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Summer BBQ Special！
Nippon no Shichirin vs the American BBQ Grill
“Daaamn it’s hot!” you say as you look up at the sunlight pouring down on you. It’s that season of giddy excitement. And during this season, the taste of food outdoors just seems even more delicious. If you’re going to do it Western style, do a barbecue; Japanese style, shichirin. This month we asked two experts to share their recipes and techniques.
<>
Japan’s traditional cookware
The shichirin was developed before the Edo era. Earthenware made from the packed soil of fine volcanic ashes called Keisodo was fairly standard, and could be found in almost any household long ago. But now, the shichirin is used in restaurants and outdoors as a tool for getting that charcoal grill taste. The influence of so-called “slow food” has been asserting itself recently, and the shichirin has been receiving renewed attention as a result, with more and more families apparently making use of it. Whether you are cooking fish or meat, it all comes out tasting delicious on the shichirin. Open air grilling is a given, but since there is little smoke, you can use it indoors as well (but be careful, in fact it might not be permitted to do so in your building). That said, why does grilling with a shichirin make the food so delicious? The answer is in the infrared rays. With the shichirin, infrared rays are produced when you fire up the charcoal, and with the additional infrared rays from the keisodo, you have double the effect. Food surfaces are crisp and delicious, and the insides are plump and juicy.
*Most are made with keisodo, and the inside as well is carved out and shaped with keisodo stone as in the old days. Such “quarry shichirin” is the best there is. Even if cracks appear because of the heat, it is wrapped around by a special band that keeps it from crumbling apart.
Hiroyoshi Kurokawa
The shichirin is a little hard to use when you have a lot of people, but it’s simply the best cookware for drawing out rich flavor from your food. If you’re going to use the shichirin, the most important thing you have to attend to is the charcoal. If you use high-grade binchotan, it’s expensive but it burns smokeless, burns evenly for a long time, and looks pretty! By adjusting the vent on the bottom you can control the heat. An uchiwa (paper fan) or hifuki-dake (bamboo shaft with a pinpoint size hole at one end) are the best ways to turn up the heat. Every Japanese person has at some time in their life enjoyed the warm glow of a shichirin. Be sure you experience this humble piece of Japanese culture too.
Today we’re going to try barbecuing with a humble shichirin. We’ll start with learning how to use it. Then we’ll show you what happens when you cook up fresh seafood and vegetables on a shichirin. All the ingredients were sourced locally in Itoshima.
How to use Shichirin
Once you have lit your charcoal, you can add coal from time to time, but since adding charcoal can weaken the flame, you can regulate the heat by placing the shichrin in a breeze, or by giving it some air with a fan or bellow.
Binchotan
There are two types of charcoal: black and white. You can generally obtain black charcoal easily. Binchotan is a type of white charcoal. It is high quality because of its fineness, and kishu binchotan is considered the best.
Vegetables
Shiitake mushrooms and green peppers cook rather quickly. Eggplant will cook all the way through even if you place it on the shichirin whole. Bacon wraps are also delicious! A little bit of salt is all you need for some flavor.
Sazae no Tsuboyaki , Aji no Himono (turban shell cooked in its own shell, (dried horse mackerel) )
Add some sake and soy sauce and you can do some simmering. When the aroma of charcoal and stone rises, you can almost taste the luxuriousness. Dried fish doesn’t really need to be cooked; simply broil it over a weak flame.
Broiling fish wrapped in foil
White fish and vegetables, butter and lemon mixed in oil, a little bit of sake and soy sauce. The key point here is to wrap it up in oil. After you have heated it over some charcoal and opened it, you’ll note the change in aroma.
Jidori (free range chicken)
If you are enjoying the pleasures of the shichirin and the differences of charcoal to your heart’s content, then do give chicken a try. Firm free-range chicken from Itoshima needs only a little salt and pepper for flavor.
Mochi (rice cake)
For times when you feel just a little hungry, mochi makes the perfect choice. Mochi cooked on a shichirin is gooey and delicious!
Nippon Daihyo
Hiroyoshi Kurokawa / Hinode
Located along Nokita beach and popular among surfers is Kurokawa’s mobile kitchen, Hinode. Its no frills menu features Special Taco Rice made with Itoshima vegetables and brown rice.
