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Tortoiseshell-cut crossbred duck

Tortoiseshell-cut aigamo (crossbred duck) is usually made with chicken, but this time I use aigamo for its distinctive aroma and umami, lending it a…

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…

Mirror-cut daikon simmered to infuse flavor, kuruma shrimp quick soy-simmered, fan-cut bamboo shoot simmered with bonito flavor, pinecone-scored small abalone simmered, plum-shaped carrot, early butterbur simmered green, arrowhead bulb richly simmered

The simmered dishes are meant to evoke pine, bamboo, and plum. For the mirror-cut daikon simmered to infuse flavor, I carve the daikon into a plum…

• ¥500

• Cook time 1 hr

Spiny lobster grilled with salted fish-innard paste, tilefish grilled with sea urchin, Tosa-style herring roe, black soybean and lily-bulb sweetened mash, snow-ring lotus root achara pickle, salmon wrapped in squid

For the grilled Ise lobster with shuto, I use Ise lobster, a New Year's staple, basted and grilled with shuto. For the grilled tilefish with sea…

• ¥1,500

• Cook time 2 hr

Tortoiseshell-cut shrimp-shaped taro, clam shinjo

With the tortoiseshell-cut ebi-imo and the crane-shaped daikon, I express the crane and tortoise, and with the sunrise carrot I express the year's…

• ¥350

• Cook time 1 hr

Kombu-cured halfbeak layered with bottarga, fugu milt steamed with grated turnip

For the kombu-cured sayori layered with bottarga, I cure the sayori (Japanese halfbeak) in kombu, but sayori absorbs the kombu's flavor easily and…

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…

Mock kabayaki, novelty pumpkin, mock abalone shiitake, shojin egg, mustard lotus root

For the mock kabayaki, I spread tofu paste flat on nori, wrap it in a single turn of yuba, and grill it with a glaze while sprinkling on sansho…

• ¥30

• Cook time 20 min

Sweetfish fermented-dashi soup

At this time of year, we always serve sweetfish salt-grilled with tade vinegar — the classic pairing — but I wondered if there might be another…

• Serves 2 · ¥328

• Cook time 20 min

Swordfish baked with rice-bran koji

Since Japanese seasonings like soy sauce and miso are built on koji, I wondered if I could make something using koji. I use a rice-bran pickling bed…

• Serves 2 · ¥456

• Cook time 15 min

Seared and Smoked Beef Tataki, Finished with Gyūbishio

Wanting to create an interesting soy sauce, I devised a "beef soy sauce" (gyūbishio) made using beef. Beef is said to be the meat that pairs with red…

• Serves 1 · ¥726

• Cook time 45 min

Kamo eggplant pureed soup

This dish uses no seasonings whatsoever. I thought that if a cook can draw out an ingredient's own character — its five tastes and aroma — to the…

• Serves 1 · ¥482

• Cook time 40 min

Hassun, Shojin Tempura, Shojin Sushi

For the yuba dengaku, I placed sakura-miso — sweet miso kneaded with sugar — on top of opened yuba sheets. For the grilled Chinese yam with plum…

Expanding the Possibilities of Seasonings

Blended seasonings have long been widely researched and developed, but what kind of seasoning truly suits modern Japanese cuisine? Without being…

White Miso and Daitokuji Natto Soup

This is the soup course. For the white miso and Daitokuji natto soup, since it's the season moving from autumn into winter, I add white miso sourced…

• ¥85

• Cook time 30 min

Mock tofu, mock sawara yuba, deep-fried stuffed Daitokuji-fu, apricot rings, turnip achara pickle, checkerboard kombu roll, vegetarian tsukune matsukaze, bamboo shoot grilled with sansho sprout, glazed simmered taro, carrot fritters

The apricot rings were included because eating something sweet brings out the flavor of the other dishes. For the turnip achara pickle, I cut the…

Ohira

This is the ohira (the hira bowl course). It's a simmered dish, but I avoid over-garnishing it, and rather than cutting for a pretty finish, I cut in…

• ¥60

• Cook time 40 min

Sesame Tofu

This is the small deep-bowl course. The sesame tofu is served with a sesame sauce.

• ¥85

• Cook time 1 hr

Konjac and shiitake in tofu dressing

This is the tomezu. Tomezu means a dressed dish; a shojin meal built on one soup and three dishes always includes a dressed dish. For the konjac and…

• ¥70

• Cook time 30 min

Yuba Rice Porridge

This is the rice bowl course. For the yuba rice porridge, the rice goes into the pot starting from cold water; once it comes to a boil, stir it in a…

• ¥120

• Cook time 50 min

Ice-temperature aged Himuro pork, wrapped in magnolia leaf and salt-crust baked

As for the ice-temperature aged himuro pork wrapped in magnolia leaf and salt-crust baked, this pork is aged in a himuro snow cellar, which…

• ¥350

• Cook time 1 hr

Blackthroat seaperch, Wakasa-style glazed and grilled

The nodoguro wakasa-yaki is served stone-grilled at an individual tabletop burner. Shimonita negi (a prized thick leek from Gunma) has delicious leaf…

• ¥550

• Cook time 1 hr

Ise Lobster Simmered in Yuzu-Scented Egg Yolk, Winter Bamboo Shoot Simmered in Shaoxing Wine, Thick Burdock Root Stuffed with Akagi Chicken and Wrapped in Napa Cabbage, Ichimatsu-Pattern Shiitake Mushroom Simmered in Coffee

For the Ise lobster simmered in yuzu-scented egg yolk, I mix chopped yuzu into the egg-yolk batter and simmer it in a sake-based happō dashi (an…

• ¥1,100

• Cook time 2 hr

Uchimame Multigrain Rice

Dried ingredients inevitably take extra effort, but I wanted to deliberately think about a time-saving dish. Normally, cooking rice takes time…

• Serves 6 · ¥920

• Cook time 15 min