Just in time...

A couple weeks ago we had another Japanese cooking class! This one was really special because we cooked and ate around an irori, an old-fashioned Japanese hearth. It is a simple fire pit in the middle of a tatami floor room where a small fire is built for cooking. From the ceiling above it always hangs a strong rope with a festive metal Tai fish figure with a metal loop at the bottom. From the loop they used to hang large pots for cooking stews in. Several of the ladies present last night told me they even still have irori in their houses. Although they still have them, they are rarely used anymore. 

We had an incredible meal of salted grilled fish, kenchin jiru (a special stew made for large gatherings), and several side dishes to go with it. Perhaps coincidentally, one of the two adult men present was given the task of grilling the fish, while the rest of us (mostly) women cooked in the kitchen. Coincidence? It is funny how that is similar to both of our cultures- send the men to do the grilling!

As the fish was grilled over the fire we prepared the other dishes in the kitchen. First we grated nagaimo into a slimy paste and mixed in a bit of miso for flavoring; this dish is usually plopped over rice to eat. We made the stew, simmered daikon radishes, vinegared side dishes, and a salad.

We also made special yuzu flavored miso, an old fashioned treat. First we scooped out the insides of the yuzu and mixed it with miso and sake. Then the mixture was spooned back into the cups left by the yuzu rinds. After preparing them and replacing the tops, we set the filled yuzu fruits on the grill next to the fish where they cooked until we began eating.

One of our volunteer cooking teachers brought gozen from her house for us to eat off of. Gozen are old-fashioned low table trays made to serve the meal of just one person. It is a Japanese custom to eat off of these single person trays at wedding ceremonies, funerals, festivals, and other large events. Our teacher supplied Wajima red laquerware gozen, which are very fine, fancy handmade trays. It was a treat to get to eat with them!

Assembly style we portioned the food into dishes and arranged them on the gozen for our party of 17 people. Once all the food was laid out we gathered around the warm irori to eat. After we began eating we took a warm yuzu from the grill and passed it around to spoon the fragrant miso paste onto our simmered daikon. It was my first time to eat yuzu miso and it was wonderful!

Our class was on November 19th, which as one of my American friends pointed out was the day before Thanksgiving. The four of us Americans were all delighted to realize that even though we couldn't be with our families that day, at least our cooking class was just in time to provide us a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. We ate in glee at our fortune.

The next day, I excitedly sent my family a video message to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Oddly no one seemed to answer me. A couple hours later, my mom finally responded, "Thanksgiving is next week."  Oh, oops.

Well. Regardless of what day it really was, the food was great!