Japan Ceramics Tour - Karatsu

Karatsu, in the North of Kyushu, is an old pottery town, and the leading ceramics clan is the Nakazato family, represented by the 12th generation Nakazato Takashi, his son Taki and his charming daughter Hanako, who spends half her time living and working in Maine. We visited all three Nakazatos, as well as Nakagawa Jinenbo and Hamamoto Hiroyoshi.

Nakazato Hanako and Her Bowls

Nakazato Takashi and Taki at Work and Their Beautiful Grounds

Nakazato Takashi Vessel

The added bonus was staying at the wonderful Yoyokaku Ryokan, one of the best in Japan. Wonderful food, especially breakfast (among the best I have ever eaten, anywhere), and lovely rooms facing on a fine garden, which includes a tea house and a dry stream. The service was truly excellent as well.

Bridge over Dry Stream in Yoyokaku's Garden

Beautiful Food Beautifully Served at Yoyokaku

While Karatsu is not exactly a destination, if you're somewhere nearby, Yoyokaku is definitely worth a visit.

Bobby Jay

Japan Ceramics Tour - Hagi, then on to Karatsu

We completed our stay in Hagi with a visit to Hamanaka Gesson, a potter who, unlike Kaneta and the Miwa family, is from outside the area and therefore works in a different tradition. In fact, he works in many traditions (but only wood-fired), making mostly inspired vessels and plates for use in decorating one's home, food and life.

Ceramics of Hamanaka Gesson

Hamanaka's beautiful home reflects his exquisite, and quintessentially Japanese taste. It is shadowy and tranquil, with shoji screens permitting ever-changing natural light to play over his sophisticated ceramic objects.

Hamanaka Gesson's Home Outside Hagi

A highlight was that Hamanaka's wife and friend prepared an elaborate lunch for us, which we ate from Hamanaka's own plates. Beautiful food -- not kaiseki but not everyday by any means -- made even more beautiful by those plates.

Lunch at Hamanaka Gesson's Home

After lunch, we took a number of small conveyances - bus, subway (!), train, bus - to reach Karatsu, a pottery village in Kyushu.

Bobby Jay

Japan Ceramics Tour - Hagi Continued

The next day we were regaled with a tour of the Hagi Museum and later visited the homes and ateliers of Miwa Kazuhiko and Miwa Haneko.

Ceramic Sculptures by Miwa Kazuhiko at Hagi Museum

Kazuhiko-san gave us matcha in precious tea bowls made by his 101-year old (and still working) father, Miwa Kyusetsu XI, a Living National Treasure, and discussed the history of the Miwa ceramics dynasty, and how his family's tradition influences his very modern work. I can't tell you what a thrill it was to hold, drink from and examine a Kyusetsu tea bowl!

Miwa Family Garden and House

Miwa Kazuhiko with a Great Tea Bowl by His Father

Later the same day, we visited Miwa Haneko, a fine potter and the daughter of Miwa Ryosaku (now Kyusetsu XII), Kyusetsu XI's oldest son and a wildly avant-garde artist. Here we heard from a potter of another generation how the Miwa legacy lives on and inspires her very modern works.

Miwa Hanako, 13th Generation Miwa Potter

And we were still not done with Hagi . . .

Bobby Jay

Japan Ceramics Tour - Hagi

The next stop on the tour was Hagi, a charming town of 60,000 on the Japan Sea known, among other things, for its great ceramic tradition that began late in the 16th century when a number of Korean potters were brought to this area of Japan.

We stayed at Tomoe Ryokan, a first-class modern inn that was built on the site of the previous Tomoe, which was destroyed by fire about 15 years ago. The kaiseki food at Tomoe can be intimidating for Westerners, but our guide had negotiated out the more edgy items, leaving us with a fantastic meal suitable for the adventurous Western palate.

As noted above, Hagi is famous for ceramics, and we had a great visit with Kaneta Masanao, an eighth generation potter who makes powerful sculptural vessels with variations of Hagi's traditional creamy white and pink glaze.

Hagi Ceramics by Kaneta Masanao

Bobby Jay

Japanese Ceramics Tour Day 3 -- More Great Ceramics, Beautiful Garden, Ryokan

We spent the night in the small town of Hirose, not far from Matsue, at the Saginoyuso Ryokan. A nice place with a great outdoor bath (rotenburo). Food was solid kaiseki style.

