Most people are familiar with the  pear compote. A simple dish consisting of pears slow cooked in sugar, water, wine and spices, it’s a dessert which never goes out of date.

What people may not know, however, is that apples work just as well as pears. Here, we’ll be preparing a version which makes use of Japanese apples.

These come in many varieties: Fuji, Kogyoku, Tsugaru and Jona gold. For the purposes of this dish, use a Fuji apple. Its sour flavor will better compliment the sweetness of the syrup and whatever creamy goodness you serve alongside it.

Apple compote with red wine and vanilla ice cream

Ingredients (serves two people)

• 1 apple (400g)
• 100g sugar
• 250 ml water
• 100 ml red wine
• 1 clove
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 liter water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ice cream/yogurt/marscapone

Method

Peel the apple and then slice it into 4 – 6 wedges, disposing of the core. Add the teaspoon of salt to the half-liter of water, then place the apple pieces into the liquid.

Pour the sugar into a pan together with 250 ml of water. Place the pan on a low heat so that the sugar dissolves. Next, put the apples into the pan, and gently cook for 15 – 20 minutes.

Add the clove, the cinnamon and the red wine and stir. Cook the mixture for a further 3 minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. After 12 to 24 hours, the apples should have absorbed the red wine and changed color. When you’re satisfied the apples are ready, take them out of the pan and slice them again (optional).

Place the an back onto a low heat and warm it slowly. Once it has thickened, it can be used as a sauce.

Plate the apples and serve with a dollop of ice cream, yogurt or marscapone. Pour a tablespoon of the sauce over the apples.

This is another decent imo-jochu from Kagoshima prefecture, but it surprised me a little because it doesn’t smell like an imo-jochu. It’s more refined than the imo-jochus I’m accustomed to drinking while carrying some light fruit on the nose. Before ever putting it in my mouth this shochu was living up to its deceitful name, “Great Devil King.”

Enjoying Daimaou neat, it has a round, medium-bodied mouthfeel. There’s a sweetness to it that is understated to the point of being dry. The yellow mold (essential to the process of breaking the potato starches down into fermentable sugars) used prior to distilling obviously has something to do with this sweetness. The effect is very pleasant. Yellow mold is what is used in the nihonshu brewing process and is somewhat less common in the shochu industry where white mold prevails.

There’s something about this shochu that reminds me of drinking brandy. Try it neat and see for yourself.

I also highly recommend this shochu on the rocks. It’s light, refreshing and easy to drink–definitely one of the better imo-jochus I’ve had that retails in the 1,600-1,800 yen range. And as I alluded above, Daimaou is distributed widely enough by Hamada Shuzo that you can find it in major supermarket chains such as Seiyu.

In many ways, this pepper and anchovy dish is the perfect otsumami (tapas-style dish). For starters there’s its vivid color – bold red, yellow and green.  Then there’s the texture – the slightly crispy anchovies balancing the sauteed peppers. Finally, there’s the flavor of the mentsuyu (a dashi-based sauce usually used for soba and udon noodles).

Stir-fried peppers with crispy young anchovies

Ingredients (serves 2 people)

• 200g green pepper (4-5 green peppers)
• 50g red pepper (1/2 a red pepper)
• 50g yellow pepper (1/2 a yellow pepper)
• 20g dried young anchovies
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons of mentsuyu

Method

Pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil into a frying pan and place on a low heat. Add the dried young anchovies and slowly saute them for 3-4 minutes, so that they become crispy.

Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds, then slice them into strips. When the anchovies become crispy, add the peppers to the pan and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes over a high heat.

Finally, add two tablespoons of mentsuyu and coat the peppers. If you live in Japan, you should be able to find this at any supermarket or convenience store.

If you live overseas and have trouble finding the sauce, however, add the following to the fry pan:

• 2 tablespoons of dashi soup (or water)
• 1 tablespoon of sake
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of mirin

It’s also worth noting that were you to make 2-3 times the sauce, you would have the perfect soup for soba or udon noodles.

So you’re looking for that perfect appetizer – something that looks great, is dead simple to make, and can be enjoyed by omnivores and vegetarians alike. Well look no further. This recipe for aona no norimaki (boiled greens wrapped in seaweed) is all of the above. Not only that, but its about as healthy an appetizer as you can get.

Aona is the Japanese word for green leaf vegetables, which includes such things as spinach, komatsuna and canola blossoms. Spinach and komatsuna were once winter vegetables, but are now available in Japan all year round. Canola blossoms are only found during springtime.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 200g spinach or other aona
• 1 sheet toasted nori seaweed
• A handful of bonito flakes (optional)

Method

First wash the spinach, especially the roots, and then drain. Bring 1 liter of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of salt.

