Kyoto Cuisine
Cha-kaiseki (Tea Ceremony Cuisine) 茶懐石
A simpler, more restrained version of full-blown kaiseki (see below), which is served before a formal tea ceremony event. The flavours are extremely delicate and must not interfere with the flavour of the following tea ceremony. Cha-kaiseki consists of the basic components of a Japanese meal – miso soup, rice and pickles, with fish or vegetable dishes which are either simmered, boiled or grilled.
Fu (Wheat gluten) 麩
Fu is made from the gluten of wheat and is very high in protein. Kyoto has been renowned for its fu production for over 1000 years. This is in evidence in modern Kyoto with one of central Kyoto’s streets called Fuyacho-dori (麩屋町通), literally ‘Fu shops street’.
Fu is soft and has an elastic, sponge-like consistency. There are two main types – nama-fu and yaki-fu. Nama-fu is solid gluten that is mixed with rice flour and steamed. It is often shaped and coloured. It is an essential part of shojin-ryori (Buddhist Vegetarian Cuisine), as well as wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionary). Yaki-fu is baked nama-fu. It is often used in soups and pot dishes like sukiyaki.
Kaiseki Ryori (Kaiseki Cuisine) 懐石料理
The ultimate and most refined dining experience in Kyoto is kaiseki cuisine, a multi-course banquet originally intended to be enjoyed with the tea ceremony.
The emphasis is on the aesthetic presentation of local delicacies – seasonally appropriate foods such as river fish, dried tofu and mountain vegetables in winter, arranged on carefully chosen ceramic or lacquer dishes which echo the time of year. At traditional restaurants serving kaiseki cuisine, even the flower arrangements and art displayed in the room where you eat will reflect this attention to detail. Kaiseki cuisine generally costs upward of ¥10,000 per head.
A typical kaiseki course: sakizuke (hors d’oeuvre), zensai (appetiser), suimono (clear soup), tsukuri (raw fish), nimono (stewed vegetables or seafood), yakimono (grilled fish), aburamono or agemono (deep-fried vegetables or seafood), sunomono (vinegared seafood and vegetables), konomono (pickles), gohan (steamed rice), mizumono or mizugashi (fruit) and hoji-cha (roasted tea).
Genmai rice
Kome (Rice) 米
Uncooked rice is referred to as kome. Rice grown in Japan is of the short grain variety.
Hakumai (White rice) 白米
Polished or milled rice. Used in all types of cuisine, from obento (lunchboxes) to kaiseki.
Genmai (Brown rice) 玄米
Unpolished rice. Considered to be 'low class', you would never be served genmai in kaiseki restaurants but will certainly be offered it in macrobiotic, organic or obanzai restaurants.
Kyo-Ryori (Kyoto Cuisine) 京料理
Kyoto Cuisine is known for its subtle flavours, seasonal focus, use of only the freshest ingredients, and aesthetic appeal. The ultimate and most refined dining experience in Kyoto is kaiseki cuisine – a multi-course gastronomic and visual feast. Other, more economical, staples of Kyo-ryori are nishin-soba (soba noodle soup with smoked herring), various types of tofu cuisine, fu (wheat-gluten) and Kyo-tsukemono (Kyoto-style pickles). Until the age of modern refrigeration, Kyoto’s distance from fishing ports meant that the local cuisine was characterised by a reliance on vegetables, tofu, fu and lesser amounts of meat and fish than other regional cuisines. Traditional Kyoto-style sushi, for example, used preserved fish.
Kyo-tsukemono (Kyoto Pickles) 京漬物
Pickled vegetables are an essential part of most Japanese meals, from breakfasts to banquets. Usually, the vegetables are pickled in mirin (sweet rice wine) and shoyu (soy sauce), but miso, vinegar, rice bran and salt are also used. Some pickles are intended to be eaten within days, others are made as long-term preserves. In Kyoto, there are three main types of pickles known as Kyo-tsukemono:
Senmaizuke – thinly sliced kabu (white turnip) pickled in salt with mirin or sugar, and konbu (seaweed) added for flavour.
