Sake

While shaping my knives, my chef pulled out the day's newspaper and laid it flat on the table. Sharpen with it, he said. Come again? The newspaper's ink, he explained, serves as a gentle, ultra-fine grit abrasive to give a knife's edge a final finish. I stroked my knife on the newspaper back and forth a few times. Sharp became even sharper. Works beautifully. Thanks, chef.

Here's Tokyo's answer to Osaka's famed savory pancake, okonomiyaki. Squid, shrimp, cabbage, katsuobushi, onions, pork, sakura ebi and God knows what else, all chopped up and sizzling on a teppan griddle. Along the Nishinaka dori (street) in the fantastic, old Shitamachi neighborhood of Tsukushima, some 50 joints specialize in this dish, which I hear is sometimes made with curry and cheese, too. Check out this video and try it at Sakamoto Monja (03-3531-1307).

Cherry blossoms aren't only for viewing, I just learned. I joined a chef to buy yaezakura from a local florist, a variety of sakura that's edible. He uses the petals of this flower to give his dishes a gorgeous pink flourish, and adds a bit of sakura no shiozuke (scroll down), salt-picked cherry blossoms, to accent vegetables steeping in dashi. Other edible flowers I've seen here in Tokyo: shiso, sansho and chive.

I'm now staying in the Shitamachi neighborhood of Monzen Nakacho, the old, down-home part of Tokyo, chock full of tiny mom and pop food joints like Fuji Katsu. You can't beat this kind of eating. I walked in for lunch and watched Mr. Fuji salt and pepper a glistening, fresh 1/2 inch-thick slab of pork, dredge it in flour, egg and panko, before deep frying it to perfection. Fantastic tonkatsu. (Tel: 03-3643-2550)

In Tokyo I'm discovering ingredients I never see in America, like these carrots. Called yuki wari ninjin, they're buried under snow for months, a traditional mode of food preservation in Japan's snow country (in this case, Niigata). Not only does the snow stop spoilage, it lightly dehydrates the carrots and concentrates their flavor, so they taste extra sweet. Amazing.

At an "enkai" in Tokyo -- a co-worker party -- someone handed me this. "Drink it first," he said, "then start drinking - you won't get a hangover." Hmm... Called Rukon, it's made with turmeric and tastes like orange-flavored children's aspirin. It's supposed to prevent hangovers. I don't like getting plastered, so I never found out if it works. But let me know if you field test it!

Here's a delicious surprise I discovered at the Daimon Sake Brewery: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday they run a restaurant at their beautiful 180-year-old kura. The food was terrific, the highlight for me (naturally) a hot pot featuring asari clams and squid-and-shrimp dumplings. The brewery's 30 minutes by train from Kyoto or Osaka. For more info, email Mr. Daimon at info [at] sakahan.com (in English or Japanese).

I love how chefs in Japan take something as simple as ponzu and make it so sublime and special. At the tiny Okada Izakaya in Katano City (near Osaka), Chef Okada-san explained he makes ponzu by adding mirn to kombu, heating to 70-degrees C, adding katsuobushi, rice vinegar, sudachi and yuzu juice, shoyu and grated onion, then storing for two weeks before straining. I tasted it with tai sashimi -- incredible.

Here in Tokyo now, where my friend, sake maven Melinda Joe, introduced me to one of her favorite sake bars, called
Hasegawa Sake-ten. Hidden in Tokyo station, it serves (and sells) a tasty line of fine sakes, including this appropriately named brew. Check out Melinda's terrific blog, Tokyo Drinking Glass.

Welcome to the newest addition to my website, "Shorts," where I'll share Japanese food-related events and news, Japanese restaurant openings, and other useful tidbits. Please help: If you hear of something interesting in the Japanese food world, please email me and let me know, and I'll pass it along here.