Why is Osaka the best town to eat? Kushikatsu a confidential culinary specialty.
(Dotonburi Street)
Hi Steemit, Have you taste the Kushikatsu in Japan ?
My name is Mylo, I'm a Vietnamese girl living in Strasbourg (France). I love to eat and travel. I'm a real foodie girl who takes photos of my food everywhere I go. Right now, I'm considering to open my first restaurant and I'm thinking about a concept (Izakaya, Dim Sum House or Ramen). But my mind is not set with a fixed concept at this stage. So meanwhile, I will post in Steemit my food experimentation, my food passion and the progress of my restaurant project.
During our trip in Japan, me and my friend met with these culinary speciality of Osaka: Kushikatsu.
And we just fell in love for its simplicity, diversity and how fullfilling it was.
Japan has so many different food and its each region has its speciality. We decided to go to Osaka known to be the capital of Japanese food where you can taste all kind of different food. And because as an Asian, I am obsessed with food, it was only natural to go there to eat many different dishes as possible.
And I can tell you I was not the only asian tourist, there was so many different nationality in the street of Dotonburi (People from Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam and Korean). I presume they all came here like me to eat and shop...
Westerner tourist doesn't appreciate as we do Osaka, they prefer the traditionnalism of Kyoto or the modernity of Tokyo. But Osaka is so different, excentric, colourful and deligtful. All kind of food is concentrated in this area of Dotonbori (Ramen, Okonomiyaki, Gyoza, Takoyaki, Shabu etc…) and the unexpected Kushikatsu.
(Club of Go)
We went to make a tour with a French expat who make us discovers the old soul of Shinsekai,a neighborhood of Osaka, it’s was build with an idea to be a mix of Paris and New-York but soon enough, all the neighborhood was left with it’s retro cinema, its old club of go and its old restaurant. It is now considered to be the poorest neighborhood and the dirtier. But it fact, it’s just a place who doesn’t grow with our time and just stay the way it was at the beginning. It was a surprise to discover this little germ. Our guide was so passionnated about this neighborhood and I understand why. It was authentic, a place where simple people was living and working hard. He introduce us to a seller of tuna in the market who never saw a Gopro and thought it was a japanese brand. The first encounter was funny.
The market was also really old with all the cables invading the wall but the person working there was so lively and eager to talk about their work and life.
This tour need to be talk in a different topic because there so many things to say.
(Tuna seller in the Market)
(The charm of the Fish Market)
So at the end of our tour, he recommends us to eat Kushikatsu, explaining that it was pieces of meat or vegetables on stick breaded and deep fried that you have to dip in a sauce and eat it with a piece of cabbage. At first, I went “Well, this seems boring to only eat fried skewers ". But believe me, it was delicious and not boring at all. It was crispy, savory and juicy. This Kushikatsu is a culinary of Shinsekai and I understand why it’s this kind of dish you want to eat with a beer after of tough day of work. That’s so like Shinseikai.
(Kushikatsu)
(Kushikatsu restaurant where you can learn the recipe)
So after a little waiting outside, we went inside this little crowded place. We ask “English Menu?” But as these area is not really touristic, there was no english menu. But they show us the wall with the menu in japanese. Euh, well we don't speak japanese and can really read too. So fortunately, a young cook was speaking english and was there to tell us what we can order.
We decide to go with these order: The price was between 150 yen each stick to 450 yen.
- Asparagus
- Raw oyster, it was the more expensive
- Poulp
- Beef
- Shrimp
- And one Achilles tendon from beef or pork; I presume. It was a good surprise chewy and with an peanut sauce. Really good.
(Achilles tendon in kind of peanut sauce)
Our waiter was kind enough to explain us how to eat these skewers. He tells us to only dip one time for hygienic reason because the sauce is shared with other customer. We eat it with hand no chopsticks or fork and drink some beer and if we wanted to have some more sauce, we use the piece a cabbage as a spoon.
As soon as I came back to France, I tried to make at home to have a piece of Japan. And I can tell you, it’s like I came back to Shinseikai !
So let me share the recipe with you dear Steemers !
Ingredients:
Take your favourite piece of meat and vegetable:
- Cherry tomato
- Zucchini
- Pork
- Beef
- White sausage
- etc.
The batter:
| Ingredient | Qty |
|---|---|
| Flour | 200 gr |
| Milk | 100 ml |
| Egg | 1 |
| Water | 150 ml |
| And Panko to coat | * |
The sauce:
| Ingredient | Qty |
|---|---|
| Red wine, I’ve used a Côte du Rhône | 100 ml |
| Worchester sauce | 200 ml |
| Tonkatsu sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| Ketchup | 1 teaspoon |
| Brown sugar | 2 tablespoon |
| Honey | 1 tablespoon |
For the sauce, just bring to boil all the ingredients and cut all the meat and vegetables.
In the restaurant of Shinseikai. They dipped the skewers in the batter and then coated in the panko.
(Final Result: my own Kushikatsu !)
I hope you enjoyed it ! Do not hesitate to follow me if you like food ! I will post in Steemit my food experimentation, my food passion and the progress of my restaurant project.