Shibazuke – eggplant pickled in salt with ginger and red shiso (beefsteak plant).
Suguki – a kind of turnip fermented with its leaves in salt
Mochi (pounded rice cake) 餅
Mochi is steamed white rice that has been pounded into a glutinous and sticky constituency and then formed into a ‘cake’. Mochi are another popular staple of Japanese food culture, getting the most attention at New Year, when served as sweet or savoury dishes. The downside to this enthusiastic consumption of mochi at the year-end is that many elderly people choke to death. But the hazards of eating mochi have not lessened its popularity.
Soft, fresh mochi are usually made into wagashi (Japanese confectionary) and have sweet red azuki bean centres. One well-known seasonal example is sakura-mochi – sweet mochi wrapped in salted cherry leaves. Small balls of mochi are used in special soups such as zoni, a vegetable broth that is drunk at New Year, and zenzai, a sweet soup made with red azuki beans. When fresh mochi hardens, it is then toasted or grilled to become yaki-mochi. In this state, yaki-mochi is flavoured with shoyu (soy sauce) and nori (seaweed). Interestingly, as a linguistic expression, ‘yaki-mochi’ means 'to be jealous'.
Kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetables) 京野菜
Kyoto’s uniqueness extends to the natural environment which has produced Kyo-yasai – literally, Kyoto vegetables. Kyo-yasai have been stewed, simmered, steamed and fried since Heian times and are a central ingredient in all types of Kyo-ryori from obanzai to kaiseki. There are over 40 official kinds of Kyo-yasai. Some examples of these traditional vegetables are:
Hatakena (Kyoto
mustard greens)
Kyoto Kintoki Ninjin
- ebi imo: a kind of yam, with a prawn (ebi)-like pattern on its skin
- Horikawa gobo: burdock root, originally grown near the Horikawa river
- Kamo-nasu: a bulbous eggplant, originally grown in the northern part of the city
- kintoki ninjin: a long, thin, red carrot
- Kujo-negi: a soft and juicy kind of leek
- kuwai: a small, bulb-like vegetable grown in water
Mizuna/Mibuna: a fine, leafy salad vegetable, often referred to as mibuna, because it was originally grown near Mibu temple in Kyoto
Shishigatani nankin: a smallish pumpkin with rough skin, originally grown in the east of the city
Obanzai (Kyoto home-style cooking) おばんざい
Obanzai refers to Kyoto home-style cooking. Obanzai dishes are made with Kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetables), tofu, nama-fu, fish and other staples of local cuisine, and are usually served with rice and miso soup. Obanzai dishes may look plain (they certainly lack the fussy presentation of kaiseki, for example) but they are healthy and hearty.
Typically, obanzai dishes will include all these different types of cooking:
- agemono – deep-fried food, e.g. tempura
- gohanmono– rice dishes
- mushimono – steamed dishes
- shirumono – soups, e.g. miso soup
- suimono – clear soups, similar to consommé
- sunomono – dishes cooked or dressed with vinegar
- yakimono – fried, grilled or broiled food
Due to the labour-intensity of cooking so many dishes, and washing up all the pots and plates for just one meal, obanzairestaurants have sprung up over the last decade or so – something that would have been unthinkable in more traditional times.
Ochazuke (tea-flavoured rice) お茶漬け
Ochazuke, literally ‘tea-soaked’, is traditional Kyoto snack food – a bowl of hot white rice topped with pickles, seaweed flakes, sesame seeds and sometimes fish, covered in tea. It’s the perfect late-night supper, and apparently, the type of snack loved by geisha after a night of entertaining in the tea houses of Gion. In the local dialect, ochazuke is called ‘bubuzuke’. Traditionally, ochazuke was served at the end of banquets. However, if you are invited to dinner in a Kyoto home and are offered ‘bubuzuke’ at the end of the meal, it means you have overstayed your welcome!
