Obachan's Quasi-Kaiseki

OK, it’s time to show the world the result of my ill-thought project that took me all-afternoon Friday and all day Saturday this weekend. Wondering what this is? This is “quasi-Kaiseki” by a middle-aged woman in Kochi who had nothing better to do this weekend. ( ** I guess I should add this here to be honest and fair to the readers... Note: I didn't make and eat all of these dishes at one time. I made some on Friday and took photos and ate them then. The rest was prepared/ate on Saturday, some in the morning and some in the afternoon. I made all photos into one kaiseki entry on Sunday ... that's why it's called "quasy-kaiseki." ;P ) The kaiseki course I had with my mom last weekend actually triggered my tempura craving, so my original plan was making tempura and some kind of konatsu dessert this weekend. On Tuesday I made some kinome-miso and had some of it left, so I needed to use it up somehow. Then a crazy idea just popped up in my mind…as usual. What about making some other dishes and making my own virtual kaiseki course on my blog? Of course I can’t make real, formal kaiseki. That requires professional skills you can acquire only after years of training, and there seem to be numerous traditional rules regarding what kind of dish or bowl should be used for what kind of food in which season, etc. I don’t mean to insult our wonderful tradition by giving it a try without the skill and knowledge…I just wanted to be more familiar with our tradition. Kaiseki is said to have originated from Zen practice, as explained in this site. As the site says, it is still served at tea ceremony. On the other hand, according to some Japanese websites, “kaiseki” also developed as formal party food as rich samurais or merchants got together for haiku (Japanese poem ) meetings at high-class traditional restaurants in Edo period. Sometimes different Chinese characters are used in writing to distinguish these 2 kinds of kaiseki, but not very strictly. It seems that the rules for kaiseki at restaurants are more flexible than at tea ceremony. I adopted a very basic (simplified than tea-ceremony kaiseki) course of kaiseki and terminology, but omitted steamed dish. Enjoy! --------- Obachan's Quasi-Kaiseki お品書き　Menu 前菜/先付けZensai/Sakizuke (Appetizers) - きゅうりモロミ味噌付け Cucumber with Moromi-miso - 大根の明太子マヨネーズはさみ Mayonnaise-seasoned mentaiko between Daikon radish slices - 焼き厚揚げ田楽 -- ゆず味噌・明太マヨネーズ・木の芽味噌 Broiled Atsuage (deep-fried tofu) with yuzu-miso, Mayonnaise-seasoned mentaiko and Kinome-miso 椀/吸い物 Wan/Suimono (Soup Dish) - えびと枝豆のしんじょ Shrimp dumpling with green soybeans - 羅臼昆布 Kelp 刺身 Sashimi (Sliced Raw Fish) - 帆立の刺身Raw Scallop 焼物 Yakimono (Broiled Fish) - 鮭の木の芽味噌焼き Grilled salmon with kinome-miso 揚物 Agemono (Deep-fried Dish) - 天麩羅　きす・さつまいも・サヤマメ・うどの芽 Deep-fried sand borer. sweet potatoes, snow peas and udo shoots. 煮物 Nimono (Simmered Dish) - 筍の土佐煮 Bamboo shoots simmered with dried bonito flakes - しいたけ Shiitake mushroom - そらまめ Fava beans 酢の物 Sunomono (Vinegared Dish) - うどとワカメの酢の物 Udo and Seaweed with vinegar dressing 止め椀 Tome-Wan (Rice, miso soup and pickles) - 十穀米ごはん Rice with 10 kinds of grains - みそ汁と香の物　Miso Soup and pickles 水菓子 Mizugashi (Dessert) - 小夏の淡雪かん Gelatin dessert made from Konatsu oranges ------ So, everyone, this is the result of my crazy attempt. I mean, everything didn’t turn out really GREAT, but most things tasted OK, and it just made me feel good to find that I was able to make something that “look like” traditional Japanese dishes. More than anything, it was a fun learning experience. I had fun thinking about which dish/bowl to use for which food and what I can use for garnishing…(I picked some weeds and flowers on the roadside.) Maybe what I did was quite off the wall from a “formal” point of view, but oh well, maybe at least I gave some experts of Japanese cuisine something to laugh about and brightened up their day ;) Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. BTW, I'm eating out tonight... I need a break from cooking :O