Juvenile Ayu and Summer Vegetables, Vinegar-Simmered

For the broth we simmer the ayu (sweetfish) in, we use rice vinegar, and the thinking behind that is so guests can drink the dashi from every dish we serve. You could call it one of our restaurant's deliberate touches -- we intentionally don't serve a separate clear-soup course in the tasting menu.

1. Put the juvenile ayu into a broth of 100cc each of dashi, mirin, and sake, 200cc of rice vinegar, and a little light soy sauce, salt, and sugar, and simmer them gently enough that their bellies don't split.

2. Prepare the summer vegetables as needed.

3. Arrange them attractively for good color, and finish with a sprinkle of yuzu.

Oryori Shunso