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Icefish and wasabi flowers with a mild vinegar dressing

Dressed with irizake

The appetizer course should be something we can serve guests right away and that pairs well with sake — and since it's the first thing served, we try…

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, I added purple-black rice to the chocolate mousse to bring in a touch of washoku (Japanese-cuisine) flavor.

Octopus simmered in fish sauce

Plum Delight

Grilled Jidori chicken tenderloin with shuto, three-color tazuna sushi

Fava Bean Tofu

Tenmame tofu is one of the sakizuke dishes. It's set using fava beans and soy milk. I've poured in a light savory dashi as well, but you can enjoy it…

Raw octopus and cockle, quick hot-water rinse with ume paste

The sakizuke stands in for the sashimi course; the raw octopus and torigai are given only a quick hot-water rinse (yu-arai), just enough to lightly…

Shira-ae

For the shira-ae, the tofu is blanched as usual, pressed to remove moisture, and run through the Cuisinart to bring out a smooth, mellow texture…

Sakamoto Chrysanthemum Jelly

For the appetizer's Sakamoto chrysanthemum jelly, the jelly base combines 16 parts seasoned dashi to 1 part powdered gelatin.

Grilled Eggplant and Duck Loin

Hakata-style herring-roe wakame and Osaka greens

Flathead and giant Pacific octopus, cocktail-style

For the kochi and mizudako cocktail-style: if you use too little dill when tossing it, the fragrance turns muddy, so use a generous amount and go…

Shirona Greens and Clam Soup, Fugu Skin Two-Layer Aspic

There are two appetizers today. For the shirona greens and clam soup, I use shirona — a mild, characterless leaf vegetable that, back when I worked…

Snow-dusted black beans, koban-shaped bottarga, herring roe on kelp, shrimp folding-fan, layered kelp

This is the spiced New Year's sake together with five small dishes. For the spiced sake, we chose a cup called the "jeweled cup," in which a bead is…

Chewy Mochi-Style Tofu in Green Bamboo

This is the chilled course. The chewy mochi-style tofu in green bamboo is today's top recommendation, and I would very much like you to try it. I use…

Ark shell and cucumber pressed into a striped hakata roll, cockle rolled in fine shredded egg, wind-dried giant clam

The appetizer course is built around a shell-matching (kai-awase) motif, made as a trio of ark shell, cockle, and giant clam. For the ark shell and…

Scallop with apple vinegar dressing, wild blowfish in a jellied soy milk cocktail, kombu-cured sardine with Kyoto mustard greens

Starting with the appetizer course. The scallop with apple vinegar dressing uses the vinegar's acidity to stimulate saliva production and increase…

Barracuda and fig with sesame miso

The barracuda-and-fig with sesame miso is made by salting the barracuda once, drying it lightly, and grilling it. As for the sesame miso poured over…

Abalone grilled with nori; pufferfish, wind-dried; kuruma prawn, stuffed; snow crab cut into small-sleeve-shaped sushi; squid grilled with sea urchin; a lavish simmered dish; leaf-shaped vegetables in varied colors

For the abalone isobe-yaki, the abalone is cut somewhat thick, coated with a single brushing of liver soy sauce, and quickly seared over high heat…

Two-Color Asparagus Jelly, Swimming Crab and Lotus Root Tofu, Filefish Liver

Today's menu includes a good many dishes we regularly serve, but I also draw plenty of ideas from Western and Chinese cooking. Let's start with the…

Plum-blossom fish milt, silky tofu

For the plum-blossom shirako habutae-style tofu, I combined shirako (fish milt) with fresh cream and finished it in a mousse-like texture, so that…

Lily Bulb Set in Soy Milk

As for the lily bulb set in soy milk, I think it's fine to use the trimmed-off ends of lily bulb left over from work like flower-shaped lily-bulb…

Sweet shrimp cured in koji