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Served in a Hollowed, Masu-Shaped Daikon Cup

Eel in checkerboard pattern

For the grilled dish, the eel ichimatsu: burdock and carrot are cut into thick strips and sautéed kinpira-style with a sweet-savory seasoning, then…

Wicker-pattern fried sweetfish and long-armed river shrimp

For the fried course's wicker-pattern fried sweetfish, I first cut potato into a coarse julienne and fry it. I make a light white batter from egg…

Shrimp-shaped taro simmered until infused, shark fin tofu fritter, soy-glazed simmered shrimp, shiitake wrapped in thin overlapping layers

This takiawase, a mixed simmered platter, is plated for three servings. For the ebi-imo simmered until infused, I cut it into squares, rounded off…

Ise spiny lobster grilled with bottarga, dried persimmon and salmon fragrant roll

This is the grilled course. The spiny lobster grilled with karasumi is made by sandwiching the lobster between slices of karasumi and grilling it…

Abalone simmered until tender, paddy-grown Japanese parsley grilled with pine nuts, assorted spring wild greens, grilled young sweetfish with vinegar dressing, deep-fried and simmered sea bream roe

The first course is abalone simmered until tender. It's a standard dish, but abalone really is the thing for summer. I didn't discard the innards --…

Oyster and Napa Cabbage Roll

The oyster and napa cabbage roll is another dish well suited to large-quantity cooking. Kinu-kōya is made by blending koya-dofu (freeze-dried tofu)…

Shrimp and tilefish in orange sauce

For the shiizakana, an additional hearty course, rather than simmering or grilling the tilefish and shrimp, I boiled them, making good use of butter…

Clear-Soup Style

For the soup course, mugwort sesame tofu uses mugwort powder. Knead the sesame tofu as usual, add in the rehydrated mugwort powder, and once it's…

Cherry Blossom Deep-Fry

For the deep-fried course, choose large icefish (shirauo), stretch the raw flesh thin, coat it with cherry blossoms, and deep-fry.

Shrimp shinjo

The shrimp shinjo meshi-mushi manju in the soup bowl course: using a meat mallet to pound the shrimp saves time and effort. Then grinding that shrimp…

Sashimi: sea bream, shrimp, ark shell clam, squid, assorted garnishes

Sakura-chaya was founded in Showa 8 — 1933 — and is the third-oldest established ryotei, a traditional Japanese restaurant, in Mukojima, a district…

Scallop and shrimp, carrot moon rings, kohlrabi stuffed with cod

This is a simmered dish. For the kohlrabi stuffed with cod, since the vegetable called kohlrabi produces a very delicious flavor just from being…

Five-color deep-fried skewers

For the five-color kushiage, we finished it with an emphasis on color. Foreign guests tend to prefer bold, distinct flavors, so — although we haven't…

Shrimp-shaped taro simmered to absorb the broth, kuruma prawn in a lightly glazed simmer, kabocha simmered to absorb the broth, carrot simmered to absorb the broth

This simmered course is one I make often in this season; everything is simmered in a light happō dashi (all-purpose seasoned dashi).

Three-color milt, Ogawa-style roll

For the last course, the vinegared dish is a three-color milt roll — I used milt as the core and wrapped it in tai surimi in three colors: white…

Dried sea cucumber ovary, sake-grilled

Burdock, mitsuba, and carrot kakiage, a new twist

For the burdock, mitsuba, and carrot kakiage with a twist, we kept the texture by coarsely mincing small kuruma prawns by hand. Besides deep-fried…

Bamboo shoots, spikenard, and horsetail shoots dressed with sansho leaf, and more

As the spring vegetable course, the bamboo shoots, udo, and horsetail shoots dressed with kinome: remove the bitterness from the bamboo shoots and…

Whiting sandwiched with shrimp shinjo paste, deep-fried

For the fried course's whiting futami-age, rather than filleting the whiting into three pieces, I butterfly it open leaving the tail attached, remove…

Small kuruma prawn, clear sea-salt simmered

For the saimaki prawn ushio-ni, fresh saimaki prawns are simmered with nothing more than sake, salt, and a hidden touch of squeezed ginger juice. To…

Clear-broth style, snake's-eye shinjo

For the soup course, since it's the rainy season in June, I shaped it like ripples on water and named it "snake's-eye (janome) shinjo." Shrimp that…

Shrimp and angelica herb rolls, 'fresh greenery' deep-fry; Ishikawa taro, sesame-coated and deep-fried

For the deep-fried dish, shrimp-and-ashitaba (a Japanese angelica herb) rolls, 'fresh greenery' style: rather than boiling the ashitaba, I saute it…

Shrimp fried in a novel style, shrimp shinjo fried in a straw coating