Adress>> Nogita Beach Parking (Shima-machi, Itoshima-gun)
Hour>> 11:00 ~ one hour after sunset
Closed>> Rainy days
<>
A necessity of the food culture country
Barbecue grills are so popular in the West that you could say there is one for every household and not be exaggerating. There are numerous tales of the history of barbecues, and one is said to have begun around the turn of the last century in an open-air meat market in Texas, U.S.A. Mention barbecue in America, and you have the monthly publication of the newsletter “Barbecue Times,” and the book “Steven Raichlen’s BBQ USA” published two years aga, which ranked among the top five books in sales (it’s a thick book containing barbecue recipes, the differences in barbecue from region to region, information on barbecue restaurants and more). With barbecue so permeating the country, how can it not be an emblematic example of meat food culture? Whatever the case, most people associate that hearty sizzle of the grill with barbecuing, but since the original method relied on grills that allowed for fine tuning of the smoke, the current barbecue craze is all about giving the grill plenty of time and cooking up your original barbecue recipes.
*Weber makes the most popular type of barbecue grill in America. There are charcoal types, but gas types are equally popular in the West. Open up the tap, push the flame button, and you’ve got yourself a simple and convenient cooking tool.
Matthew Braley
The great thing about barbecuing is that it is delicious and easy. Cleaning is a cinch, too, and since you’re just grilling over a screen, there is something festive about it all. With a little more effort, you can begin grilling the day before for enhanced flavor, and you can add some homemade dressing as well. If the thought hits you and you snap up some ingredients, you can grill right away. Don’t worry about how to dish it up. The point is this: grill with zest and little effort! Can’t you just hear that sizzle beneath all the brilliant sunlight beating down?
Fire up some food on your barbecue with zest and light spirits. This time, we’re going to get some barbecue secrets from Matt, who spent most of his college years barbecuing everyday, and who still just can’t separate himself from the grill.
Firing up the barbecue grill
Before preparing your vegetables and meat, more than anything, you have to prepare the flame for your grill.
Mustard Sauce Chicken
The essential meat menu for your barbecue. Cover a block of chicken in mustard sauce. The sumptuous aroma and the juicy meat is sure to whet your appetite. From the looks of it, this makes for a true America dish.
*Mustard Sauce
Baste the meat in the sauce once you have mixed all the ingredients below. It might be wise to wear some plastic gloves to keep from getting messy. One half cup mustard, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, 3 tablespoons of syrup, and a pinch of dried thyme.
Hot salad
Top your chopped vegetables with some special sauce and grill them until they are soft. Keep an eye on them until they are just beginning to darken, remove them from the flame, and cut them into bite sizes. Oil for grilling corn. Add the dressing while it is still warm, and you have yourself a fresh, bright hot salad.
*Salad dressing (to complement the taste)
Mix grated garlic and ginger in with olive oil and raspberry vinegar, and add some thyme for the aroma.
*Salad dressing (as a finishing touch)
Add a little vinegar to olive oil. Add salt and pepper to your liking
Barbecue sauce corn
Cook up some scrumptious corn using this sweet barbecue sauce as a light finishing touch. The key to creating delicious taste is in the preparation of the corn. Lightly boil the corn in some water, milk and sugar for a wonderful taste.
*Barbecue sauce
Use equal amounts of ketchup and brown sugar. Add vinegar and soy sauce to your liking. Sprinkle on some grated garlic. Add some sweet flavor with pineapple juice. This sauce works brilliantly with meat and vegetables alike.
Banana chocolate
Feast your eyes! A standard desert with rich sweetness in mind. Put chocolate over banana sliced in four parts, add a little sugar and butter, and just before you grill it, add a little rum for the aroma. Add as much topping as you like. It’s ready to eat when the butter melts.
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– Use a hairdryer!
How American can you get! Plug’n’play baby! Set your drier to turbo hot and point towards already lit coals.
– Tongs in the right hand, water sprayer in the left.
Squirt some water on a flame that’s too big; it’ll ruin all that aroma you’ve work to create.
American BBQ Pro
Matthew Braley / Izakaya Matt’s
Tatami and sunken tables, ornamental gravel at the entrance: a restaurant with things Japanese in mind. Open for business near Kego intersection, an izakaya with food from many countries.
Adress>> 1-122-5 Kego, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
Hour>> 18:00 ~ 1:00
Closed>> Sun.
.