Freshly cooked tofu for breakfast at Saginoyuso

The attraction of Hirose is the Adachi Museum, just across the street from the ryokan. This museum has a huge garden that may be the best post-war garden in Japan, as well as stupendous collections of works by the ceramic artists Rosanjin Kitaoji and Kawai Kanjiro and various Japanese painters of the early 20th century (e.g, Taikan Yokoyama and Seiho Takeuchi).

Garden at Adachi Museum - note the borrowed landscape (right)

After a bus, three trains (including a one-car one) and another bus, we arrived in Hagi, a famous pottery city that is also known for the role of key intellectuals in bringing down the shogunate, and ushering in the Meiji Restoration, in 1868. But more on Hagi later.

This whole area, the western part of Honshu facing the Japan Sea (and quite near to Korea), is quiet and sparsely populated. A stark contrast with the Pacific and Inland Sea side of Honshu, which is a densely populated narrow corridor extending from Tokyo to Kyushu, by way of Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama and Hiroshima.

Bobby Jay

Japan Ceramics Tour Day 2 - Great Ceramics and Wonderful Food

Tea Bowl by Ajiko Hiro

The tour being focused so intently on ceramics, I hadn't really reflected on how fantastic Japanese food is, particularly in the autumn. But we ate really well for eleven days, including some fantastic kaiseki meals.

Japanese kaiseki meals are elaborate, with countless small dishes, normally including boiled, stewed, sauteed, grilled, pickled and fried items. In fall, most meals include chestnuts in some form and red maple leaves, both natural and formed of vegetables, such as carrots. Rice in some form always follows the meal, and a fruit dessert generally follows. Although this may sound a bit formulaic, the enormous array of perfect ingredients -- exquisitely and imaginatively presented -- never fails to dazzle, as the picture below demonstrates.

Our tour's first stop after Tokyo was in Izumo, far to the Southwest of Tokyo. There we visited two brilliant ceramic artists, Ajiki Hiro and Mihara Ken, and enjoyed a marvelous lunch with Ajiki-san at a lovely 200-year old house that has been maintained as a restaurant for eight generations. (Ajiki-san's wife also gave us formal tea served, of course, in the artist's wonderful tea bowls.)

Garden View from 200-Year Old Restaurant

Kaiseki Lunch

A lovely start.

Bobby Jay

Tokyo -- Tsukiji Fish Market

My wife Joan recently led a small group of contemporary ceramics collectors on a tour of Western Japan. I accompanied the group and enjoyed being back in Japan, where we lived for three years from 1998 to 2001.

The group assembled in Tokyo before leaving for southwestern Japan. Led by our wonderful guide Steve Beimel, our first stop was the famed Tsukiji fish market, the largest in the world, serving the 25 million people who live in the greater Tokyo area. The market's hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish and other sea creatures smell like, well . . . nothing. This is accounted for the by impeccable handling of the fish and shellfish from the moment they are caught until the moment they are sold. Storage in ice or cold water guarantees this.

I have no idea how many different varieties of fish and shellfish may be found on a given day at Tsukiji, but there are no doubt hundreds. Some look appetizing, others not, at least to a western eye, but all are interesting. Here are some photogenic ones.

Bobby Jay

Whole Wheat Couscous

Whole Wheat Couscous with Almonds and Currants

Last night I tried whole wheat couscous on the theory that it must be better for you -- more fiber, etc. -- than the regular variety, as is the case for whole wheat bread and pasta.

Since I bought it in bulk, I had to check the Internet for directions (if you buy it in a box, follow the instructions). It turns out that it requires higher ratio of liquid to grain than regular couscous. I used 1-3/4 cups water for 1-1/4 cup of whole wheat couscous. I made my standby, super-simple recipe based on one from Bobby Flay, and found it to be just as good as the ordinary variety, both in terms of texture and taste; perhaps a little nuttier, in a nice way.

