Sleepy Yokohama on a Lazy Weekend
10 February 2009
There’s actually not all that much news to tell this week. Simon and I decided to enjoy the sunny (though not very warm) weather on Saturday and made a spontaneous daytrip to Yokohama, which we hadn’t visit yet in almost a year in Japan, although it is only a 25 minute train ride away from central Tokyo. To our surprise, we found the major port city a rather sleepy place (not to be understood in a negative way – this was perfectly suited to our lazy mood this weekend!). The streets were by no means empty (not crowded, either, especially by Japanese standards), but there was just something rather calm and chilled to the atmosphere. Maybe we’re just too used to the ever so fast-moving city of Tokyo, or maybe it is the current season and the city wakes up at other times of the year...(?)
Anyway, we first had a look at the area from the top of "Landmark Tower", Japan’s highest building, then we went for a stroll around the docks and on through the city towards Chinatown, which is known to be the largest in the country. Even that was not as market-bustling as we would have imagined – there were plenty of people around (by the way, seemingly far more Japanese than Chinese speakers), but again there was just a certain calmness in the air, people patiently queuing at the food stalls for dumplings, or in the gift shops for neatly arranged and beautifully wrapped sweets. Of course we didn’t forgo some little treats, either, and enjoyed some tasty dim sum as well as some yummy "mooncakes", Chinese pastries with rich fillings.
Other than this little tour and some dinner plans on Friday and Saturday, our last weekend was pretty lazy, and with Simon leaving for a week in Europe on Sunday afternoon I didn’t do any mentionable cooking at all. Nonetheless I have a recipe for you, remaining from my big multi-dish cooking mission two weeks ago. As last week’s recipe, the yuzu-marinated seared chicken was inspired by Harumi Kurihara’s "harumi" magazine – but as opposed to last week’s sesame soup which I did strictly to rule, in this case I relied on my usual habit of mixing in some of my own thoughts. Besides slightly altering the seasoning and taking a different part of the chicken, I added the a of shiitake mushrooms, which I think was a wonderful match with the refreshing taste of the marinade!
Marinated Chicken on Shiitake Bed
| yields 4 portions (as one of multiple dishes) |
for the chicken |
| 400g chicken filet |
| some ground (Chinese long) pepper |
| some oil for frying |
for the mushrooms |
| 300g shiitake mushrooms |
| 2 tablespoons soy sauce |
| about 50ml cooking sake |
for the topping |
| juice of 1-2 yuzus |
| 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce |
| lots of chives |
| 4 shiso leaves |
| a pinch of shichimi |
Slice the shiitake mushrooms and lightly simmer them in some sake and a little bit of soy sauce for 15 minutes or so.
Prepare a marinade of yuzu juice (take lemon or lime juice instead if you can’t get a yuzu) and some soy sauce. Finely chop the chives and the shiso leaves and set aside.
Season the chicken filets with ground pepper (I used Chinese long pepper, which added a nice touch) and a pinch of salt. Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan and sear the chicken filets on both sides until nicely browned, then slice them into bite-sized strips.
Place the shiitake mushrooms into little bowls or on plates, arrange the chicken bits on top and pour over the marinade; finally cover with the chopped herbs.
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