七輪 v.s. バーベキューグリル
「アヅイ～」と口にしながらも降り注ぐ太陽を見上げてワクワクしてしまうこの季節。さらに暑い夏こそ屋外料理がいつもにも増して美味しくなるものだ。洋風に行くならバーベキュー、和風で行くなら七輪だ！ということで東西バーベキュー対決！
■七輪
～日本の伝統的な調理器具～
「七輪」は、江戸時代以前には完成していた調理器具の一種。珪藻土と呼ばれる粒の細かい火山灰の土で焼かれた陶器製のものが一般的で、昔はどこの家庭にもあったが、現在は炭火焼料理を味わう道具として飲食店やアウトドアなどで利用されている。最近はスローフードの影響もあり、七輪を使って調理をする家庭も増えているのだとか。煙が少ないので屋内で使用することもできるし、食材の風味が数段上がる事は間違いない。旨味の秘密は遠赤外線。火を入れた時に発生する遠赤外線と素材に使われる珪藻土から放出される遠赤外線のダブル効果によって、表面はかりっと香ばしく、中はふんわりジューシーに仕上がるのだ。
※主に珪藻土からなり、中でも昔ながらの珪藻土岩を削って形を作る「切り出し七輪」が高級。熱でひび割れても崩れないように胴にはバンドが巻かれている。
黒川浩良さん
じっくりと素材のおいしさを引き出すには最適な七輪。そこで一番こだわって欲しいのは木炭。特に備長炭は通常の木炭よりも高いけど、料理の仕上がりが断然変わる。アウトドア以外でも使用できるのもポイント。換気扇を回せば室内でも使えるし、日本の伝統文化を見直すという意味でも、ぜひ七輪調理に挑戦してほしい！
今日は日本を代表する調理器具・七輪を使って、バーベキューに挑戦。七輪の使い方他、新鮮な海の幸と糸島で採れた野菜が、炭焼きによってどれほど旨味が倍増するのかご紹介！
七輪の使い方
一度炭に火がつけば、あとは時々炭を足すだけでOKだけど、炭を足すと火力が弱まるので、窓で調節したり、うちわや火吹きで空気を送ると火力を調節することができる。
備長炭
木炭には黒炭と白炭があり、一般的には黒炭が安く手に入る。備長炭は白炭の部類に入り、炭素の純度が高いほど質がよく、紀州備長炭は最高級と言われている。
野菜
しいたけやピーマンなどは、意外と早く焼き上がる。なすも丸ごと乗せても中までしっかりと火が通る。ベーコン巻きなどもおいしい！塩だけで十分おいしさが味わえるぞ。
サザエのつぼ焼、アジの干物
酒としょうゆをたらして、ぐつぐつと煮えるのを待つ。炭の香りと磯の香りが広がって、何ともいえない贅沢な気分が味わえる。干物は焼くというよりも弱火であぶる感覚で！
魚のホイル焼き
白身魚と野菜、バターとレモンをホイルでとじて、酒としょうゆをプラス。この時、しっかりとホイルで包むのがポイント。炭火でじっくりと蒸すと、開いた時の香りが違う。
地鶏
七輪のよさと備長炭の違いを存分に楽しむなら、ぜひ地鶏を焼いてみてほしい。こりこりと歯ごたえのある糸島の地鶏は、塩こしょうだけでも十分おいしい！
餅
ちょっと小腹が空いたなーと思った時に、ちょうどいいのが「もち」。七輪で焼いたもちは、のびも最高！
–七輪の達人–
黒川浩良さん/ヒノデ
野北ビーチ沿いにあるサーファーに大人気のヒノデ。一押しメニューは、糸島産の玄米と野菜をふんだんに使ったスペシャル・タコライス(700円)。
住所>>糸島郡志摩町野北ビーチ海水浴場駐車場
電話>>090-5941-0705
営業時間>>11:00～日没後1時間
定休日>>雨の日
■ バーベキューグリル
～肉食文化の国の必需品～
一家に一台と言っても過言ではないほど、欧米諸国ではポピュラーなバーベキューグリル。その歴史にはいろいろな説があるが、テキサスの食肉青空市場発という説が有力視されている。アメリカではバーベキュー専門新聞が毎月発行されていたり、「Steven Raichlen’s Bbq USA」という本（レシピ、地域性、旨い店ランキングなどが掲載された分厚い本）が売り上げトップ５にランクインするなど、その浸透ぶりはまさに肉食文化の象徴といえる。バーベキューといえばダイナミックにジュウジュウと焼くイメージがあるが、本来はスモークに最適な道具であり、調理方法も多彩なのだ。
※米国の炭グリルで人気のウェーバー。炭のタイプもあるが、欧米ではガスバーベキューが一般的。コックを開いて点火ボタンを押すだけの簡単便利な調理器具。
マシュー・ブレリーさん
バーベキューのいいところは手軽でおいしいこと。食材さえあれば今からだって出来ちゃうし、手をかけたければ肉に下味を付けたり、お手製のドレッシングを作ったり。盛り付けなんて気にしない！とにかくバーベキューは豪快に焼く！ってことが大切だ。照りつける太陽の下で、肉汁ジュウジュウいわせてみようじゃないかぁ！
気軽に豪快に食材を焼くバーべキュー。今回は学生時代をほぼ毎日バーべキューで過ごし、今でもかなりの頻度でグリルを囲むというマットさん直伝のバーベキューメニュー。決め手はソース！と語るこだわりの豪快料理だ！
バーベキューグリルに着火
まずは肉や野菜などの食材を準備する前に、肝心要、グリルの火を準備する。
マスタードソースチキン
マスタードソースにつけ込んだブロックチキンを炭火で香ばしく焼き上げた食欲をそそるジューシーな一品。視覚的にもまさにアメリカンだ。
※マスタードソース
以下の材料を混ぜたソースに肉をつけ込む。ビニールタイプの密閉袋は手もよごれずに合理的！
マスタード1/2カップ、酢大3、ウスターソース大4、はちみつ大3、ドライタイム少々
