Japan - June 27 - July 8, 2011
A Bit About Japan and a Bite of Fish
Posted 7/29/2011
Who would think such a teeny person could take such a big trip ...
my dear friend Krissy, lover of jam and all things nature, from PHDuh, has recently returned from a trip to Japan! While she was gone, she updated her blog with dozens of salivation-inducing pics of seafood I've never seen before let along wrangled between two very thin and very tricky sticks (who hasn't shot a piece of sushi across the room before, am I right? Hello?). Read on for Krissy's amazing food tour through northern Japan and see some of the experiences you can have if you take that long, seemingly never-ending ride over the big blue sea.
Never in a million years did I think I would find myself in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a Japanese fishing boat. But a few weeks ago there I was. I had the great fortune of snagging a free trip to Hokkaido, Japan for twelve fantastic food filled days. I participated in a summer exchange school that brought ten international graduate students to Japan. We went on a whirl wind tour of Hokkadio, the island north of the mainland. Below I chronicle my top two seafood experiences.
1. Bounty of the Sea Beach BBQ Style
On the way from Tomakomai to Sapporo we stopped at a fishing village abutting the Pacific Ocean. We unloaded off the bus and immediately saw these folks preparing what would soon be my favorite meal of the trip. Our gracious hosts unloaded coolers full of fresh fish of all sorts and grilled them up on three huge charcoal grills. These guys and gals had years of grilling experience, their average age was probably close to 75 (although they could have passed for 55). Is there something in the water here? Or maybe it’s all the fish oil? I was about to find out.
1. Bounty of the Sea Beach BBQ Style
On the way from Tomakomai to Sapporo we stopped at a fishing village abutting the Pacific Ocean. We unloaded off the bus and immediately saw these folks preparing what would soon be my favorite meal of the trip. Our gracious hosts unloaded coolers full of fresh fish of all sorts and grilled them up on three huge charcoal grills. These guys and gals had years of grilling experience, their average age was probably close to 75 (although they could have passed for 55). Is there something in the water here? Or maybe it’s all the fish oil? I was about to find out.
We ate onigiri (balls of sticky rice), fish ball soup, squid, flounder, and numerous others I can’t recall the names of. Every time we finished one plate another was served. The bounty seemed endless. And then we had it, the most delicious fish ever. It’s call Komochi shishamo. Also known as little Hokkaido smelts filled with roe. These fish come strung by their mouths on a piece of bamboo, with their bellies full of eggs. Fishermen can only catch this delicacy in October when the smelts are full of eggs. If you fry these suckers up you will have a foodgasm for sure. Crunchy, salty, DELICIOUS! I ate about 10 of these.
With our bellies full of delicous fish we loaded the bus to head to Saporro, but these ladies wouldn’t let us leave without a doggie bag filled with grilled squid for the road!
2. Bounty of the Sea Sushi Style
Saporro is Hokkaido’s largest city and home to two million people and hundreds of sushi restaurants. I couldn’t tell you the name of the sushi restaurant our hosts chose but it’s somewhere close to this large motorized crab.
Saporro is Hokkaido’s largest city and home to two million people and hundreds of sushi restaurants. I couldn’t tell you the name of the sushi restaurant our hosts chose but it’s somewhere close to this large motorized crab.
Up an escalator, we found the entrance to the restaurant. About 20 of us seated ourselves around a long table and then the gorging began. Our hosts ordered round after round of the most amazing sushi I have ever beheld my eyes upon.
Round 1: Raw Octopus Tentacles. It may not look that appetizing, but let me tell you this is FANTASTIC! It was the prefect consistency, not too chewy, and the perfect flavor, not fishy at all. You have to try this.
Round 2. Raw White Fish (with skin) Sushi. The thought of eating fish skin would have grossed me out two weeks ago, but I had sufficiently worked up my courage by this point. I housed two of these without hesitation. The mix of fresh fish, wasabi and rice was perfect. The fish almost melted in my mouth.
Round 3. The Shellfish Sampler. When you hear raw shellfish in the States one thing comes to mind. Food poisoning! Well not in Japan, you think delicious. The presentation of this platter is just amazing. We were treated to raw squid, salmon, shrimp, scallops, conch and tentacles. If you have never eaten a raw scallop, you must try it, not fishy at all. And then there was the raw shrimp. I hesitated a bit with this one. Those little eyes were staring at me. But I was a champ, ripped the head of that thing and ate it in one bite. It tasted really buttery and had kind of a gross slimy texture. Not sure I would try that again. The rest of the spread was amazing, especially the salmon.
Round 4. Sushi Platter No. 2. Just as we finished the shellfish platter we were served another amazing display of sushi. So many more flavors to experience. Say hello to salmon roe, sea urchin, raw shrimp, salmon, white fish, red snapper, and a couple more I can’t recall. The salmon roe was an experience. When you pop one into your mouth it reminds you of a small gumball and then you bite down on a flavor explosion! Yum!
Finish it off with a cold beer and a group “Campai” which means cheers in Japanese. Until we meet again Japan!
On 7/29/2011, Kristin wrote:
"Looks like it was an awesome trip!!!"
"Looks like it was an awesome trip!!!"
