The technical details Plum-blossoms everywhere I should go south I should go north Yosa Buson (1716-1783) 296 The technical details Glossary of Japanese words agari – sushi bar slang for tea. azuki (aduki) – small green or red beans used aka-jiso – red shiso. as a paste in Japanese cakes, confections, and akami – red and dark items (tane) used for su- desserts. shi and sashimi, e.g., tuna; (ako, red). aka-miso – red miso made from rice. bancha – ordinary green tea for everyday use amaebi – sweet shrimp; (amai, sweet). made from coarser, larger tea leaves; may amakuchi – sweet sake. contain some twigs. anago – sea eel. basashi – sashimi made from raw horse (uma). aoaka-jiso (hojiso) – green-red shiso with leaves battera – pressed sushi with mackerel, a type which are red or dark purple on the surface of oshi-zushi which is a specialty of Osaka. and green on the underside. bentō – meal arranged in a box divided into ao-jiso – green shiso; (ao, green). sections, usually including rice, tsukemono, ao-nori – flakes of green seaweed. and assorted other small dishes. awase-zu – mixture of rice vinegar, salt, and buri – see hamachi. sugar which is added to cooked sushi rice. Glossary of Japanese words 297 cha – Japanese green tea (Camilla sinensis or denbu – see oboro. Thea sinensis) also called o-cha, which sig- donko – much sought-after shiitake mushroom nifies that the tea is not enzymatically fer- with a small, dark cap. mented (as is black tea, kōcha). The different types of cha are gyokuro, sencha, maccha, ebi – shrimp; but the term encompasses a long bancha, and hōjicha. list of similar crustaceans of varying sizes. chaji – combination of tea ceremony (chanoyu) edamame – young, green soybeans (daizu) and the formal meal (cha-kaiseki). containing two to three beans in each pod. cha-kaiseki – the formal meal served before a Edo – former name of the city of Tokyo; also as- tea ceremony. sociated with the so-called Edo period which chanoyu – ‘the tea’s warm water’, the formal started in 1603 when the shogunate moved way of preparing and drinking whisked from Kyoto to Edo. green tea (maccha) at a tea ceremony. edomae-zushi – nigiri-zushi. Originally sushi chasen – bamboo whisk for mixing green tea made from fish and shellfish from the bay by powder (maccha). Edo, the earlier name for Tokyo; now used to chirashimori – see moritsuke. denote sushi of high quality. chirashi-zushi – scattered sushi (also called enokitake – winter mushroom (Flammulina bara-zushi), a particularly colourful type of velutipes) with long, thin white stalks and a sushi in which fish, shellfish, and green items small cap; grows in a cluster. are placed in a bowl on top of a layer of sushi rice (Tokyo style), on which finely cut nori fu – wheat gluten, also known by its Chinese and a little tobiko roe are sometimes sprin- designation seitan, in either raw form (nama kled. Gomoku-zushi (‘five ingredients sushi’) fu) or roasted or dried (yaki fu). is another type of chirashi-zushi, charac- fugu – pufferfish or blowfish of the Tetraodon- teristic of the Osaka area, in which cooked tiformes family. Liver and ovaries of the fish green vegetables and the other ingredients contain the potent nerve toxin tetrodotoxin. are mixed together with the rice. fukin – cloth for wiping or drying. funa-gata – see nigiri-zushi. daikon – large, white radish (Chinese radish). funamori – see gunkan-maki. daizu – green soybean (Glycine maximus) used funa-zushi – sushi made from the carp Caras- for making tofu, miso, and shōyu among sius auratus, a wild goldfish which lives in other products. Lake Biwa close to Kyoto. dashi – fish stock made from bonito fish flakes furikake – condiment often sprinkled on warm (katsuobushi) and konbu. First dashi (ichi- rice and other dishes; consists of a mixture of ban dashi) and second dashi (niban dashi) salt, dried bits of seaweed, and fish flakes, as refer to the first and second extract of kat- well as toasted black or white sesame seeds. suobushi. futomaki – thick maki-zushi rolls made using deba-bōchō – Japanese knife for cutting up fish a whole sheet of nori. and shellfish. 298 The technical details gari – sushi bar slang for pickled ginger (tsuke- hamachi (inada, buri) – yellowtail, a fine tex- mono) when it is associated with sushi, usu- tured fish well suited for sushi and sashimi. ally sliced very thin. The Japanese word for hangiri – wooden bowl for cooling newly ginger is shōga. cooked sushi rice. genmaicha – tea mixture consisting of ordinary hashi – chopsticks. green tea (bancha) and roasted rice kernels. hashiarai – ‘chopstick wash’; refers to an in- geta – classical Japanese wooden shoe. The term between course at the formal tea ceremony is also used for the simple wooden block with (kaiseki) where a little warm water, to which feet used as a plate for sushi and sashimi. some flavouring has been added, is served goma – sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum); can and drunk to cleanse the mouth and the pal- be white sesame