Monthly Memo From Doi's Culinary Philosophy
Original text by Doi Yoshiharu
Translated by Yoshiko Fukuda
January-Mutsuki
| BACK ｜LAST MONTH｜NEXT MONTH｜
Happy New Years!! I hope everyone had a great new year's celebration, and I give out my wishes for another good year.
For this article I would like to talk about what we must pass on to future generations and what should be renewed now that we have entered a new century. What Japanese cooking have neglected and what should be revived would be focused and hopefully we can carry it out at Ajiiichii.
●Home cooking and Expert cooking
Having talked about being not wasteful in cooking(December 1999) which played an important role in improving Japanese cooking, now the emphasis is on home cooking. Home cooking is the basis for all cooking, because it is where basic cooking aspects were reconsidered and refined.
Ajiichii is famous for its home cooking taste which it serves. I would not doubt that, since the experts are making home style cooking with their skills. Home cooking by definition are meals that people ate when they were growing up that used, to the full extent, the natural ingredients that were original to the region and them cooked in the old traditional way. Recipes like nikujaga(braised beef and potatoes) and imo-no-nikkorogashi (braised potatoes) are popular examples of traditional home cooking.
In Japanese cuisine, skill required to make delicious meals do not change whether it is employed at home or at a restaurant. That as you know is my everlasting motto. In fact expensive chef's cooking does not differ all that much from home cooking. They are very similar.
Expensive cooking requires the freshest, out of all the expensive ingredients.
It is crucial to make the best use out of seasonal ingredients in Japanese cooking. Therefore, cooking methods must skillfully draw out the best taste out of the ingredients without any unnecessary addition. That concept is the same for home cooking. However in order to do so, freshness is the key in cooking, from sardines to even green leafy vegetables. In both cases, because the ingredients themselves plays the main part, cooking methods can be kept simple to preserve the natural taste that already contains balanced out nutrition. These are simple dishes that one can enjoy and appreciate the original flavor. Which means that differentiating taste can only be derived from cutting techniques, selection of the dishes and the presentation of the meal since no extra flavor should be added.
By being indifferent to the ingredients, like picking out the inexpensive ingredients will only result in finishing up a meal that is missing out the scent, the flavor and all the other effect fresh ingredients have on the meal. That is why if one applies low-priced and low quality ingredients, then he has to add something else to get a satisfying flavor. The additional "effort" may be longer preparation, or addition of several spices and seasonings. These 'elaboration', whether it is pouring mayonnaise, ketchup, or other pre-made sauces, completely ruins the ingredients tastes for sure.
It is obvious that there is a difference between flavors later added on to the ingredients and the ones that were originally in the ingredients.
●Human sense of taste is a gift for choosing the best ingredients
Now we come across a question such as this; Should the original taste always be preserved? If a meal is delicious, isn't that good enough?
Without a doubt, a meals' deliciousness is essential since it tells us that the meal has the nutrients our body needs.
Our sense of taste aids us in choosing what we should eat and what not to eat, or in another words our sense of taste actually is our sense of selecting the best ingredients for our body. Thus our sense of taste is not only for our enjoyment. By tasting, we distinguishing what our body needs.
Nowadays, our sense of taste is slowly getting ruined by various chemical additives and preservatives contained in processed foods. Disagreeable taste made delicious--- it appears harmless and actually beneficial yet it is degenerating our sense of taste. Deliciousness is the road signs on our journey in maintaining a healthy body.
Meanwhile, the things our olfactory sense picks up are also full of meaning. Detestable smells are another warning sign similar to repulsive tastes. If something tastes repugnant, and smells awful then there probably is a reason for that. Appetizing and disagreeable taste are both an important indication concerning the effect they have on our body. Hence, there is no need to make an awful taste into something good. Moreover, the food we eat daily does not have to be extremely delicious, it is the best when there is some space left for improvement.
●French home cooking
It is fascinating to know what the French people, who are known to be gourmets, eat for their daily meals. What is served at other family's table is beyond my imagination but compared to the average Japanese meals, French home cooking probably is much simpler.
Located near Lyon, in the suburbs there is a small town called Bron. I stayed at Bron for a while and home stayed at the house of Mr. Marc Alix, who is known as the father of French cuisine in that region.
