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Edomae tempura with Japanese whiting, flathead, and conger eel

This time, on 'tempura,' I learned from AAJ technical director Hirano (Tokyo Prince Hotel's 'Tempura Fukusa'). I take up 'Edomae tempura.'

Whiting tokusa-age — conger eel yawata-age, rich dashi, myoga

This time, I learned about "agemono" from Master Toru Sugai (Tokyo Kaikan Mitsubishi Club). I will be focusing on "Tokusaage."

Kisu Grilled with Kabusecha

For Japanese whiting grilled with kabusecha, a shade-grown green tea, since I'm from Shizuoka and tea-based cooking is a specialty of mine, I used…

• ¥800

• Cook time 50 min

Whiting, hakusen-age, conger eel semolina-fry, tomato salt, shiso salt

The shiso salt served alongside is made by drying shiso leaves — which often go to waste — in the oven until the moisture is gone and they turn into…

Kisu and Summer Vegetable Kakiage, and Kisu Hasami-Age

For the whiting and summer vegetable kakiage, I wanted to bring out the natural umami of the whiting, so I combined it with shiso, myoga, and corn —…

• ¥560

• Cook time 30 min

Herring roe and wasabi in tofu dressing, pine-needle skewers, cod grilled with saikyo miso glaze, a twist on namasu, amber-marinated quail egg

For the herring roe and wasabi shira-ae — herring roe is used in New Year's cooking for its meaning of "many children" — this time I bring in a hint…

Chirashi Sushi

This time it's chirashi sushi, the fundamental rice course. For this sushi rice, I wanted a pronounced vinegar aroma, so I make the sushi vinegar…

• Serves 4 · ¥5,000

• Cook time 1 hr

Sushi, sushi, sushi, sushi — the incoming boat, the outgoing boat

As an innovation for the rice course, I devised this from chirashi-zushi. Between layers of sushi rice, I press in dry-roasted items — dry-scrambled…

• Serves 4 · ¥12,000

• Cook time 1 hr

Molded ark shell, baby turban shell grilled with wakame, whiting sushi wrapped chimaki-style, Hakata-style duck white loin, pale-poached, dried shrimp and tomato, lightly marinated, sea bream roe jelly

This is the appetizers course. For the baby turban shell grilled with wakame, I bring out the color of the wakame and blend it in a mixer, then blend…

Kisu and Summer Vegetable Temari

This kisu (Japanese whiting) and summer vegetable ball-shaped dish is beautiful to look at as well; I thought that combining kombu-cured kisu with…

• ¥590

• Cook time 45 min

Whiting rolled in mountain yam, pike conger with salted kombu oil, eel and cucumber Hakata-style, small turban shell baked with cream, smoked duck

This is a refreshing course for the season. Whiting rolled in mountain yam: curing the whiting with kombu (kobujime) concentrates its umami, and…

• ¥1,200

• Cook time 2 hr

Beltfish rolled around burdock, duck loin with mushroom dressing, whiting and bottarga sandwich, deep-fried, kuruma prawn and persimmon in tofu dressing with truffle, tender-simmered octopus, conger eel sushi

This is a seasonal-vegetable course. First, for the beltfish yawata-maki, I wrap beltfish around a core of kinpira-style braised burdock and grill it…

• ¥580

• Cook time 1 hr

Flame-Seared Kisu, Nuta-Style Kisu, and Oil-Blanched Kisu

Flame-seared whiting is a dish for enjoying whiting in a rich, thickened kombu dashi. Rather than a richly seasoned dashi or a pale starch sauce, I…

• ¥200

• Cook time 50 min

Steamed Kisu and Corn Shinjo

For the steamed whiting and corn shinjo, a fish-paste dumpling: pairing shrimp shinjo, which has strong umami, with the delicate whiting makes for a…

• ¥1,300

• Cook time 45 min

Sweet shrimp in a yuzu shell, Ōharagi kisu, Kizuki burdock, saimaki-prawn leaf cracker, pine-nut pinecone-shaped matsukaze

This is the appetizer course. The sweet shrimp in a yuzu shell has sweet shrimp and vinegar-cured turnip diced small inside a hollowed yuzu shell…

• Serves 1 · ¥1,500

• Cook time 15 hr

'Seasonal colors on green bamboo': trough shell clam with vinegared myoga and egg-yolk vinegar, young ayu and baby corn wrapped in conger eel and deep-fried fragrant, Yanaka ginger deep-fried in tea leaves, baby octopus simmered in black tea, baby tiger prawn simmered in lemon tea, Japanese whiting grilled with egg yolk, baby turban shell simmered in black tea escargot-style, and two kinds of tea-rice chimaki

This is a piece of Japanese-cuisine development built around imported teas. The teas used are 'honey-fragrance black tea, green tea (Cuiluo), dark…

• Serves 1 · ¥1,338

• Cook time 2 hr

Kisu Senbei, Kuruma Prawn Kimi-Age, and Young Rakkyo Kimi-Age

Kisu (Japanese whiting) senbei is kisu deep-fried into a cracker shape and served with matcha salt, finished to feel light and fresh, fitting for…

• ¥700

• Cook time 1 hr

Temari Kisu, Kisu Nishiki-Maki, and Seared Kisu in Ume Vinegar Marinade

For temari kisu (Japanese whiting), I cut kombu-cured kisu into fine strips — with an eye to how easily chopsticks can pick it apart — and layer them…

• ¥520

• Cook time 50 min

Silver tofu pureed soup

This is the soup course. For ‘Gindofu Surinagashi,’ there is a well-known tofu shop near where I work, and I very much wanted to build a dish around…

• Serves 1 · ¥720

• Cook time 2 days

Wind-Dried Kisu

For the wind-dried Japanese whiting, I paired it with a mixture of cream cheese, vegetables, and tofu — an ingredient I rarely use in the dishes I…

• ¥725

• Cook time 45 min

Seared bluefin medium fatty tuna cured in miso, threeline grunt blanched and stuffed with myoga, kombu-cured whiting with okra topped with grated mountain yam

This is a sashimi course built around the idea of new ways of serving seafood. Rather than simply serving it as plain sashimi, I've added one or two…

• Serves 1 · ¥1,380

• Cook time 3 hr

Western-style seared bonito, herb-wrapped flounder, skin-seared whiting, Odawara horse mackerel tataki stuffed in mountain yam

This is a sashimi course. I prepared three types of sauce: a tart sauce, a salt-based sauce, and soy sauce. The amaranth has a beautiful purple…