Seven Course Ryuku Shojin Dinner in Okinawa using local fruits and vegetables
Ryukyu is the name of dynasty 1429〜1879 before Okinawa prefecture in Japan
March 1, 2020
Grilled Shiitake mushroom with a paste of Mukago ( a Japanese
propagule of jam), corn, beets & mint.
It is a season of fresh Shiitake in spring. Mukago is very interesting & the rare vegetable looks & tastes like small potato. We normally enjoy boiling or steaming rice with it.
Sesame-tofu with Handama leaves. Wasabi
Sesame-tofu is very popular, a basic & indispensable dish for Shojin cuisine.
It takes a long time to grind sesame & cook it for Sesame-tofu, very white、
smooth & tasty different from Soy-bean Tofu. Wasabi enhances its taste more.
Fresh Quail beans paste, Tomato, Aubergine, Long-bean & baby-corn.
I love Quail beans because of the deep taste. It is available just in Spring season.
This main dish, soup, is very important for Japanese cuisine to express the
season with seasonal ingredients taste, color, smell . People can imagine
that Spring has come .
Shira-ae with fresh Tofu, Cauliflower, Banana, Chrysanthemum leaves & Bitter gourd.
Shira means fresh Tofu, ae means mixing. So we often cook salad with
fresh Tofu with some seasonal ingredients. Seasonings are salt, soy sauce,
sugar & mustard.
Deep fried croquette , Green asparagus with Fuki-Miso source.
Fuki-no-ton is one of the messengers of Spring with good smell but bitter
taste. So we enjoy it with red Miso , sugar, ginger juice & sesame paste.
Japanese white rice, Green pea, Daikon & Carrot.
Risotto is famous in Italian cooking. I love it & make it with Japanese tastes often
with soy source or Miso. Japanese enjoy pickles & rice together.
①agar with Passion fruit and Okinawa orange “Tankan”
②Taro cream with strawberry
We never use milk & eggs but vegetables & fruits make fantastic and healthy
sweets.
http://zecoow.com
I cooked Ryukyu Shojin in the restaurant Issaku in Naha city, Okinawa on 1st March. There were 12 customers. They were surprised by my dishes. They thought they were very delicious & were satisfied without meat and fish!