Every weekend at his house, his sons' family would come to visit and they gather around the table together as one big family. The regular menu used to be comprised of soup, chicken taken just out of the oven, roasted lamb chops, salad, cheese, fruits and desserts.
On Mondays, vegetable soup and the left over cold roast chicken were served along with cheese and fruits. Tuesday to Thursday, vegetable soup, salad, ham and a little bit of meat, cheese and fruits were served. Then on Fridays, a change in the menu occurred since fish was served yet it did not offer that much variety.
Even with that kind of menu, the nutrition was balanced out and although the main dish was not quite enough, it was possible to fill oneself up with the cheese. On top of that there were seasonal fruits and nuts like apples, pear and walnuts all assorted in a basket on the table. It was self service, where one could take his table knife, peel any fruit he desired and eat it. The sweet flavors would round up the meal and was enough to make one feel satisfied. Of course wine during meal time was never forgotten and even Mr. Alix who was forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages by his home doctor always made red wine an exception and enjoyed his meals always with a drink. Daily meals at his house was always like this yet when we went out to eat it was quite different. We usually ate at his friends' restaurant or old traditional restaurants which served recipes of regional flavors. Although an obvious fact, because the daily meals are plain, the contrast multiplies the joy one feels when he dines at a restaurant.
In the kitchen, the young cooks in training makes several main dishes for their repast but the vegetable soup, cheese, bread, and wine remains constant.●Having fun with Cooking soup
The vegetable soup which was served daily is actually very easy to make. First, potatoes , carrots, celery, and green onions are cut up into small pieces. After they are browned with some butter on the pan, water is added and is simmered over high heat until the vegetables are all softened. Then it is lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. It probably tastes too lightly flavored for most people and it does not present itself as anything close to delicious. However the only addition was water not even consomme powder was included. But because soup stock was not used, the original flavors from the vegetables are more emphasized. At first the soup tastes bland yet through eating it everyday one actually comes to enjoy having it.
However, because the soup is only lightly flavored, there is so much more one can do to the soup to make his own flavor at the table. Consequently there is freedom to do whatever one wishes to do; adding salt, sesame seeds, butter, olive oil, milk, fresh creme, cheese and even dipping bread.
From an elderly to a child, after the soup is individual poured into each bowls, it is up to them to recreate the soup. According to each preference the soup might transform into a very richly flavored soup or just as plain as the original.
Like the privilege one was given over the soup, there exist many other freedoms at the table. Strong salty cheese can be transformed into a mild taste after getting mixed with butter. Even adding water to wine is allowed. The list goes on to include, spreading raw minced beef meat with mustard and butter on bread when there is nothing else, and eating radish with butter and salami. One can create their own favorite flavor at the tables in so many ways.
●Always A Great Treat to Dine at Restaurants
After the holidays were over, I used to ask my colleagues what they ate the day before and the usual answer that I would receive was "Nothing, I didn't eat anything". From what I suspect, they were dining on left over bread and drinking wine or water along with it. The little fun we used to have together was the infrequent treats that we would give ourselves. Like when it got colder we would go out for some oysters after work to a famous restaurant.
When people living in France decide to dine at a three star restaurant highly evaluated in the Michelin Red Guide Book, it is common for them to not eat anything the whole day from the morning. This of course only happens every once a year or only a few times during a persons' lifetime. When they do arrive at the popular restaurant, they would stare at the menu for hours to pick out the most desired plate. After they are done with ordering their only meal of the day, they would rub their hands together anticipating the moment when they will finally get to satisfy their hunger and craving for the best food on earth. And they are ready to eat eat and eat, no thought is wasted on dieting.
Clearly at prestigious restaurants, the customers desire to be satisfied and so their demand and expectations get remarkably higher. Hence their evaluation of service gets more strict. Even with the tiniest mistake and imperfection in the cooking or service, the customers will write a harsh yet politely written letter to the restaurant. If the fault was in the service, the enraged chef would go after the person in charge and scold them not only with words but sometimes physically.
| BACK ｜LAST MONTH｜NEXT MONTH｜