Food Diary - Sushi Nakamura, Tokyo

Juyondai Shichitare Nijikkan, Sushi Nakamura

The third sushiya during our autumn Tokyo trip was Sushi Nakamura (鮨 なかむら) in Roppongi.

To begin, we were handed the beverage menu (after the usual cold towel, etc ritual). I didn't recognise everything on the menu, but I did recognise the first half of it - umeshu; glass of champagne; glass of wine; beer Asahi (small bottle); Kokuryu (Fukui); and Juyondai (Yamagata).

I confess when we saw Kokuryu and Juyondai, I got a little too fixated to properly decipher the remainder of the beverage menu.

Both the Kokuryu and Juyondai are considered cult sakes, but have the flavours to substantiate their fame. Both are considered one of the top sake in Japan. The Kokuryu (黒龍) is produced in the Fukui prefecture (福井), the brewery was founded in 1804, and was one of the first brewers to create daiginjo in 1975.

The Juyondai (十四代) is produced in the Yamagata prefecture (山形) by the Takagi Shuzo brewery, which began in 1615. The backstory of the Juyondai sake can be read in Joji Sakurai's "Coming in from the Cold" (14 October 2016, Momentum).

Let's start with a drink!

First taste of Juyondai, the Shichitare Nijikkan

So here at Sushi Nakamura, we got our first taste of the rumoured Juyondai.

The menu merely stated "Juyondai (Yamagata)" (十四代 山形), and we didn't ask about which one they carried when we placed our order. In any case, we were served the Juyondai Shichitare Nijikkan (十四代七垂二十貫), a junmai daiginjo produced using Aiyama rice (愛山) from the Hyogo prefecture, with a rice-milled ratio of 40%.

Anyway, we love it. Hubby even prefers it over the Dassai 23. (In fact, as mentioned, it has displaced the Dassai 23 as his personal favourite.)

As for myself, I don't know enough about sake to comment, except that it was amazingly clear, smooth and round, clean and slightly sweet. I do know that there are other very good sake out there, not just the Juyondai, Kokuryu and Dassai... So I suppose, this taste of the Juyondai has spurred me to venture out to taste more!

Oysters (kaki)

We were served lightly poached, brined oysters (カキ, kaki) to start our meal. Perfectly prepared, plump and juicy morsels.

Scallops (hotategai)

Next was scallops (ほたてがい, hotategai), lightly drizzled with shoyu. I loved the crunch of the fresh flesh, and the sweetness.

Hairy crab (kegani), leg meat and roe

Next was an indulgent dish of hairy crab (毛蟹, kegani) meat topped with the creamy roe. A rich mix of savoury and sweet.

Palate cleanser: lightly vinergared wakame (ワカメ) with julienned ginger flower

Butterfish (ibodai)

Next was ibodai (疣鯛), grilled and served with shoyu and daikon radish. We also had ibodai at Sushi Taku, which had been done sushi style. Here, it was grilled, with beautifully crisp skin but moist flesh. The chilled, fresh daikon garnish helped to match the rich oiliness of the ibodai, and was a play on temperatures (hot fish, cool radish).

Red seabream or snapper (madai)

Next was madai (真鯛) sashimi style. Definitely one of my favourite white fish because of its clean flavour, mild sweetness and chewy texture.

Bonito, also skipjack tuna (katsuo)

Then is katsuo (鰹), sashimi style and lightly sprinkled with salt. It is one of my favourites, with a clean but umami flavour. We've had it smoked at Jiro Roppongi, and sashimi style but with a spiced negi garnish at Harutaka - both styles I really enjoyed. But I think this way was my favourite of the 3.

Monkfish liver (ankimo)

Next was ankimo (鮟肝) - as mentioned in the Sushi Masuda post, ankimo is a chinmi and is best in autumn/winter. Here, it was steamed and served dressed with shoyu and wasabi. Out of Sushi Masuda and Sushi Taku, the one here was my favourite. (I'm not including La Paix, which was hands-down my best meal in Tokyo this trip.)

Cod milt (shirako)

We were served shirako (白子), prepared in the traditional method - steamed, and served chilled, in a shoyu sauce, with thinly sliced spring onion leaves. A slight twist from Chef Nakamura, with a sprinkling of spice.

As mentioned in my post on Sushi Taku, the jury was out on shirako. But I think it is a taste that I won't be picking up any time soon. I'm not queasy about eating the reproductive organs of sea creatures - I mean, my favourite sushi ingredient is uni, which are sea urchin gonads. And it's not really the flavour profile, so perhaps it is the combination of texture and flavour that kind of gets to me? Or perhaps how the ingredient turned out based on preparation? I did not mind it at Sushi Taku - it was grilled, served hot in a warm ponzu-laced gravy. So perhaps, eating it cold is not my thing.

Olive flounder (平目, hirame)

Squid (烏賊, ika)

Sardine (鰯, iwashi)

Salmon caviar (いくら, ikura)

Halfbeak (針魚, sayori)

Purple sea urchin (紫海胆, murasaki uni) from Hokkaido

Japanese tiger prawn, or Japanese Imperial prawn (車海老, kuruma ebi)

Lean tuna (赤身, akami)

Mackerel (鯖, saba)

Japanese clam soup (hamaguri shiru)

And then hamaguri soup (蛤汁) - this one a cloudy one with the clams in it. (The clam soup at Taku was clear.) As said in the Sushi Masuda post, where we had hamaguri sushi, there is no proper English name for hamaguri, apparently.

Fatty tuna (otoro)

The otoro (大とろ), another morsel cut from the underbelly (蛇腹, jabara) - another beautiful display of layered flesh and sinew, also soft, tender and sweet.

Conger eel (anago)

Creamy, melt-in-the-mouth anago (穴子)... No complaints.

Tamagoyaki

Finally is the tamagoyaki (卵焼き), the Japanese egg roll... I am not a fan of tamagoyaki, but I really like the one here. Chef Nakamura's tamagoyaki is almost like castella, light and airy and fluffy. It was sweet, but mildly so, a light touch. Complete opposite of the Jiro school, which makes it dense and sweet.

******* 

More on Elizabeth's Japanese Autumn 2016

- I. Yokohama & the Miho Museum - 

Chinatown (Heichinrou, Yokohama Mazu Temple) ● Yamashita Park ● Zou-no-Hana ● Osanbashi Pier ● Yokohama Red Brick Warehouses ● Miho Museum

- II. Kyoto -

Tofukuji ● Kiyomizudera ● Sohonzan Komyoji ● Eikando Zenrinji ● Manshuin Monzeki ● Iwakura Jissoin Monzeki ● Nanzenji, Nanzenin & Tenjuan ● Kitano Tenmangu ● Shugakuin Imperial Villa ● Sento Imperial Palace ● Kyoto Imperial Palace

- III. Tokyo -

Tokyo University ● Rikugien ● Tokyo Imperial Palace & the East Gardens ● Kotonoha no Niwa trip to at Shinjuku Gyoen ● Italian at Salvatore Cuomo Bros., XEX Tokyo ● Sushi Masuda ● Nishiazabu Taku (aka Sushi Taku) ● Sushi Nakamura (1st taste of Juyondai) ● Sushi Tokami (1st taste of tossaki) ● molecular gastronomy at Tapas Molecular Bar ● French-Japanese at La Paix, Nihonbashi

- IV: Fuji Five Lakes -

Part 1 (Bessho Sasa, revisited) ● Part 2 (Fuji Subaru 5th Station, Motosuko & Koyodai) ● Part 3 (Fujisansaku Park, Motosuko, Shojiko, Saiko, Kawaguchiko)

*******