Sake to Sakana #6 Bijofu

Ever since I found this royalty-free stock photo site – and saw various fantastic images featuring Japanese sake – I had been wanting to shoot photos like them myself. And this is my first attempt. Yep, I said “first,” which means, there’ll be more to come. If you have time, try browsing all 34 pages that the stock photo site shows under the keyword: ”sake”... by clicking on the orange-colored numbers above the thumbnails. You’ll probably see why I got so intrigued. Some of the photos are so simple… just a pair of sake bottle and cup, small portion of appetizers and a few leaves or flowers which reflect the season… AND a pair of chopsticks that tighten up the whole impression with their straight lines! Those are my favorite kind of photos. And when I see something I like very much, I feel the urge to recreate it myself. Hence, these photos here to add a new post to my long-neglected “sake to sakana” series. Hahaha… What I’m going to introduce this time is our local sake called “Bijofu 美丈夫.” The name means –- if I’m not mistaken -- "a beautiful looking young man." I’ve heard that it implies our local hero Ryoma Sakamoto, but it does not sound convincing to Kochi residents who are familiar with his photo. :P Anyway, “Bijofu” is my absolute favorite, and I have written about it a couple of times here on this blog. The reason why I like it is that it goes well with most foods and it never disappoints me. It is dry with the fragrance not overwhelming, and I personally think that it tastes best when gently warmed (body temperature). And I love drinking gently warmed Bijofu with seafood, especially fisheggs, such as kazunoko (herring roe) and mentaiko (spicy cod roe). Bijofu does not enhance the fishiness of the fisheggs, but instead, creates a pleasant sensation with the appetizer, which I like very, very much. So that’s why I did not forget to buy this appetizer this time: Ogon Ika 黄金イカ in sudachi cup The name of this appetizer means “golden squid.” What it is is raw squid strips dressed with seasoned kazunoko (herring roe), and I assume some artificial coloring is added to the roe. Yeah, unhealthy. But still I would never try to buy raw squid and herring roe separately and make this appetizer myself; It would cost a lot more than buying a small pack of ready-made ogon ika, and usually all I need is just a small amount. Other appetizers this time included: ginkgo nuts (Yep! The envelope-and-microwave method again! ;P ), grilled squid with shichimi pepper and small taros seasoned with salt and black sesame seeds. This taro appetizer seems to be a popular autumn appetizer here, but I think it tastes good only when it is warm. My taros turned stone-cold while taking these shots, and even though I microwaved them before eating, still they were not very impressive.　Ginkgo nuts were very good (yet I think Bijofu shows its best quality when combined with seafood). Anyway, I don’t think I have time and energy to have a kaiseki project this autumn, but I would probably try this sake-and-appetizer project at least one more time before winter (hopefully) because it is much easier and less expensive :P. Categories: Sake