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cup whole wheat couscous
• 1-3/4 cup water
• Pinch of salt 
• 1/4 cup, or to taste, dried currants
• 1/4 cup, or to taste, toasted slivered or sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup, or to taste, chopped parsley

 Directions 

1. Bring lightly salted water to a rapid boil.
2. Sprinkle in the couscous, stirring rapidly with a fork. Add 1/4 cup, more or less, of currants.
3. Cover and turn off heat. Wait 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add toasted almonds and parsely.

I served this with home-made merguez (lamb sausage), accompanied by harissa sauce on the side, and it was a perfect match.

Bobby Jay

En Passant (3) . . .

From time to time, ideas cross my mind, often in response to questions from friends, that are worth writing about, but do not individually merit full posts. This is the third post in a series devoted to such matters. 

Midnight in Paris 

Heading for Paris? If you saw Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, you will want to get the Midnight in Paris App for your iPhone or iPad. For 99 cents, this little app identifies and places most of the scenes from the movie, reminds you of their context in the film and gives interesting historical or cultural background information. You'll find the app at the App Store by searching for "Movie Lover's Paris" or "Midnight in Paris." 

Work Bowls 

I have started using these Bormioli Rocco Italian workbowls . . . 

. . . instead of my old favorites by Luminarc from France

Both types are heat resistant and stackable, but I prefer the more sharply sloped sides and the smaller bottom of the Bormioli bowl; it seems to me that it's slightly easier to mix things, whether by spoon or by whisk, in these bowls. Also, they have a lip that makes them a little easier to handle than the Luminarcs. They're available at Zabar's and elsewhere and are quite inexpensive.

Bobby Jay

Nutritional Yeast -- Umami for Vegans

A recent Cook's Illustrated mentioned nutritional yeast as an interesting savory ingredient to sprinkle over popcorn, and it is. But it is a good deal more. Unlike normal yeast, it has been cooked and has no leavening power so it is (and has for 100 years been) used as a nutritious flavor enhancer. Available in bulk or in jars at health food stores, it contains no sodium, meat, dairy or fish product, is gluten-free and contains lots of good amino acids and vitamins. What it does have is a cheesy, savory quality that provides a hit of umami, which is most typically found in abundance in parmesan cheese, anchovies, soy sauce, fish sauce, broiled red meat and similar sources. All of these except soy sauce have animal products, and soy sauce generally (always?) contains wheat.

Nutritional yeast therefore seems like a great ingredient. However, a brief web search did not uncover many inspired recipes. As noted above, it is good on popcorn. I like it on buttered toast, too. The challenge is to incorporate it into salads and other vegetarian dishes to find ways to exploit its unique taste, which I plan to do. I would love to hear ideas from others who have tried this product. Here is what Bob's Red Mill says about this product:

Nutritional yeast, which is not to be confused with Active Dry Yeast or Brewer’s Yeast, is a deactivated form of the microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeast is pasteurized and placed in a dryer to deactivate the yeast and bring out its nutritional properties. The yeast, which is gluten free, has a flavor reminiscent of cheese and is rich in amino acids, B-complex vitamins, niacin, folic acid, zinc, selenium and thiamine. Bob’s Red Mill’s nutritional yeast has been fortified with vitamin B-12, as well. Nutritional yeast is popular with vegetarians and vegans whose diets can be deplete of B-complex vitamins, especially B-12.

Nutritional yeast won’t make your bread rise or your beer ferment, but it is excellent sprinkled over popcorn and pizza. It can be added to breading for tofu or meat to increase the flavor and nutritional value of the food. The yeast is also a wonderful addition to gravies and sauces or used to create a non-dairy ‘cheese’ sauce for those who are vegan or who cannot tolerate dairy.

I'll report back if I come up with something great.

Bobby Jay

Michael Ruhlman's "Twenty"

Michael Ruhlman has done it again. Following fairly soon on the heels of his excellent Ratio, he has produced a wonderful new book, Twenty: 20 Techniques, 100 Recipes, A Cook's Manifesto.

While many of the twenty chapters-- salt, water, acid, eggs, butter, flour and sugar -- are ingredients, rather than techniques, Ruhlman explains that they are tools, and his explanations of how to use them are, in effect, techniques. And he's right that the semantic difference doesn't matter, for this book is a book about cooking basics, but not just for novice cooks. His explanations of the "real" techniques -- dough, batter, sauce, soup, saute, roast, braise, etc. -- as well as his discussions of how the "tool" ingredients are used, are sophisticated and enlightening. I found myself making connections that I hadn't made before, and better understanding some of the things I've been doing for years, making pan sauces, for example.