Place the spinach into the boiling water, roots first, then boil for 30 seconds so that the leaves turn a bright green. Rinse under cold water. Next, separate the spinach into two equal portions and squeeze well to remove any moisture. Cut off the roots.

Slice a sheet of nori in half, placing it on the maki-su (bamboo mat). Place the first half of the spinach on the nori, leaving 2 cm uncovered at the bottom of the sheet. Now lift the nearest edges of both the maki-su and the nori, and roll away from you. To seal the nori, dip a finger in water and moisten the top edge. Repeat for the second nori roll.

Finally, cut into 2-3 cm portions and serve on a bed of bonito flakes (optional).

One thing that it still needs to work on, however, is its beer.

Unfortunately, Waseda Beer (5% ABV)  is strongly yeasty from the moment you pry the cap off it. Then the yeastiness on the nose is backed up by an immediate and somewhat sour yeast dominance on the palate.

The result is a low-wattage sour middle that is not really all that welcome. This means that the hops are nearly undetectable. It would probably go down better, and feel more balanced, if the yeasty nose translated into a medium-bodied, bready mouthfeel.

I cracked two separate bottles to make sure that this was not an errant representative of the Waseda beer brand, but alas I cannot guarantee that they weren’t from the same batch since the same ‘drink by’ date (October 29, 2010) was stamped on the back of both of them.

Given the possibility that I drank two bottles of the real deal, I’m willing to acknowledge that it’s possible to get used to this beer, but it’s really not for me. The one thing that it has going for it is the somewhat dry finish that makes you nearly think the word “refreshing”. The only other plus I could come up with is the cool beer-pouring sound it makes on its way into a glass due to the stovepipe neck on the bottle.

In short, this beer does not do the proud history of Waseda University justice, and I will not be purchasing another one of them until someone assures me that a different experience is in store.

Waseda’s star pitcher, Yuki Saito, would surely be pissed off if he knew that this stuff was being served on campus.

More info about this beer can be found (in Japanese) here: http://waseda-beer.com/

Baird Beer’s Nakameguro Taproom is a shining beacon for beer-o-philes around Tokyo and is doing its best to broaden that group, not only through events such as tastings and seminars, but through serving some of the best beer in the country.

There are currently 28 beers on tap, all but a few Baird’s own. The few guest beers are also high-quality microbrews. Most beers are 900 yen a pint, with some at 1000 yen and some in slightly differently-sized glasses (depending on type). Smaller sizes and tasters are available.

The Taproom also has a substantial food menu ranging from pretzels and nuts (with free refills, 500 yen) to a fantastic gourmet cheeseburger (1100 yen), with a delicious tangy sauce, fresh, tasty veggies, and an herb-encrusted bun, as well as pub classics, like fish and chips.

Good whisky and some cocktails are available for those who, for whatever reason, aren’t in the mood for one of the best beers in Japan at the moment.

Baird Beer’s Nakameguro Taproom is located at:
Nakameguro GT Plaza C-Block 2F, 2-1-3 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5768-3025

Directions: Turn right out of the gates at Nakameguro station (Tokyu Toyoko line or Metro Hibiya line) and go under the bridge. You’ll see a huge white building (Nakameguro GT), walk through the courtyard and look up to the second floor. The Taproom is above the 7-Eleven and Kaldi Coffee – you can see it through the glass.

The Nakameguro Taproom seats about 60 people at long tables, a small bar, or counters running around the perimeter.

Tokyo is enjoying (some would say enduring) one of the hottest starts to summer in years. What better time to try out this refreshing Japanese drink? Made with red shiso (a relative of mint and basil) it’s sweet, doesn’t require refrigeration and looks wonderful.

Ingredients

1 l water
200 ml rice vinegar
300 – 400 g sugar
300 – 400 g aka shiso (red shiso)

Method

Place a saucepan containing the water and rice vinegar on the gas table and bring it to the boil.

Take the red shiso and lower it into the pan, boiling it for 5 minutes. Once done, pour the contents of the saucepan through a colander, into a large bowl. Allow the boiled shiso leaves to cool.

Once the leaves are cool enough to handle, squeeze them between your fingers extracting any remaining juice. Now discard the leaves themselves and pour the juice back into the saucepan. Add the sugar and then heat the pan on a medium flame for 15-20 minutes.

