WHAT? Slithery sustenance. The Japanese love kabayaki—grilled eel in a sweet, soy-based sauce—so much, they have even dedicated an entire day to eating it. On Ushinohi, which is celebrated in August, eel restaurants all over Japan do a booming business; politicians are sometimes photographed smiling as they dine on their kabayaki; and, according to Charmaine Solomon’s Encyclopedia of Asian Food, 900 tons of eel are consumed. The eel is served over rice and is thought to be restorative in the enervating August heat. A Dictionary of Japanese Food calls kabayaki "one of Japan’s great treats," and a Japanese friend confirms that Japanese people would consider it right up there with sushi and tempura as a representative food of their country. These days though, she confesses, not everybody eats kabayaki straight from the grill as a connoisseur would insist. "Nowadays you can buy it in the supermarket and microwave it."
WHERE? Richard Sandoval's Beard House dinner
WHEN? September 15, 2011
HOW? Butterscotch Miso Cod with Pickled Artichokes, Kabayaki, and Tequila–Togarashi Aïoli
WHAT? Slithery sustenance. The Japanese love kabayaki—grilled eel in a sweet, soy-based sauce—so much, they have even dedicated an entire day to eating it. On Ushinohi, which is celebrated in August, eel restaurants all over Japan do a booming business; politicians are sometimes photographed smiling as they dine on their kabayaki; and, according to Charmaine Solomon’s Encyclopedia of Asian Food, 900 tons of eel are consumed. The eel is served over rice and is thought to be restorative in the enervating August heat. A Dictionary of Japanese Food calls kabayaki "one of Japan’s great treats," and a Japanese friend confirms that Japanese people would consider it right up there with sushi and tempura as a representative food of their country. These days though, she confesses, not everybody eats kabayaki straight from the grill as a connoisseur would insist. "Nowadays you can buy it in the supermarket and microwave it."
WHERE? Richard Sandoval's Beard House dinner
WHEN? September 15, 2011
HOW? Butterscotch Miso Cod with Pickled Artichokes, Kabayaki, and Tequila–Togarashi Aïoli
