欧宝娱乐

“Close your eyes," he had said to her. "Food demands complete submission." And then he placed a perfect scallop in her mouth. "Do you taste the sea?"
Delphine did. Not just the salt of the sea but the very air of the moment that the shell was pulled from the sand. "A storm, perhaps. There is a dark edge to the sweetness of the meat.”
― N.M. Kelby, White Truffles in Winter

“While I struggled with the menu, a handsome middle-aged guy from a nearby table came over to help. "You like sashimi? Cooked fish? Sushi?" he asked. His English was excellent. He was originally from Okinawa, he said, and a member of Rotary International. I know nothing about the Rotarians except that it's a service organization; helping befuddled foreigners order food in bars must fall within its definition of charitable service. Our service-oriented neighbor helped us order pressed sweetfish sushi, kisu fish tempura, and butter-sauteed scallops. Dredging up a vague Oishinbo memory, I also ordered broiled sweetfish, a seasonal delicacy said to taste vaguely of melon.
While we started in on our sushi, our waitress- the kind of harried diner waitress who would call customers "hon" in an American restaurant- delivered a huge, beautiful steamed flounder with soy sauce, mirin, and chunks of creamy tofu. "From that guy," she said, indicating the Rotarian samaritan. We retaliated with a large bottle of beer for him and his friend (the friend came over to thank us, with much bowing). What would happen at your neighborhood bar if a couple of confused foreigners came in with a child and didn't even know how to order a drink? Would someone send them a free fish? I should add that it's not exactly common to bring children to an izakaya, but it's not frowned upon, either; also, not every izakaya is equally welcoming. Some, I have heard, are more clubby and are skeptical of nonregulars, whatever their nationality. But I didn't encounter any places like that.
Oh, how was the food? So much of the seafood we eat in the U.S., even in Seattle, is previously frozen, slightly past its prime, or both. All of the seafood at our local izakaya was jump-up-and-bite-you fresh. This was most obvious in the flounder and the scallops. A mild fish, steamed, lightly seasoned, and served with tofu does not sound like a recipe for memorable eating, but it was. The butter-sauteed scallops, meanwhile, would have been at home at a New England seaside shack. They were served with a lettuce and tomato salad and a dollop of mayo. The shellfish were cooked and seasoned perfectly. I've never had a better scallop.”
― Matthew Amster-Burton, Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo

“Tadokoro, what's your favorite kind of bowl?"
"Um, I-I don't know if it's a bowl, per se, and I know it's not made with meat...
... but at home we'd grill scallops on a hibachi grill. When the shell popped open, we'd put a little butter and soy sauce inside...
and then we'd put it all over fresh, hot white rice. It was really yummy!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 2

“Thanks to the soy-sauce-based kaeshi sauce, the broth does have a clean aftertaste, yes... but you would never expect this strong and sweet an umami flavor just at a glance!"
"How on earth could she-
Oh! The vegetable toppings... I've seen this combination before...
Kozuyu."
"Kozuyu?"
"Yes, sir! I made this dish based on Kozuyu but with a paitan stock and soy sauce for the kaeshi. It's Kozuyu Chicken Soy Sauce Ramen."
KOZUYU
It's a traditional delicacy local to the Aizu area in Northwestern Japan. A vegetable soup, its clear broth is made with scallop stock. Considered a ceremonial meal, it is often served in special bowls on auspicious days, such as festivals and holidays.
"Oh, so that's what it is!"
"She took a local delicacy and reimagined it as a ramen dish. How clever!"
"The scallop and paitan stock forms a solid foundation for the overall flavor of the dish."
"Who knew that ramen and Kozuyu would complement each other this well?"
"It looks like she also used a blend of light soy sauce and white soy sauce for the kaeshi sauce."
White soy sauce! While most Japanese soy sauces are made with a mix of soy and wheat... white soy sauce uses a much higher ratio of wheat to soy! This gives it a much sweeter taste and a far lighter color than regular soy sauce, which is why it's called white. Since Kozuyu broth is traditionally seasoned with soy sauce, using white soy sauce makes perfect sense!
"But white soy sauce alone isn't enough to explain this umami flavor! Where on earth is it coming from?"
"In this dish, the last, most important chunk of umami flavor...
... comes from the vegetables.
The burdock root, shiitake mushrooms, string beans... every vegetable I used as a topping... were first dried and then simmered together with the broth!"
Aha! That's right! Drying vegetables concentrates the umami flavors and increases their nutritional value! It also ameliorates their natural grassy pungency, giving them a flavor when cooked that is much different than what they had raw!
Megumi has captured all of that umami goodness in her broth!”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 9 [Shokugeki no Souma 9]