ホットサラダ
ザク切り野菜にドレッシングを塗って、柔らかくなるまでグリルで焼く。焦げ目が着いたころを目安に、火からあげて食べやすいサイズにカット。温かいうちにドレッシングで和えれば、彩り鮮やかホットサラダの出来上がり。
※サラダドレッシング（下味用）
オリーブオイルとラズベリービネガーに刻んだニンニクとショウガと混ぜ、香り付けにタイムを加える。
※サラダドレッシング（仕上げ用）
オリーブオイルに酢を少々。コショウと塩で味を調整。
バーベキューソースコーン
バーベキューソースを軽く塗って香ばしく焼き上げる。おいしさのポイントはコーンの下準備。水と牛乳、砂糖で軽く下茹するとほどよい食感が楽しめる。
※バーベキューソース
同量のケチャップとブラウンシュガーに、お好みで酢としょうゆを加え、刻んだニンニクとショウガに、パイナップルジュースで甘味を添える。肉にも、野菜にも使える万能ソース。
バナナチョコレート
ご覧あれ！甘さド級の定番デザート。バナナの上にチョコレート、さらに砂糖、バターを乗せ、焼く直前にラム酒で香り付け。バターが溶けたら食べごろだ。
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右手にトング、左手に水を！
大きな炎には水をシュッシュツ。強烈な炎ではせっかくの香ばしさが台無しだ。
ヘアドライアーを使って
炭の着火が鈍いときはドライヤーが大活躍。ぐんぐん風を送れば時間短縮。
–BBQグリル名人–
マシュー・ブレリーさん/居酒屋マッツ
畳や堀ごたつ、入り口の玉砂利など、和を意識した店内。警固の四つ角近く、多国籍料理の居酒屋として営業中。
住所>>福岡市中央区警固1-12-5
電話>>732-8322
営業時間>>18：00～1：00
定休日>>日曜日
Nippon no Shichirin vs the American BBQ Grill
“Daaamn it’s hot!” you say as you look up at the sunlight pouring down on you. It’s that season of giddy excitement. And during this season, the taste of food outdoors just seems even more delicious. If you’re going to do it Western style, do a barbecue; Japanese style, shichirin. This month we asked two experts to share their recipes and techniques.
<>
Japan’s traditional cookware
The shichirin was developed before the Edo era. Earthenware made from the packed soil of fine volcanic ashes called Keisodo was fairly standard, and could be found in almost any household long ago. But now, the shichirin is used in restaurants and outdoors as a tool for getting that charcoal grill taste. The influence of so-called “slow food” has been asserting itself recently, and the shichirin has been receiving renewed attention as a result, with more and more families apparently making use of it. Whether you are cooking fish or meat, it all comes out tasting delicious on the shichirin. Open air grilling is a given, but since there is little smoke, you can use it indoors as well (but be careful, in fact it might not be permitted to do so in your building). That said, why does grilling with a shichirin make the food so delicious? The answer is in the infrared rays. With the shichirin, infrared rays are produced when you fire up the charcoal, and with the additional infrared rays from the keisodo, you have double the effect. Food surfaces are crisp and delicious, and the insides are plump and juicy.
