an Osaka specialty, kushi means skewer and age means deep fried. Fish, meat, or vegetables are skewered, dipped in batter then bread crumbs, and deep-fried. This is a delicious, but comparatively little-known Japanese meal.
| Menu | |
| Set Course | Usually consists of salad, six to ten skewers of kushi-age, rice or noodles, miso soup, and pickles. |
| ebi | prawn |
| kani no tsume | crab claw |
| tori | chicken |
| gyuniku | beef |
| shiitake | mushroom |
| asupara | asparagus |
| imo | potato |
| konnyaku | arrowroot gelatin |
| Side Dishes: | |
| soba | Japanese buckwheat noodles |
| kayaku gohan | seasoned rice |
| ochazuke | a bowl of rice covered with hot green tea or fish broth |
How to Order
• Ordering the set menu is the easiest and usually cheapest way.
• The chef will tell you if the kushi-age skewer needs sauce (sosu de dozo=please use the sauce), salt (shio de dozo=please use salt), or if it's best plain (kono mama de dozo). When you are almost through with your kushi-age, the chef will ask Gohan to soba no dochira ni shimasu ka? or "Will you have rice (gohan) or noodles (soba)? You decide.
CHISEN
4-12-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 3403-7677. Hours: 5:30-11:00 P.M., closed Mon. Another branch in Roppongi is at 7-16-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 3478-6241, closed Sun. They have a great course for ¥4,500, then another "flexible" course where you get all of the side dishes, but pay only for as much kushi-age as you can eat. [M-1]
HANTEI
2-12-15 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku. Tel: 3828-1440. Hours: 5:00-10:30 P.M., closed Sun. & third Mon. This three-story wooden structure looks like an old country house. Part of the restaurant is a converted storehouse with a small tatami seating area. Kushi-age course menus start with twelve skewers for ¥4,000. Next door is a quiet coffee shop. [M-13]
KUSHINOBO
3-10-17 Akasaka, Minato-ku. Tel: 3586-7390. Hours: 11:30 A.M.-2:00 P.M., 5:00-9:30 P.M. daily. One skewer from ¥150. Try their shiitake-toriniku-hasami, a large mushroom stuffed with minced chicken; or their shiso-maki-ebi, a prawn wrapped in shiso leaves. Lunch ¥720. Dinner about ¥2,500 per person. [M-6]
Tonkatsu
When eating meat became possible during the Meiji period, pork and beef were popularly served as katsu, cutlets dipped in flour, egg, and bread crumbs, then deep fried. Now, mainly pork is served this way, the best having a light and flaky crust while the meat is thick, moist, and tender. A fairly inexpensive meal, tonkatsu is popular both as a lunch and a family dinner. Fish and vegetables are also sometimes served this way.
| Menu | |
| hire-katsu | fillet cutlets (all lean meat) |
| rosu-katsu | loin cutlets (some fat meat) |
| kushi-katsu | meat skewered with onions |
| ebi-furai | fried prawns |
| korokke | potato croquette |
| tonjiru | miso soup with pork and vegetables |
| akadashi | red miso soup |
TONKI
1-1-2 Shimo-meguro, Meguro-ku. Tel: 3491-9928. Hours: 4:00 P.M.-10:45 P.M., closed Tue & third Mon. One of the great Tokyo tonkatsu restaurants, you may have to wait a while for a seat here since it's always busy. They dip their katsu in the egg and flour batter three times (once is usual); this keeps the pork crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside. Katsu teishoku is ¥1,450. [M-19]
HONKEPONTA
3-23-2 Ueno, Taito-ku. Tel: 3831-2351. Hours: 11:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M., 4:30-8:00 P.M., closed Mon. The oldest tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo, their tonkatsu is also the thickest and most tender. Other special dishes on their menu are ebi cream croquettes and tongue or beef stew. Tonkatsu is ¥2,500. [M-13]
MAISEN
4-8-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 3470-0071. Hours: 11:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M. daily. This big and busy tonkatsu restaurant offers a huge selection of other items including vegetable tonkatsu that even vegetarians will love. [M-4]
Sukiyaki and Shabu-shabu
Sukiyaki has been a popular meal since eating meat lost its taboo status in the Meiji period. A fairly easy dish to prepare, it's often produced in the home. Specialized restaurants have their own "secret" broth that makes the dish particularly good and most will cook it for you at the burner on your table. The basic ingredient is the beef, sliced paper-thin and sauteed for just a few seconds in the hot pan in front of you. A broth is then added, and the beef is lightly simmered. The best beef is that from Matsuzaka, where the cattle are pampered and protected, even massaged, to ensure the most tender of meats. After the beef is cooked, a selection of vegetables will be added to the pot.
Shabu-shabu is named for the shabu-shabu sound of the thinly-sliced beef swishing in the boiling broth. The major difference between sukiyaki and shabu-shabu is the broth. For sukiyaki, the broth is soy-based, thick, and slightly sweet, while the shabu-shabu broth is a clear stock, only lightly seasoned. Restaurants often serve both dishes.
Menu
• Sukiyaki—A set menu will include the beef (gyuniku) and vegetables such as leeks (negi), carrots (ninjin), mushrooms (shiitake and enokidake), chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku), tofu, etc. In addition, you'll be served rice, miso soup, and pickles.
• Shabu-shabu—The set menu is similar to that of sukiyaki, but at the end of the meal noodles will be added to the broth.
Ordering and Eating
• Sukiyaki—The waitress will do most of the cooking for you. Each person is given a bowl with a beaten raw egg in it. Use the egg as a dip for the beef.
• Shabu-shabu—The waitress will help, but you will cook the meat piece by piece in the boiling pot (it only takes a few seconds). Dip the cooked meat in the ground sesame, chopped green onions, the ponzu sauce made with soy and vinegar, or the goma-dare, a sauce of ground sesame and fish stock. After the meat is finished, the vegetables will be added to the broth. The waitress will probably do this for you.
ZAKURO