A visit to one of Japan's many food markets is the best place to shop for ingredients
and the best place to begin any study in Japanese gastronomy.
Here, at the Nishiki Market in Kyoto,
we embark upon a walking tour with distinguished local chef Yoshihiro Murata,
of the three-star restaurant, Kikunoi.
Unilever Executive Chef Steve Jilleba and Elizabeth Ando.
Chef Murata, a frequent shopper at this market,
knows precisely where to find the best that the market has to offer.
It's the peak of spring here in Kyoto,
and some of the seasons most prized specialty produce has just arrived in the market.
Stopping at a vegetable purveyors stall,
Chef Murata shows Steve and Elizabeth some of his favorite springtime ingredients.
Some of these vegetables are so seasonal, that they're only available for a few weeks each year.
[Elizabeth Ando] The spring vegetables — their category is Sansai Mountain Vegetables,
and various different flavors and kinds. And he's going to point out a few of them to you.
Taranome is one of them. Sort of asparagus-like. Just a little bit like asparagus in flavor.
And it's the very end of a shrub and it's broken off.
Koshi-abura. It's another that's used in tempura, in particular. Dipped in a batter and fried.
And this is the leaf from the wasabi root.
And the flowers from the wasabi as well, that can also get used.
"Kogomi" is fiddlehead ferns. And they are available in North America, yes.
Yeah, so that's the one in common.
And this is... And it's like a ramp, as you pointed out, similar to ramps.
That's an unusual sort of.... All of these have a sort of bitter [speaking Japanese].....
A little bitter flavor to them.
And this is Fukinoto, which opens up into a flower if you make it into tempura....
but it also can get chopped up and cooked with miso to make a wonderful condiment that you use as a dip for vegetables.
[....] is another one of these mountain vegetables. It has sort of an elusive flavor. They all are very difficult to describe.
[....] But it also is sort of in the ramp and onion family.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, on the bitter side or not as much? [Elizabeth Ando] More like that.
[Chef Murata speaking Japanese]
[Elizabeth Ando] That's Kinome and this is sansho [....].
And this is what makes that wonderful fragrant, almost lemon pepper, that you weren't having on the soba.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Yeah, this is that citrus-y.... [Elizabeth Ando] Yeah.
[Elizabeth Ando] It's the only time when you can really get it.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, the wasabi flowers and the leaves. How are they used....?
Ohitashi is the most common — barely blanched and then allowed to steep in dashi, in the flavors of dashi.
And sometimes it then gets sauced with other things, or you can sprinkle sesame seeds on the top....
or Katsuobushi on top of them....
But Ohitashi is a method of just barely blanching, and allowing it to cool to steep in dashi.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] In their broth. [Elizabeth Ando] Yeah, yeah....
[Elizabeth Ando] He's gonna let you try the flavor.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, does it still carry the wasabi....? [Elizabeth Ando] Well, you're about to find out.
[Elizabeth Ando] He's going to wait to see what your reaction is going to be. It's not lily of the valley.
[Elizabeth Ando] We'll focus on your face. [Chef Steve Jilleba] I tried the leaf.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] No, it's not nearly as hot.
[Elizabeth Ando] Not hot?!! [Chef Steve Jilleba] You've got a bitterness and so on. I've still got this.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] I've got the flavors of this in my mouth. And that's kind of a..... [Chef Murata speaking Japanese]
[Chef Murata speaking Japanese]
[Elizabeth Ando] It's just bitter now, but if you had a chance to quickly blanch it, subject it to heat, you would get that wonderful aroma....
[Chef Steve Jilleba] The sweetness..... [Elizabeth Ando] Yeah. Of the wasabi itself....
[Elizabeth Ando] And also they get sort of almost pickled, if you will, in a kind of soy stewed manner as well for longer.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] And so, it's just served kind of room temperature. I noticed a lot of the vegetables are done the way you talked about. [Elizabeth Ando] Yes.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] Just quickly blanched and then the dashi, but just like room temperature.... [Elizabeth Ando] And room temperature....rather than hotter or cold.
[Narrator] Chef Murata stops at a fish vendor stall.
Being far removed from the ocean, Kyoto's fish cookery
adapted to make use of the freshwater fish from inland waters such as Biwa Lake and Kamo River.
Chef Murata points out some of the local catch.
[Elizabeth Ando] One of the unusual things about Kyoto, is there is a great deal of river fish,
and foods that are taken from rivers and streams, rather than for example the ocean.
And this is one place where many of those things are available.
Also, the kinds of.... [begins speaking Japanese]
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, all of this is all from a river?
[Chef Murata] Yeah, from the river. River and Biwa Lake.
[Elizabeth Ando] Yeah, and nearby. So, Kkyoto is sort of removed from the ocean and yet it still has waterways.
And those waterways produce a lot of wonderful food.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] And I see little baby crabs. [Elizabeth Ando] Yes.
[Elizabeth Ando] Still moving. So....
[Chef Steve Jilleba] They're gonna bite me.
[Elizabeth Ando] Ah, whoops! Lively. [Chef Steve Jilleba] Very lively.
