The beautiful sushi of April, 2021

The season of new green leaves has come. Beautiful fresh green filled with vitality gives me energy.

On that day, I savored authentic sushi at a Japanese restaurant called, Kazahana.

They always meet my expectations, so it’s highly recommended.

I ate nine sushi and some tempura this time.

Among them, three sushi impressed me.

The first one was Shiro-ika (squid).

I was surprised at first glance.

It looked like a large wave because the squid had been cut decoratively by the sushi chef.

It made me imagine a famous Ukiyo-e painting called, “Kanagawa oki namiura”.

That sushi had an elegant sweetness, and it tasted really good.

The second one was Madai (red sea bream).

Madai in spring has a cherry-pink color.

So it is often called, Sakura-dai. 

Sakura means cherry blossom.

By the way, a young Madai is called, Kasugo.

Japanese people call one type of fish by various names depending on the season.

It shows that they cherish a sense of the season. But many modern Japanese people do not seem to care about that.

The vinegared rice brought out the natural sweetness in the Madai.

In addition, the meet of this Madai was tender. It was exquisite.

The third one was Anago (common Japanese conger).

Anago is my favorite sushi.

Anago is not eaten raw. It is boild, and it takes time and effort.

After that, it is coated with a boild-down sauce called, “Nitsume”.

Cooking for Anago requires an advanced technique.

So authentic sushi restaurants place importance on Anago, and this restaurant does too.

They only use Anago produced in Tsushima, which is in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Tsushima is known as high-quality Anago.

Their Anago always melts in my mouth, and I like that moment.

I think that Kazahana is a really wonderful Japanese restaurant.

I will go there next month.