Once the juice has again cooled, pour it into a bottle or jar. Be sure that this container had previously been washed and dried thoroughly.

Try the juice before serving, adjusting the taste by adding fresh water and ice. I usually serve a mixture of 50 per cent juice to 50 per cent water.

I’m not sure how much my bottle was shaken, but the pour was pretty hazy and could be best described as having a murky straw hue to it. The off-white head was thin and disappeared quickly on my pour from a 500 ml bottle into a pint glass.

The bottle was dated October, 2009. Not ideal, but within the realm of acceptability. Also of importance, it’s labeled as being 5.5% ABV.

Fresh out of the fridge, the mouthfeel on this beer was neither harsh nor special. It’s a medium-bodied brew that is perhaps a bit too shy on hoppiness, but at the same time balanced in terms of the light barley sweetness that highlights the start of the short trek from the front to the back of the palate. A few gulps later, once room temperature has started to assert its influence, a bit of breadiness starts to creep in and a bit of astringency (not unpleasant) colors the aftertaste.

This beer would benefit from a stronger hop backbone in my opinion, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. I suspect that, if you can get past the price tag, this beer will be popular with the Tokyo masses that wouldn’t mind something a little more complex than what is commonly found in the supermarket or convenience store cooler. Expect to pay around 400 yen for a half-liter bottle.

This bottle, Nakanaka, is a good place to start one’s exploration of honkaku mugi shochu. When drinking it straight, Nakanaka starts with a slight, honey sweetness on the tip of the tongue before giving way to an assertive barley-alcohol twinge at the back.

With an ice cube or two thrown in this shochu loses a bit of the sweetness up front and experiences a slight drop in alcoholic bite as well. Taking a good drag of air to mix with a mouthful of Nakanaka will help revive the sweetness that is easier to find when enjoying this drink neat.

Most industry folks recommend that this drink be enjoyed either on the rocks or with a bit of warm water (oyuwari in Japanese). The latter is advised especially if you want to get more out of the nose. Cold water (mizuwari) is also an option.

Drinking Nakanaka straight is not to be discouraged, even though I seem to be the only only openly recommending that it be consumed that way.

At around 1,050 yen for a 720 ml bottle the regular stuff (it’s usually found in a brown glass bottle), you can’t go wrong with a bottle of Nakanaka.

Soumen is traditionally served with a large variety of yakumi, or condiments. While it may be tempting to cut back on the number of different garnishes, it’s worth trying all of the yakumi listed below at least once so that you can better judge which you prefer.

Serve the noodles on ice in a wooden bowl.  Pour a little soup into each guest’s bowl and allow them to choose their own condiments, which they mix into the soup.  Finally, guests add noodles which they should mix together with the yakumi.

Itadakimasu!!

Soumen

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 3 bunches of dried soumen
• 1-1.5l water

Yakumi (condiments)

• 1-2 mioga (mioga ginger)
• 10 asatsuki chives
• 4-5 green shiso (green perilla) leaves
• 1 package of kaiware daikon (radish sprouts)
• 1 deep-fried tofu pouch
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sake
• 1 teaspoon of shichimi togarashi (a mixture of red pepper and six other spices)
• 1 clove of ginger

Tsuyu soup

• 2 cups of dashi soup
• 1/2 a cup of soy sauce
• 1/2 a cup of mirin

Method

First prepare the tsuyu soup. Pour the mirin into a pan, place it onto the gas table and bring it to the boil. Add the dashi soup together with the soy sauce and bring it to the boil again. Once boiling, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.

Now for the yakumi (garnishes). Cut the mioga in half lengthwise and then again into thin strips. Rise  in a bowl of cold water for a minute then drain.

Cut the asatsuki chives into thin round slices.

Slice the green shiso leaves into julienne strips, rinse them in a bowl of cold water and drain.

Peel the skin of the ginger grate it.

Cut off the root of the kaiware daikon, then cut into halves.

Toast one deep-fried tofu pouch for about one minute. Mix a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of sake and a teaspoon of shichimi togarashi and spread onto one side of the tofu pouch. Toast it again for about one minute until it becomes crispy. Finally, cut the pouch into bite-sized rectangles (12-16).

Bring a bowl of water to the boil and cook the soumen noodles for roughly two minutes (refer to the cooking instructions on the package). If the water rolls up to the edge of the pot, add a half cup of cold water. Once the noodles are ready, rinse them in running fresh water.

Place water and ice in a wooden bowl and arrange the noodles so that they don’t stick together.

Serve the noodles with the tsuyu (soup) and condiments in individual plates or bowls.