...It's All About Food!
26 August 2008
In summer there are plenty of street festivals going on in Japan, like the popular Azabu-Juban festival last weekend, taking place in an area very close to where we live. Of course we didn’t fail to check it out, and even more so after various Japanese friends had suggested this would give us further insights into the Japanese culture and mindset. And indeed it did: it totally confirmed our impression that this country is just all about food!
The whole area was packed with people of every age, all having a great time strolling through the crowds and eating the delicious snacks offered by all the food stands, lined up back to back on either side of the narrow streets. I was of course perfectly enjoying myself in this setting, between all the popular "festival specialties" like okonomiyaki (a sort of batter cake fried on a hot plate) and takoyaki (octopus-filled dough dumplings fried in a special pan), but we went mainly for things we didn’t know yet, most remarkably some dough dumplings filled with a very tasty minced meat and herb mixture, then pressed flat and fried on a hot plate.
Anyways, I am again and again amazed (and delighted) about how essential the aspect of food and eating it is to people here in Japan, and how much they appreciate ultra-freshness, high quality and great variety. If you ask anyone (and not just cooking freaks like me) about how their holidays have been, they are not unlikely to first give a summary of the food they had.
Also, whenever I zap through the Japanese TV channels, I almost certainly stumble over some kind of food related programme, no matter the time. The formats are manifold: There are of course the familiar cooking shows of a chef, a celebrity, a housewife or whoever, demonstrating certain recipes. But there are also numerous programmes featuring someone traveling through the countryside or strolling through a city, discovering charming little restaurants and trying out local specialties, and they usually have the restaurant owner explain something about the products and their preparation.
I quite enjoy watching these programmes, as they tend to give me a good insight into both contemporary and traditional Japanese cooking and eating habits, and often inspire me for my own recipes (apart from improving my Japanese cooking vocabulary, of course).
The following recipe is inspired by a cooking show I watched some time ago. As usual, I just zapped through the channels, so I don’t really know who the chef was, nor do I remember the exact amount he took for his egg mixture, which contained egg yolks, sugar and salt. The TV chef used an autochthonous Japanese mountain vegetable, which I replaced with green asparagus, as this particular vegetable seems to be out of season right now (at least I haven’t seen it on sale for a while). I also added some sesame and some saffron to the original recipe, the latter giving it a bit of a Mediterranean touch. So here is my version:
Green Asparagus Spears in a Coat of Foamy Egg
| serves 4 (appetizer) |
| 16-20 green asparagus (front part) |
| 4 egg yolks |
| 5 teaspoons of fine white sugar |
| 1/2 teaspoon of salt (to taste) |
| 3-4 teaspoons of ground white sesame |
| a few saffron threads |
For this dish the tender spears of the asparagus taste particularly nice, so I recommend to use just the front part of the asparagus (just about 6 or 7cm or so) and spare the rest (which is of course perfectly fine, just not quite as tender) for a different dish.
Boil the asparagus spears in salt water for about 5 minutes or so. They should be slightly blanched but should still have some bite, so make sure not to overcook them. Take them out of the water, shake off the water and arrange them on little plates.
Very cautiously briefly roast the saffron threads in a non-stick frying pan at very moderate heat, watching and moving them constantly to keep them from burning. Once they are just about dry enough you can crumble them between your fingers, take them off the heat and set aside.
Separate the egg yolks from the white and pour them into a mixing bowl. Add the fine sugar and whisk strongly using an egg beater, while holding the bowl over boiling water (you can conveniently use the water you are boiling the asparagus in, just don’t forget to take them out on time!).
After whipping for a while, the egg and sugar blend should become nice and foamy and take on a clear yellow colour. Crumble in the roasted saffron, add the ground sesame seeds and season to taste with salt (I took about half a teaspoon – after all it has to "compete" against all the sugar!). Whisk a little bit more, but make sure to take the mixture off the steam before the egg starts clotting!
Spread the foamy egg over the asparagus spears and serve quickly.
| Suggestions to Combine | |
|---|---|