*Most are made with keisodo, and the inside as well is carved out and shaped with keisodo stone as in the old days. Such “quarry shichirin” is the best there is. Even if cracks appear because of the heat, it is wrapped around by a special band that keeps it from crumbling apart.
Hiroyoshi Kurokawa
The shichirin is a little hard to use when you have a lot of people, but it’s simply the best cookware for drawing out rich flavor from your food. If you’re going to use the shichirin, the most important thing you have to attend to is the charcoal. If you use high-grade binchotan, it’s expensive but it burns smokeless, burns evenly for a long time, and looks pretty! By adjusting the vent on the bottom you can control the heat. An uchiwa (paper fan) or hifuki-dake (bamboo shaft with a pinpoint size hole at one end) are the best ways to turn up the heat. Every Japanese person has at some time in their life enjoyed the warm glow of a shichirin. Be sure you experience this humble piece of Japanese culture too.
Today we’re going to try barbecuing with a humble shichirin. We’ll start with learning how to use it. Then we’ll show you what happens when you cook up fresh seafood and vegetables on a shichirin. All the ingredients were sourced locally in Itoshima.
How to use Shichirin
Once you have lit your charcoal, you can add coal from time to time, but since adding charcoal can weaken the flame, you can regulate the heat by placing the shichrin in a breeze, or by giving it some air with a fan or bellow.
Binchotan
There are two types of charcoal: black and white. You can generally obtain black charcoal easily. Binchotan is a type of white charcoal. It is high quality because of its fineness, and kishu binchotan is considered the best.
Vegetables
Shiitake mushrooms and green peppers cook rather quickly. Eggplant will cook all the way through even if you place it on the shichirin whole. Bacon wraps are also delicious! A little bit of salt is all you need for some flavor.
Sazae no Tsuboyaki , Aji no Himono (turban shell cooked in its own shell, (dried horse mackerel) )
Add some sake and soy sauce and you can do some simmering. When the aroma of charcoal and stone rises, you can almost taste the luxuriousness. Dried fish doesn’t really need to be cooked; simply broil it over a weak flame.
Broiling fish wrapped in foil
White fish and vegetables, butter and lemon mixed in oil, a little bit of sake and soy sauce. The key point here is to wrap it up in oil. After you have heated it over some charcoal and opened it, you’ll note the change in aroma.
Jidori (free range chicken)
If you are enjoying the pleasures of the shichirin and the differences of charcoal to your heart’s content, then do give chicken a try. Firm free-range chicken from Itoshima needs only a little salt and pepper for flavor.
Mochi (rice cake)
For times when you feel just a little hungry, mochi makes the perfect choice. Mochi cooked on a shichirin is gooey and delicious!
Nippon Daihyo
Hiroyoshi Kurokawa / Hinode
Located along Nokita beach and popular among surfers is Kurokawa’s mobile kitchen, Hinode. Its no frills menu features Special Taco Rice made with Itoshima vegetables and brown rice.
Adress>> Nogita Beach Parking (Shima-machi, Itoshima-gun)
Hour>> 11:00 ~ one hour after sunset
Closed>> Rainy days
<>
A necessity of the food culture country
Barbecue grills are so popular in the West that you could say there is one for every household and not be exaggerating. There are numerous tales of the history of barbecues, and one is said to have begun around the turn of the last century in an open-air meat market in Texas, U.S.A. Mention barbecue in America, and you have the monthly publication of the newsletter “Barbecue Times,” and the book “Steven Raichlen’s BBQ USA” published two years aga, which ranked among the top five books in sales (it’s a thick book containing barbecue recipes, the differences in barbecue from region to region, information on barbecue restaurants and more). With barbecue so permeating the country, how can it not be an emblematic example of meat food culture? Whatever the case, most people associate that hearty sizzle of the grill with barbecuing, but since the original method relied on grills that allowed for fine tuning of the smoke, the current barbecue craze is all about giving the grill plenty of time and cooking up your original barbecue recipes.
*Weber makes the most popular type of barbecue grill in America. There are charcoal types, but gas types are equally popular in the West. Open up the tap, push the flame button, and you’ve got yourself a simple and convenient cooking tool.
