Here, we will show you 4 recipes that feature Kochi’s autumn ingredients, obtained from the street market. We guarantee they all will be good!

Yuzu to Shoga no Kaorizushi (Yuzu Ginger Infused Sushi)
   Kochi prefecture is one of the top yuzu growing regions in Japan. From autumn to winter, fresh aromatic yuzu can be found at the street markets. This dish lets you enjoy sushi rice infused with yuzu and ginger aromas.

 

Ingredients (Serves 4)
   • 2 cups of rice
   • 1/4 piece saba (mackerel)
   • 70g ginger
   • 1/4 of the peel of one yuzu
   • 2 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
   • Myoga and mitsuba for garnish
   • A(20ml rice vinegar, 30ml yuzu juice, 2½tbsp sugar, 2tsp salt)

 

Directions
1. Put washed rice into the rice cooker, add water to the line marked “sushi”, and cook.
2. Cook the saba on a grill, and flake the meat with a pair of chopsticks. Mince the ginger and yuzu peel. (It is better to remove the white part under the yuzu peel.)
3. Mix the ingredients in A. Add A to the cooked rice, and mix well in a cutting motion with a rice scoop. After mixing, add 2 and the sesame, and mix while cooling the rice with a fan. (Mix gently so as not to crush the rice.)
4. Put on a plate, and garnish with the minced myoga and mitsuba colorfully.

※ Advice: Please adjust the amount of yuzu juice to your liking, It is ok to substitute shiso (green perilla) for the yuzu peel.

 

Chayote to Kikurage no Itamemono (Stirfried Chayote and Wood Ear Mushroom)

   Chayote can be found at the street market around the beginning of fall. It is a type of melon, sometimes also called “Hayatouri”. Chayote is great for stir-frying and pickling. You can enjoy the crunch of wood ear mushroom and chayote in this dish.

 

chayote

Ingredients (Serves 4)
   • 2 chayotes
   • 150g chopped pork meat
   • 4 raw wood ear mushrooms
   • 1 clove garlic
   • 1 piece ginger
   • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
   • Salt and pepper to taste
   • 1 tbsp sesame oil

 

Directions
1. Peel the chayote and cut lengthwise into 4 pieces. Take out the seeds and slice thinly.
2. Cut the wood ear mushroom into bitesized pieces and mince the garlic and ginger.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan and sauté the ginger and garlic until the fragrance comes out. Stir fry the pork meat, and remove to a plate.
4. Using the same frying pan, stir fry the chayote and wood ear mushroom. After the chayote is cooked through, return the pork meat to the frying pan and cook together. Add light soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.

White melon is substituted for chayote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buntan Cole Slaw

“Buntan” (pomelo) season is late autumn to early spring. “Tosa Buntan” and “Suishou Buntan” are representative types of this fruit. The flesh has a nice firmness and a subtle sweetness. It is popular among Japanese to send as a gift. The acidity of the white wine vinegar pairs well with the sweetness of the fruit in this dish.

 

Ingredients (Serves 4)
• 1 whole buntan
• ½ head cabbage
• A( 60ml white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp mustard seeds, salt and pepper to taste, ½ tbsp vegetable oil)

 

Directions
1. Peel the skin off of the buntan and take out the flesh. Shred the cabbage, add salt, and leave for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the ingredients in A in a bowl. Squeeze out the extra water from the cabbage and mix with A. Fold in the buntan flesh and finish.

 

 

Katsuo no Tsumirejiru (Katsuo Meatball Soup)
   If there is one thing Kochi is famous for, it is Katsuo (bonito, or skipjack tuna). It is popular with locals and tourists alike. Katsuo is in season in early summer and early autumn. It flakes easily when cooked, so it is often served lightly seared or raw. This time we tried a recipe that called for cooking Katsuo.

 

Ingredients (Serves 4)
   • 200g fresh katsuo
   • 100g ground pork
   • A( Grated garlic and grated ginger to taste, ½ tbsp potato starch, 1 tbsp sake, salt to taste)
   • Half sheet abura age (deep fried tofu)
   • 10cm square piece konbu (dried kelp)
   • B(adequate amount of sake · salt · light soy sauce)

 

Directions
1. Mince fresh katsuo with a knife.
2. Put ground pork and ingredients A in a mortar and pestle or bowl and mix together with ingredients in step 1 to make the meatball mix. Roll into ping pong sized balls.
3. Put 4 cups of water in a pot with the dried seaweed and turn on the stove. Once the water is boiling, take out the seaweed. Put in the balls and boil until cooked through. Add ingredients B into the pot and check the taste. Add deep fried tofu and finish.

 

※ Advice: if you have leftover Katsuo, heat oil in a frying pan and cook with soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, and turn into a Katsuo ball.

Even for CIRs who say they don’t make
much Japanese food, they thought it was
delicious and easy to make!