[Narrator] At a Yuba shop, we are introduced to the soy milk skin that's served both fresh and dried and numerous Japanese dishes.
As with tofu, yuba was popularized as a meat substitute in Shogun Cuisine — the vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks.
In today's refined Kaiseki restaurants, Yuba is likely to appear in at least one of the many dishes.
[Elizabeth Ando] This is a Yuba. And in the process of heating up soy milk, much like any other kind of milk, is sort of a film....
...or skin forms. And it gets lifted up, and it's creamy and delicious and rich and wonderful.
That same soy milk could be turned into tofu, but in order to do that, you have to do other things to it.
Usually in Kyoto, commercially those who produce Yuba have a different kind of bean that they use....
....that produces a better, richer kind of milk that has better tensile strength.
[Narrator] Steve and Elizabeth stopped to examine a copious display of "Tsukemono" or pickles,
— an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine.
Appearing at nearly every meal, these small tastes provide color, contrasting flavors, and refreshment for the palate.
There are literally thousands of varieties of Tsukemono.
Most commonly, they're made from vegetables and fruits.
Some of the more popular pickled items include daikon radish,
napa cabbage and Japanese cucumber.
Combinations of preservatives and vegetables differ widely from region to region providing an endless variety.
Tsukemono occupies such an esteemed place in Japanese culture, that they are often given as gifts.
As we leave Chef Murata and Kyoto, it's time to travel north to the futuristic metropolis of Tokyo.
Here, we visit the massive Tsukiji Market — a market like no other on earth.
The Tsukiji Tokyo Central Wholesale Market
is commonly referred to as the kitchen of Tokyo,
and is largely responsible for feeding the city's 13 million diners.
Throughout the complex's enormous labyrinth of vendors, you can shop for vegetables, meats, and other foodstuffs.
But the main attraction here is seafood.
Over 450 different kinds of edible marine life,
weighing in at over 4,000 tons are received at this market each day.
Tsukiji began as a riverside fish market around the 16th century
in the beginning of Japan's Edo period.
In order to help feed the city's growing population,
Osaka fishermen were imported by the shogunate (Japan's ruling class)
to establish fishing in the area.
Today, the Tsukiji Market is a modern marvel of logistics and shipping,
with freshly caught seafood arriving each day by plane and ship from waters all around the globe.
The high point of the day within this slippery den of activity
starts at 3:00 a.m. every morning when preparations for the markets world-famous tuna auction begin.
Wholesalers lay out giant specimens of bluefin tuna (both fresh and frozen),
their bodies freshly eviscerated and numbered in red ink.
Middle men armed with flashlights and gaffs,
extract plugs of flesh which they carefully examine for freshness, quality, and fat content.
The fatter the tuna, the higher its value.
At 5:30 a.m, the auctioneer rings a hand bell....
and the frenetic bidding begins.
CIA alum, Chef Hisashi Furuichi, and Steve....
take in the scene as the auctioneer shouts out each tunas number and the opening bid.
[Auction attendee shouting in Japanese]
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, the market goes every day of the week? Sundays? [Chef Hisashi Furuichi] Every day of the week.
[Chef Hisashi Furuichi] No, no, no. Sundays and Wednesdays, it's closed.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, there's two days it's closed. Five days a week, it's.... And this is.... Who's buying all the fish now?
[Chef Hisashi Furuichi] Uh, they have a license here. Are they are Middle Men. They buy tuna here and bring to their store.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] And then they butcher it, they cut it up, and they sell it in smaller portions.
[Chef Hisashi Furuichi] Yes, right, right.
[Chef Steve Jilleba] So, they're trying to figure out.... They have their orders ready for the day? Mostly or....?
[Chef Hisashi Furuichi] Some of the store has orders already.
[Narrator] Bidders indicate their offers through hand gestures called "Teyari."
Final prices are settled upon within seconds.
By 9:00 a.m, an entire warehouse of tuna has been sold
and the tuna are quickly scuttled off to the buyers market stalls,
where they're carved up and resold.
Some of the most prized bluefin tuna can sell for upwards of $50,000.
In 2001, a bluefin weighing over 400 pounds sold for a record price of a $173,000.
Some environmentalists argue that these escalating prices are further evidence of depletion of the bluefin tuna stocks worldwide.
Scientists and conservationists have long warned that bluefin stocks in the Mediterranean Sea
and eastern Atlantic Ocean are facing imminent collapse after years of mismanagement
by the international fishing community.
In an effort to answer these criticisms, and to ensure the survival of the species,
Japan has begun farm raising bluefin tuna with some early commercial success.
At one of the markets, "Many Tuna Vendors," a whole tuna is carefully sliced and quartered into loins
by men wielding knives as long as samurai swords.
The tuna loins, then further cross-sliced into prime steaks, are ready for sale.
Bluefin tuna is highly prized for its fatty belly meat known as Otoro.
The color of the tunas meat provides clues to quality.
Lighter shades of red indicate a higher concentration of belly fat
and identify these sections as the most tender cuts.
It may only be 9:00 a.m. at the Tsukiji Market,
but it's never too early for sashimi.
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