn't a term which should be used lightly in wine, but my god, the Rheingau riesling was perfect. Mineral and tension, still wound up and tight but with so much energy. Beautifully managed texture, on a long and extracted finish. Stunning wine for a stunning piece of fish.

Is this the best way to eat tuna? I don't know. Cuisine is about presenting food in the best way possible, but it's also about respecting it. A part of that means not overworking it. Eating in this way almost demands something out of the person eating. It's when you quiet down and really focus on the subtleties, that you really begin noticing why sashimi is a really special way of eating tuna. For one night at least, I was a believer.

DF

umezuke

Oooof, yeah, a lot of jibberish last night. A fairly severe hungover, but that's how we gauge party success. Two of the kids last night are in their last year of high school, and (anxiously) waiting for university acceptance letters. Everyone's all grown up. But I'll stay childish forever. What fun would it be if I tried acting all mature and shit?

There are no hangover cures, but lots of ice water and umezuke help. These pickled plums my mother brought back from Japan, that they eat with rice porridge. Incredibly fragrant yet acidic, salty and sour. Big, almost shocking flavours on the palate. Certainly wakes you up.

I love to party, but really, I'm a little out of practice. Strong will, weak stamina. Three straight nights of (fairly heavy) drinking, and I'm already looking forward to work tomorrow.

DF

that squid tentacle marinated in fish roe

Every culture has certain weird dishes that is a delicacy to natives, but completely off-putting to others. To the Chinese palate, cheeses are the gustatory equivalent of smelling someone else's feet - everything else that the Europeans throw at us, we can more or less manage. As much as I appreciate how special Roquefort is, just thinking of its distinctive stink turns my stomach.

Conversely, Asian cuisines have no shortage of trippy flavours. The Shanghainese love to eat fermented tofu. There are many ways to prepare it, but in my opinion, the most delicious is deep fried, with a drizzle of chili sauce. To the uninitiated, it smells, quite literally, of fresh turd. This is another one, a delicacy my mother picked up from Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Squid tentacles, marinated in fish roe and chili, eaten raw with breakfast porridge. The most amazing pungent, fishy, marine flavours, with the firm, crunchy texture of the raw squid . . . divine. The spice and grainy, firm texture of the fish roe sent my head spinning. Delicious, but flavours (and textures) that you have to grow up with. The things that will never be an acquired taste.

It's been ridiculously warm in Toronto this past week. An average of about 20 degrees all week, sunny, and absolutely gorgeous outside. Only the end of March, although things should be getting back to normal next week. No complaints. Out for a haircut today, in what seems like the first time in an age.

DF

that miso-cured salmon

It's called Miso zuke, hunks of salmon cured in miso paste. My mother visited Tsukiji Fish Market while she was in Tokyo, and my aunt bought a few different kinds of dried and cured fishes for me to taste. This particular example is fresh salmon, immediately marinated in miso paste. The miso contributes flavour, of course, but also firms out the texture; it also helps to render out some of that fat. Roasted in the oven, its savoury with fabulous texture, showing a lot of sweetness as well. A fascinating way to eat fish.

DF

strands of glass

The Japanese call these harusame. Unlike Chinese glass noodles which are made from mung bean starch, these are produced using potato starch, and the noodles are mainly used in hotpot or sukiyaki style dishes. Amazing how the same idea can take so many different forms. Do they taste any better than the Chinese noodles? That may be a matter of personal opinion; it may be more suitable to think of them as different ingredients for different purposes.

DF

flecks of green

Tea is like wine in so many gustatorial ways, but above all, it cannot simply satisfy a physiological need (namely, thirst); tea has to evoke something beyond simply smell and taste. As distinct as Chablis is from the Sonoma Coast, ryokucha is unique not just because of processing method, but because of place of origin. Truly fine ryokucha is a textural experience, creating a sensation reminiscent of rolling clouds and grainy hot spring sludge. It possesses formidable tannins, all the while remaining vibrant and fresh. All this, from a single passing of (just under boiling temperature) water.

Like all other things Japanese, the packaging is exquisite, but as the Shanghainese say, you can't eat packaging. Substance, in tea, in wine, in everything; that is the true source of beauty.

DF

Last drops of that Suntory

. . . always taste the best. The Japanese can really do it all - these blended brandies are extraordinary. Pure and vibrant, with the most amazing sweetness/oak nuttiness. Just all love, perfuming my room, perfuming it all.

DF

Look what she brought back again!!

Shiroi Koibito, my dream come true. Every little detail perfected, or as close to perfection as a little chocolate cookie can be. Down to the sticker that's only half sticky, giving you a tab to pull cleanly from - cute cat too. The actual cookie itself is almost anticlimactic

DF

that freshly milled rice

The Japanese believe in freshness so much they even offer freshly milled rice. We have an old Japanese friend I very affectionately call my big brother who's family comes from a village quite north of Tokyo. The main industry in his home region is agriculture, particularly of rice. Before my mother left, he insisted that she bring some over for me. My aunt got creative and decided to make it into an onigiri with some pickled plums inside.

It didn't travel well. We ate it for dinner the evening my mother arrived home. The rice, being exposed to rapid changes in temperature, had lost its texture, clumping together. The very subtle fragrance remained though. Now I have an itch I've got to scratch - I have to have a taste of rice at its freshest. Next year's harvest?

DF

Frankfurter Kranz I eat you again!!

It's here again!!! Oh FK, I've loved you for so long, so long. The way it's creamy but not overly rich, sweet but just so . . . how it crumbles and lingers in your mouth. They use two round stickers, one on top of the other, so when you peel it off, you don't rip the wax paper. Those short bastards think of everything, don't they? It figures, for the Japanese to perfect the perfect Bavarian treat.

DF

something different to keep you nervous

Shirakawago Sasanigori | Gifu Prefecture

It looks like milk doesn't it? It's good to challenge yourself with new things once in a while. Keeps you nervous, and as they say, on your toes.

The thing I miss most about being in Shanghai is eating with family. It's a different kind of food there - it's being back in the old country, and eating things that can't be found here. And the drinking. Oh yes, the rice wine. I've got these awesome uncles that everyone needs to have. It's a source of great pride for the Fangs that we are immune to the Asian glow. We drink until we can't stand/talk/walk straight, but we do not turn red. I particularly remember an amazing lunch we had the last time I was back home . . . . . oh God, that was almost two years ago. Food was amazing, just a full table of authentic, traditional Shanghai and Ningbo cuisine.

I've got so much love for two of my uncles, my father's oldest, and youngest brothers. And they were determined to see if I lived up to the Fang name. I'd like to think that I did pretty well. We finished something like 5 bottles of Shaoxing rice wine between the 3 of us - big 820 mL bottles, pushing 20% abv. I like drinking, but my goodness, it almost seemed a bit ridiculous to be indulging like this for lunch. We finished eating, about to have dessert served . . . I thought we were wrapping up when I fully realized the calibre of men I was drinking with. They called for 3 more (1 litre) bottles of beer to, as they said, rinse out the palate.

Needless to say, making our way back home through the Shanghai Metro was a bit of a struggle.

What a totally irrelevant story to this nigori sake. Milky white, with that extracted rice aroma. Gritty in texture, dry, with the alcohol showing a bit. Certainly a different experience. And it's good to open yourself to different things. Oh God I miss Shanghai.

DF