All this in a well-written and beautiful package, with detailed illustrations that add a lot to the technical descriptions and recipes. Ruhlman includes 100 clearly-expressed recipes of varying degrees of difficulty, which are very inviting in themselves but are also selected to make a point. His French Onion Soup recipe is there to illuminate what he is saying about caramelizing onions as well as the power of plain water to be the best stock in many cases. Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon Confit perfectly exemplifies the points he makes as to why and how to braise, and how to get the most out of braised meats by doing it a couple of days in advance, defatting and slowly reheating.

But the 100 recipes are deceiving. The book contains many ideas that can translate into an infinite number of recipes using the techniques and concepts in the book. In his discussion on vinaigrette, and in addition to the four vinaigrettes for which he give recipes, Ruhlman seemingly effortlessly tosses off the following:

A vinaigrette is infinitely variable. Replace the neutral oil with a flavorful nut oil. Alter the vinegar, from red wine to white wine or any of the other countless flavored vinegars now available. Use a citrus juice instead of vinegar. Consider adding spices -- cumin, cayenne, coriander, or allspice, clove, or cinnamon. Consider other flavoring elements as well, mustard, say, or peanut butter, or anchovies, or roasted peppers, or ginger.

Twenty is a great read, and I eagerly look forward to trying a number of the recipes. Perhaps I will make an exception to my no-deep-frying-at-home rule to make his Rosemary-Brined, Buttermillk Fried Chicken, which Ruhlman says is "the best fried chicken, ever." I think I believe him.

Bobby Jay

CSA Farm Revisited

Since I wrote my last post on Roxbury Farm, a CSA in which I have a half-share, things have changed radically. Just after I wrote that post, extolling the bounteous vegetable deliveries we were receiving, Hurricane Irene and other major rainstorms destroyed many of the farm's crops, with the result that our subsequent weekly vegetable deliveries were smaller and less varied.

Although tomatoes continued unabated, due to some clever planting strategies adopted by our farmers, Jean-Claude and Jody, at the beginning of the season, corn just stopped coming altogether, as did a number of other vegetables.

But what really happened is that the CSA model worked. While the members' vegetable shares were adversely affected, we did not suffer serious financial loss, and the farmers, despite horrific crop losses, survived. This is because the members had financed the season, come what may, including hurricanes. So by spreading the risk, our farmers, and lots of others like them, will get to farm for another -- and hopefully many more -- seasons.

I feel really good about that.

Bobby Jay

I Must Be Partly Japanese . . .

Smoked and Hot Smoked Shredded Squid

. . . because I love this kind of shredded dried squid with its strange, quintessentially Japanese flavor -- fishy, salty, sweet and smoky all at once. It is a snack found at convenience stores everywhere in Japan and comes in different flavors. This brand, for example, comes in plain, smoked, hot and hot smoked. Despite my love of spicy things, smoked is my favorite, because the essential smokiness is not forced to compete with the peppery spices found in the hotter version.

I buy these at Dainobu on East 47th Street in Manhattan.

Bobby Jay

No-Knead, No-Yeast Bread

No-knead, no yeast country and semolina breads

For several months, I have been trying to come up with a way to make bread that combines the ease and time control of Jim Lahey's fabulous no-knead bread technique with the sweet fresh taste achieved by making a no-yeast levain bread following the technique set forth in Chad Robertson's wonderful Tartine Bread. In short, to make a no-knead no-yeast bread.

This turns out to be difficult, because the levain does not provide the loaf with as much natural "oven spring" as yeast does. Intervention is necessary, and came in the form of shaping the loaf with a twisting motion after the long rise and again an hour later, as described in detail in the recipes. After quite a struggle, many flat loaves, and numerous consultations with my friend John Hoppin, I think I've got it. For the recipes for a crusty country style boule and a semolina bread with fennel, sesame and poppy seeds, as shown above, just click on the links.

If you make one or both of these breads, please let me know how it comes out.  I am eager to improve on the recipes.

Bobby Jay