Back at Narutomi at lunchtime the other day, I was again reminded what fine quality side dishes he offers. Starting with his anago no nikogori.
Basically it's jellied eel, but done Japanese style. Lightly cooked conger encased in a thick, firm cube of jelly – nikogori is often made with the natural jellies that emerge from the fish bones; but these taste a bit firmer, which probably means that some gelatin has been added – seasoned with just enough shoyu to add umami rather than saltiness. And a dab of grated wasabi root for accent...
Yaki-miso, the classic sake snack, to nibble on as you sip. Well, I had work to do after this, so I was strictly on tea. But even so, such a rich umami-ful way to coax your appetite into action...
But (obviously) I was there for the noodles. And the tempura. At this time of year that means sansai – spring vegetables foraged from the uplands.
On the plate that day were: fukinoto (butterbur shoot); tara-no-me (another bud, often translated as Japanese angelica); kogome (green fiddlehead ferns); and tazeri (wild seri herb)...
The noodles of course are nothing short of excellent. Narutomi-san makes his soba with 100 percent buckwheat grain (with no wheat or other extender), which he grinds, hand-kneads, hand-rolls and hand-chops.
That means the soba-yu – the cooking water that is left after the noodles have been cooked – is white, rich, creamy, nourishing. Served in a lacquerware jug, the sobayu at Narutomi, like everything else, is outstanding...
Here are a few more dishes that he's been serving this spring (taken from a recent dinner). Asari clams with nanohana greens...
Yudofu no ankake (in a thick clear sauce with grated ginger)...
Anago tempura, crisp and golden, coarsely cut into three using the metal cooking chopsticks. And check out the spine, tied into a knot and deep-fried (a.k.a. hone-senbei). As with the sansai above, it's served with a saucer of salt, rather than a tsuyu (shoyu-based) dip...
And this has to be one of my all-time favourite ways of eating soba: plain seiro (cold, on a bamboo tray), with a side saucer of ultra-piquant grated karashi daikon...
Here is the man himself at work. Intense and focused, he is the very definition of the shokunin spirit. Thank you Narutomi-san.
I have written more about Narutomi in previous posts here… and here…
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