Cooking Nihongo Style

At Ritto Chugako(Junior High School), we got a new English teacher for the new term. Her name is Kageyama sensei. She is probably a little bit older than our parents, but hides it well with the nice make up application and black dyed hair. I think most people dye their hair here, making age very difficult to guess.

Anyway, Kageyama sensei is very nice and offered to teach me how to make Inari-zushi, which are these really good little rice and tofu things. I thought this was a great opportunity to learn so authentic Japanese cooking techniques, so I accepted.

I took the train to Kusatsu station where she told me that she would pick by up “by car” at 11:00. That’s how everyone talks here. I come to school by bike, I went to Kyoto by train, I will pick you up by car… After I arrived a few minutes early and saw how nice it was outside, I was second guessing my decision to commit to such a potentially long indoor activity for a day off.

Then in one hurried motion, Keiko Kageyama ran in and apologized for being so late. I looked up at the clock and saw it was 11:01. Not late by any standards with the folks I have associated with my entire life. We quickly walked down the stairs outside the station and over to her car. Her husband was standing there. We shook hands, I gave Keiko a Detroit mug, and we were off for Kageyama no uchi.

As we walked in the house, I heard a very familiar sound. It was their rice cooker playing the same song that my rice cooker plays when it is finished. I said that it was good timing and she seemed very surprised that I knew the sound of the rice cooker. That’s another thing that cracks me up. People are constantly surprised to hear I have picked up any vocabulary, knowledge of the country, skill with the chopsticks, or any other things, even after being here over eight months now. I realize that it’s a type of flattery and politeness on their end, but sometimes I feel like come on, enough with the image thing.

Getting started, I was handed an apron and told that it suited me well, by two different people(her daughter, Miho, was also there. We guessed eachothers ages- she also looked much younger than her actual 33.) Then we went in the kitchen. It was small and efficient looking compared to a western kitchen, but I have seen smaller ones to. The best thing I noticed about it, was that there was a trap door thing in the floor that she lifted up once to get an ingredient. It was like a little mini pantry in the floor. I was impressed.

So there are a few ways to go about making Inari-zushi. You can make the tofu skin wrapping or purchase the tofu skin, and make the sauce from fish broth or make the sauce from water. We made the tofu skins and made the sauce from water. She thought westerners would like it better that way, and seeing that it’s much easier, I had to agree.

We cut the pieces of fried tofu in half, split them open and turned them inside out. We made a sauce in a pan of water, sugar, salt and soy sauce and cooked the tofu skins until all the water was cooked off. There was much discussion of how to say “cook off the water”. Then was the sushi rice. The rice was ready and waiting in the cooker. We put it in a larger bowl and mixed in a sauce of vinegar, sugar and salt. I think this aids in the sticky factor. There was an option for mixing in some finely sliced tiny vegetable pieces, so we made some with and some without. (I have also seen Inari-zushi with sesame seeds mixed into the rice, so next time I make them, I might do that)

After the tofu skins were done, we spread them out on a plate. Next, we stuffed the tofu with the rice. The sticky rice was sticking more to my hands then to Keiko’s for some reason. She got a big lacquered platter out and we lined up out little army of completed Inari-zushi on the platter.

There was some left over sushi rice, so we also made maki-zushi(sushi rolls). We put cucumber, imitation crab, and tuna fish in them. She rolled one and I rolled one. Hers looked so much better than mine. But they were nice and complimented me talking about how proficient I was at sushi rolling.

Miho, meanwhile, had made a yogart and strawberry desert and Kareage(Japanese fried chicken). Then when I thought we were ready to sit down and eat, Miho busted out bacon and asked how I liked my bacon sandwiches. I was a bit confused. I played along and answer random questions for a minute, until I realized they were also making BLTs. I imagine they wanted to make me feel at home.

The feast was amazing. Keiko’s husband joined in and we ate tons of good food. He commented on my proficiency with the chopsticks. They packed up lots of food for me to take home and drove me home.