In the Kitchen with Hiroko Shimbo (1/4)

Hiroko Shimbo, renowned chef, author, restaurant consultant and instructor, introduced the intricacies of Japanese cuisine to the western audience with her book, The Japanese Kitchen. Reviewer and Chef Mark Miller said, "Hiroko Shimbo's The Japanese Kitchen is to Japanese cuisine what Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking is to French cuisine." She is currently consulting to a variety of restaurants as well as working on her newest book, The Sushi Experience, scheduled for publication in 2006. We asked Hiroko to comment on her cuisine philosophy and special thoughts on the rise of Japanese food in America. Q: How do you manage to adapt a deep-rooted tradition of Japanese cuisine characterized by delicacy and elegance to suit the western kitchen? Where does Japanese delicacy and elegance come from? It is from our preparation and presentation techniques. Japanese food preparation requires cutting ingredients into smaller, orderly pieces or lengths. Japanese preparation uses less oil, and more liquid based cooking – blanching, steaming, short-braising, and also broiling, and grilling. Japanese preparations, more than nearly any other cuisine, emphasize the natural flavor, appearance and texture of each ingredient which can entertain each of our five senses. Yes, we even enjoy and emphasize the sounds made by consuming some foods – the crunch of fish eggs, the slurp of a noodle eater. So, the use of the freshest ingredients becomes the most important factor. These elements create delicacy and elegance in the Japanese prepared foods. The delicacy and elegance of Japanese cuisine is strongly connected to our refined arts culture. So, I always recommend that chefs and students of the cuisine have more opportunities to visit Japanese fine and craft arts museums to see our art works and the objects that inspire the look of our cuisine. Q: It is said that your menu actually changes with the season, and provides remedies that can help people to defend against the weather extremities. Can you please explain this to our readers? Japan is a narrow, small island country which has very distinctive four seasons. In each season different fish have always been caught in the surrounding waters to enrich our table. Seasonal produce and fruit come from the mountains and fields. The Japanese consciousness of seasonal foods and natural events is incredibly strong. Every night from March through April the national weather forecast programs show the sakura zensen, the location of the “front” of cherry blossoms in full bloom that moves from the south to the north across the country. The availability in shops and restaurants of hatsu gatsuo, the first bonito fish that pass close to Tokyo on their yearly migration is an item on the nightly news, and the word has been spread throughout the city for hundreds of years long before there was TV and radio. Although today’s hot house farming, fish culturing and importing out of the season food products from overseas have partially destroyed the sense of season at the table, the use of seasonal ingredients are continues to be very important in Japan. In addition to the ingredients, cooking techniques change according to the season. Many hot-pot preparations, broiling, short braising and steaming are done in winter and autumn to warm up our bodies. Cold dish preparation dominates during the hot and humid Japanese summer. Grilling and steaming are popular in spring for the delicate produce of the season. As you can see form the description above, steaming hot-pots in winter are just the thing for to ward off winter chill and somen noodles served in an ice water bath with refreshing dipping sauces are perfect for the summer heat. We do, like many food cultures, have our heating and cooling food myths .For example, on the hottest day of the year in August, we eat grilled eel as an antidote for the oppressive heat and humidity.