It's the Christmas tradition here in Japan. Instead of turkey or goose, a nice box of chicken wings courtesy of the Colonel. We had ours the other day...
…except ours were rather special. That's because they weren't KFC, they were "Dentucky" fried chicken. No, not a spelling mistake — a Christmas special at Den, in Jimbocho.
Inside the box, the kara-age deep-fried chicken wings were daintily laid out on a bed of straw…
…and the wings were beautifully stuffed with a mix of red rice, carrot and pine nuts. Superior in all ways.
But that's only as you'd expect from a chef of the caliber of Zaiyu Hasegawa. I'll be posting plenty more in the New Year about him and his own distinctive take on Japanese cuisine.
For the moment, though: Merry Christmas to everyone, wherever you are — and whatever you're eating this holiday season.