Shincha ~the first picked tea of this year~

"Shincha" is charactered by fresh scent, flavor and sweetness. Shincha is a tea that made of the first fresh leaves of the season. The first tea of the season is picked from the end of April to the end of May.

Harvest time starts from mild area like Kagoshima, and move northward like cherry blossom's blooming. "Shincha" and "First crop tea" is basically same tea and just has a different name. "First crop tea" is usually called a name as comparison with "Second crop tea" or "Third crop tea" those picked after "First crop tea".

Also "Shincha" is called as "now in season" that means the first tea of the season. A tea tree stores norishment during the winter, and when the spring comes, fresh leaves that contain a lot of norishment will grow. Those leaves become Shincha(the first tea of the season). The day after 88th days count from the first day of spring(February 4th) is called "Hachijyu-hachi-ya". Risshun is in early February of the solar calendar, so that the 88th day is usually around May 2.

According to a tradition, if you drink tea that be picked in 88th days, you will being healthy for a year. The characteristic of Shincha is "refreshing scent" of new leaves, after all. Shincha has less catechin and caffein than "second crop tea" or "third cop tea" and has more flavor and Amino acid(Theanin) that is a component of sweetness. Farmers usually pick the first crop of tea around the 88th day because the tea at that time is filled with nutrients stored over winter and most delicious.
 
【Noodle soup base mixed with green tea】

 








Recipe  
Ingredients_2 servings
・Noodle soup base　Cup 1/2
・Green tea　 Cup 1/2
・Daikon-oroshi (Japanese term for grated daikon radish)　 Cup 1/2
・Naganegi (Japanese green onion)  as needed
・Katsuobushi (Dried bonito shavings)  as needed
 
How to cook
1. Mix Noodle soup bass with green tea.
2. Make Daikon-oroshi, Either grate it yourself using a grater or put the daikon radish into a food processor.
3. Garnish Daikon-oroshi, Naganegi and Katsuobushi.
 
 
Thank you.

Tai (Sea bream)

March is a delicious month for seafood. The cold waters still bring fish rich with fat that shines in sashimi or is nice for grilling.
 

Tai (Sea bream) is a common fish used in Japanese food, as it means good luck in Japanese culture and is eaten during celebratory occasions. There are many different types of tai, but spring is the spawning season for sakura dai (red sea bream).

During this season, you can enjoy sakura dai (red sea bream) fresh as sashimi, or as tai-chazuke. Tai-chazuke is rice topped with tai sashimi and dashi (soup made from tai) poured on top. Although you can eat tai in other seasons, sakura dai is most delicious this season!

 Tai (Sea bream)  is much loved in Japan as it is a symbol of celebration (Tai in Japanese), you will always find sea bream at special occasions like weddings. To congratulate someone you would say ‘Medetai’, it doesn’t translate well into English but when I think of Sea Bream it makes me so happy and I think of all the festive times. This dish is a perfect accompaniment for you to enjoy, particularly when you have little time to spend cooking but fancy a treat.

Tai Meshi (sea bream with rice) is today’s wholesome dish that I absolutely love cooking and eating. Especially, as it’s simple and very little fuss to make but also filled with flavour to be enjoyed as a main or starter.

Sea Bream Rice – Tai Meshi
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 whole sea bream (scaled and cleaned)
Two pinches of salt
1tbs Sake
3 cups Japanese Rice
10cm x 10 cm Kombu (Dried Kelp) + 3 cups of water
1tsp Salt
2tbs Sake
2tbs Soy sauce (light)
2tbs Mirin
1cm grated ginger
Garnish :
Chopped Chives
White sesame seeds
 
Method:
To make the kombu dashi, wipe the dried kombu with a clean cloth. (*the kombu shouldn’t be washed.)

Put the water in a deep pot and soak the kombu for about 30 minutes.

Heat it up slowly until the water comes to a boil, take out the kombu and remove the stock from the heat.

Rinse the rice with tap water, until the water runs clear. Then cover with water for at least 30 minutes, I prefer for two hours. This will make the rice soft and fluffy. Score the fish on each side then sprinkle both sides with salt. Splash the sake over the fish and leave it for 10 minutes.

Pat dry the fish with some paper towel and put it under the grill for 3 minutes per side. At this stage you do not have cook the fish completely, just until it has an attractive seared colouring.Using a big enough pot, pour the rice in with the stock, salt, sake, soy sauce and mirin. Stir and mix the mixture evenly. Then place the grilled fish on top. Put the lid on and start cooking with a medium heat on the hob.

As it starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for a further 9 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat, leaving it to stand for a further 10 minutes before serving.Present the dish to the table with the fish intact, as it looks great. Then bone the fish and serve with the garnish at the table.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

Thank you very much

We participated in the Niigata trade fair held on February 6 at the Hotel Italia-ken. Participating buyers visited our factory tour the day before the event.  Thank you for taking the time to visit our factory, and it was a great pleasure meeting with many buyers. Also, thank you very much for giving us various opinions and impressions. We would like to make use of valuable opinions of everyone for our future business activities.  We are looking forward to seeing you again.

※Apology of delay
Shipment is delayed due to the historic heavy snow of San-jo City this week.
We sincerest apologies, but we would appreciate your understanding.

See you.

Setsubun (節分)

February 3rd is the day of Setsubun.

Setsubun refers to the day before the beginning of each season

(the first days of spring, summer, fall and winter).

Out of all the 4 Setsubun days, Risshun (the first day of spring) is the most special day.

Back in the day, the Japanese new year started on Risshun (The first day of spring).

Setsubun signifies the ending of winter and the beginning of spring.

It is believed that *oni come when the seasons change in Japan.

*Oni: a devil-like creature from Japanese folklore.

There are many rituals to exorcise these oni.

The rituals differ in each region.

 

Throwing roasted soybeans was first practiced back in the Heian period, to stop oni from attacking villages by throwing beans at their eyes.

The term oni refers to an invisible negative vibes called jaki in Japanese.

To get rid of the oni, people scatter roasted soy beans both inside and outside of their houses.

These roasted soy beans are called fukumame.

In order to instill god’s power in the fukumame, they are to be placed on the household altar until Setsubun.

 

It has become the dad’s job to wear an oni mask and have soybeans thrown at him.

The phrase “Out with the devil! In with good fortune,” is said when throwing soybeans.

When saying “Out with the devil,” open a window and throw beans twice. Make sure to close the window immediately so the oni doesn’t come back.

When saying “In with good fortune,” throw soy beans twice inside the house.

Once the beans are thrown, gather them all up and eat the same number of beans as your age. Eat one extra to keep you from sickness and stay healthy for the whole year.

 

Ehomaki is a sushi roll that is believed to be good luck when eaten on Setsubun day.

When eating Ehomaki, look in the year’s good luck direction, and eat quietly while making a wish.

Ehomaki should not be cut. This represents not cutting any good bonds in the future.

The 7 filling inside Ehomaki represent the 7 gods. This has the meaning of “rolling in goodness (luck).”

Recently, there have been a lot of Japanese snacks and cakes that replicate ehomaki.

This custom began in the Kansai area but now it has become a nationwide event and Ehomaki is sold at supermarkets and convenience stores.

 

 

Thank you