Become a fugu chef in Tokyo?

“The test is coming up soon and chefs are getting ready,” one wholesaler confirmed.

Hmm… So, you can practice to take a test to be a licensed fugu chef? Well, actually regulations do not make it so easy for just anyone to treat the deadly puffer fish

Ota Wholesale Market: A Great Tsukiji Alternative

Back in the midst of the Norovirus scare that spread across the whole nation, we went ahead and planned an oyster dinner for some friends at home anyway. But during that winter of 2007 it appeared that raw oysters had simply disappeared completely from markets and restaurants because a health report from the government somewhat [...]

Is Tsukiji Wholesale Market Open to the Public?

Photo: Sign at Tsukiji
A while back,I picked up a printed Tsukiji Vistor’s Guide in English issued by Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale market at Tsukiji Seimon entrance. After searching for an official site listing the actual rules for visiting Tsukiji and I could not find any, so I went back to the brochure.
The brochure brings [...]

Funazushi Finale

Funazushi at Kitashina

In a series of recent posts, I summarized the very special food that is funazushi: where we had good funazushi and the history and traditions behind this special dish from Shiga. I’ll finally finish off this Shiga cuisine series for now. That is until our next trip to uncover more yummy places for [...]

Making Funazushi

No, this is not how to make your own stinky-fish treats at home. Although, you could probably make a decent start after watching this video. Previously at Tokyofoodcast, Et-chan described the amazing dishes we had at Kitashina and briefly how Okami-san gave a demonstration of her fish preparation technique.
So, I’d like to introduce my new [...]

Funazushi 101

Funazushi at Kitashina, Shiga

Funazushi as we see it today is widely known as the signature Shiga dish that has been passed down from generation to generation. Whether because of its stinky nature or just the idea of miraculous micro-organisms hard at work in your food, this dish provokes passionate discussion, splitting people into two groups: [...]

Tokyofoodcast on the Trail of Funazushi

Funazushi at Kitashina, Takashima, Shiga

Last year, I was in Nagahama, Shiga for Funazushi for the first time in my life! This year, we had a special opportunity to sample two very good, but quite different forms of the original sushi. Funazushi has been made of fresh water fish from Lake Biwa since at least the [...]

3,000 Tuna A Day At Tsukiji

At Tsukiji

While I was working on a post about Tsukiji for Nihon Sun, I got really curious about how much seafood moves through that giant market each day.
Finding the monthly sales results at Tsukiji was easy. It’s a matter of public information and the Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market publishes the data monthly. So, I looked [...]

Have you had dobujiru?

If you have, you must have been to Ibaraki. When I got an invitation to go to Oarai, a small Ibaraki town on the Pacific coast near Mito, to enjoy a pairing of locally brewed sake and this peculiar sounding dish, I was a bit puzzled.
Ibaraki is famous for the winter delicacy, anko or anglerfish, [...]

Tsukiji jogai events

Tsukji shows two faces to the world. First is jonai, the giant, enclosed wholesale fish and vegetable market area–this is what most people think of as Tsukiji. But, there is also jogai, this includes all of the shops and restaurants running down the streets adjoining the regular wholesale market. It is easy to focus on [...]