seeds (shiro goma) or black ate following a dish with a strong taste such sesame seeds (kuro goma). as grilled fish or meat. gomai oroshi – five part filleting of fish into hashibukuro – paper sleeve enclosing dispos- four fillets and the remaining skeleton; used able chopsticks (waribashi). for flatfish such as turbot and large rounded hashi-oki – small holder on which the chop- fish like tuna. sticks (hashi) are placed. gomoku-zushi – see chirashi-zushi. haya-zushi – sushi based on cooked rice mixed gu – filling placed in maki rolls or mixed into with rice vinegar and then kept under pres- chirashi-zushi. sure with a stone weight and fermented in a gunkan-maki – sushi made by enclosing ingre- wooden box over a short period (24 hours). dients which might otherwise fall apart in a hijiki – brown seaweed (Sargassum fusiforme). piece of nori; also known as battleship sushi hikari-mono – shiny things (tane) which are (kakomi-zushi or funamori). placed on sushi, such as mackerel and her- gyokuro – green tea of the very best quality. ring which have their silvery skin left on. hirame – flatfish which have the eyes on the hagotae – tooth resistance. left side, e.g., brill and turbot. Flatfish with haiku – minimalist Japanese style of poetry eyes on the right side are called karei. The governed by a set of complicated rules (hai, classification is ambiguous. entertainment, and ku, fragment). Typically hiramori – see moritsuke. the poem consists of three lines with 5, 7, hōchō – Japanese kitchen knife, available in and 5 syllables respectively. various versions each with its specific use, for hako-gata – see nigiri-zushi. example, yanagiba-bōchō for slicing sashimi, hako-zushi – slices of raw fish placed between deba-bōchō for cutting fish and shellfish, and layers of cooked vinegared rice pressed to- usuba-bōchō for cutting vegetables. gether in a small wooden box for about 24 hojicha – roasted green tea (bancha). hours and then eaten immediately thereaf- hokanomono – things (tane) placed on sushi ter; forerunner of the more modern pressed that are not included in the classical cat- Osaka sushi, oshi-zushi, which is usually egories of akami, shiromi, hikari-mono, and made with mackerel. nimono-dane. Glossary of Japanese words 299 hone nuki – tweezers. kakomi-zushi – see gunkan-maki. hon-maguro – bluefin tuna. kampai – ‘Cheers!’ when proposing a toast. hoshi-nori – dried nori. kani – crab. hosomaki – thin maki-zushi rolls made with a kanji – Chinese characters used in Japanese half sheet of nori. written language. hotategai – scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis). kanpachi – great amberjack or rudderfish, closely related to hamachi. ichiban dashi – the first dashi. kanten – agar, a polymer of galactose, a poly- ika – squid. saccharide derived from seaweed. ikebana – flower arrangement; originally a rit- kappa – cucumber when related to sushi. ual way of arranging flowers bana( , flower) kappa-maki – maki-zushi with cucumber. in Japanese temples where it was practised karakuchi – dry sake. as a meditative art form through which one karei – flatfish which has the eyes on the right could cleanse the soul and find harmony and side, e.g., lemon sole, Greenland halibut, and balance. Ikebana also encompasses stems halibut. Flatfish with the eyes on the left side and leaves, as well as the container in which are called hirame. they are placed. Ikebana is characterized by kasanemori – see moritsuke. a linear, simple appearance and asymmetry. katsuo – skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), ikijime – fish that are eaten immediately after also known as bonito; member of the mack- they die and before rigor mortis sets in, so erel family. that their flesh has a firm texture which has katsuobushi – cooked, salted, dried, smoked, not become tender as a result of natural de- and fermented katsuo, which is shaved into composition. Typically white fish are used paper thin flakes; used to make such things and they are killed in iced saltwater to limit as fish stock, dashi. their struggling. The fish are kept in tanks at kazunoko – roe from herring (nishin). the sushi bar, killed, and cut up on the spot. kensho – Japanese Zen-related term for enlight- ikizukuri – sashimi sliced from a whole, freshly ment experiences. killed fish and replaced decoratively on the kihada – yellowfin tuna. fish skeleton before being served. kodomo-zushi – children’s sushi or family ikura – salted salmon roe. sushi, typically maki-zushi with cheerful, inada – see hamachi. colourful patterns in the cross-sections of itamae – he who stands ‘in front of the cutting the rolls. board’, Japanese head chef. A sushi chef is re- kohada – gizzard shad (Clupanodon puncta- ferred to as a sushiya. tus), also known as konoshiro. kōika – cuttlefish Sepia( esculenta). kaiseki – see cha-kaiseki. kōji – fermentation medium made from rice, kaiten-zushi – sushi served on a conveyor belt barley, or soybean paste inoculated with the in a specially constructed sushi bar.