By Marc
When I got into the Eat Local Challenge, I expected that it would introduce me to new ingredients and to new ways to use old ones. It therefore came as a surprise to me when my local focus led me to a deeper understanding of the cooking of Japan, a country that is half a world away.
I have visited Japan many times, and although being a vegetarian tourist in Japan is difficult (if not impossible), I have a great fondness for the food. But I almost never cook Japanese at home. It might be that I have relied too much on cookbooks and become trapped by ingredient lists and recipes. Or, more likely, that I had not yet met my muses.
This Spring, I found a few muses: the Eat Local Challenge, the Berkeley Farmer's Market, and Elizabeth Andoh. Ms. Andoh is a 40-year resident of Japan who writes about food and gives cooking classes and market tours in Tokyo. Her most recent book is Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen. Although it is filed in the cookbook section of the bookstore, a decent case could be made to cross-file it in the philosophy section. Washoku is a "kitchen philosophy"--a way of thinking, organizing, and creating in the kitchen. It is based on five principles: five colors, five tastes, five ways (of cooking), five senses, and five outlooks (on food, enlightenment, humankind, and such weighty things). By striving to include as many of the groups of five as possible, a chef can create meals that are delicious and nutritious.
In my first Washoku-inspired effort (I bought the book only ten days ago), I created an exciting and satisfying meal from ingredients within 125 miles of my house, with just a few exceptions (ginger from 150 miles away, a few tablespoons of soy sauce from Japan, rice vinegar from Southern California). The meal was comprised of a Tokyo-style rolled omelet; carrots, leeks and snap peas simmered in broth; pickled radishes; seared oyster mushrooms; potato-chard soup; and white rice.
Reading Andoh's writings, cooking the meal using local ingredients, and shopping for the next big meal at the Farmer's Market showed me a new approach to Japanese cooking, one that I can summarize in a few short statements:
- Plan the meal around ingredients that are near the peak of their quality.
- Use simple combinations of a few key ingredients for flavoring: soy sauce, citrus, sake, ginger, garlic, salt, etc..
- Use several methods of cooking: steaming, grilling, pan frying, braising, etc..
- Provide a variety of textures, colors and shapes.
With these principles and a spirit of improvisation, local ingredients can transport me to a land far away.
Marc lives in Berkeley, California and writes Mental Masala, an enticing blend of food, history, travel, and nature.