Matthew Braley
The great thing about barbecuing is that it is delicious and easy. Cleaning is a cinch, too, and since you’re just grilling over a screen, there is something festive about it all. With a little more effort, you can begin grilling the day before for enhanced flavor, and you can add some homemade dressing as well. If the thought hits you and you snap up some ingredients, you can grill right away. Don’t worry about how to dish it up. The point is this: grill with zest and little effort! Can’t you just hear that sizzle beneath all the brilliant sunlight beating down?
Fire up some food on your barbecue with zest and light spirits. This time, we’re going to get some barbecue secrets from Matt, who spent most of his college years barbecuing everyday, and who still just can’t separate himself from the grill.
Firing up the barbecue grill
Before preparing your vegetables and meat, more than anything, you have to prepare the flame for your grill.
Mustard Sauce Chicken
The essential meat menu for your barbecue. Cover a block of chicken in mustard sauce. The sumptuous aroma and the juicy meat is sure to whet your appetite. From the looks of it, this makes for a true America dish.
*Mustard Sauce
Baste the meat in the sauce once you have mixed all the ingredients below. It might be wise to wear some plastic gloves to keep from getting messy. One half cup mustard, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, 3 tablespoons of syrup, and a pinch of dried thyme.
Hot salad
Top your chopped vegetables with some special sauce and grill them until they are soft. Keep an eye on them until they are just beginning to darken, remove them from the flame, and cut them into bite sizes. Oil for grilling corn. Add the dressing while it is still warm, and you have yourself a fresh, bright hot salad.
*Salad dressing (to complement the taste)
Mix grated garlic and ginger in with olive oil and raspberry vinegar, and add some thyme for the aroma.
*Salad dressing (as a finishing touch)
Add a little vinegar to olive oil. Add salt and pepper to your liking
Barbecue sauce corn
Cook up some scrumptious corn using this sweet barbecue sauce as a light finishing touch. The key to creating delicious taste is in the preparation of the corn. Lightly boil the corn in some water, milk and sugar for a wonderful taste.
*Barbecue sauce
Use equal amounts of ketchup and brown sugar. Add vinegar and soy sauce to your liking. Sprinkle on some grated garlic. Add some sweet flavor with pineapple juice. This sauce works brilliantly with meat and vegetables alike.
Banana chocolate
Feast your eyes! A standard desert with rich sweetness in mind. Put chocolate over banana sliced in four parts, add a little sugar and butter, and just before you grill it, add a little rum for the aroma. Add as much topping as you like. It’s ready to eat when the butter melts.
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– Use a hairdryer!
How American can you get! Plug’n’play baby! Set your drier to turbo hot and point towards already lit coals.
– Tongs in the right hand, water sprayer in the left.
Squirt some water on a flame that’s too big; it’ll ruin all that aroma you’ve work to create.
American BBQ Pro
Matthew Braley / Izakaya Matt’s
Tatami and sunken tables, ornamental gravel at the entrance: a restaurant with things Japanese in mind. Open for business near Kego intersection, an izakaya with food from many countries.
Adress>> 1-122-5 Kego, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
Hour>> 18:00 ~ 1:00
Closed>> Sun.
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Nippon no Shichirin vs the American BBQ Grill
“Daaamn it’s hot!” you say as you look up at the sunlight pouring down on you. It’s that season of giddy excitement. And during this season, the taste of food outdoors just seems even more delicious. If you’re going to do it Western style, do a barbecue; Japanese style, shichirin. This month we asked two experts to share their recipes and techniques.
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Japan’s traditional cookware
The shichirin was developed before the Edo era. Earthenware made from the packed soil of fine volcanic ashes called Keisodo was fairly standard, and could be found in almost any household long ago. But now, the shichirin is used in restaurants and outdoors as a tool for getting that charcoal grill taste. The influence of so-called “slow food” has been asserting itself recently, and the shichirin has been receiving renewed attention as a result, with more and more families apparently making use of it. Whether you are cooking fish or meat, it all comes out tasting delicious on the shichirin. Open air grilling is a given, but since there is little smoke, you can use it indoors as well (but be careful, in fact it might not be permitted to do so in your building). That said, why does grilling with a shichirin make the food so delicious? The answer is in the infrared rays. With the shichirin, infrared rays are produced when you fire up the charcoal, and with the additional infrared rays from the keisodo, you have double the effect. Food surfaces are crisp and delicious, and the insides are plump and juicy.
*Most are made with keisodo, and the inside as well is carved out and shaped with keisodo stone as in the old days. Such “quarry shichirin” is the best there is. Even if cracks appear because of the heat, it is wrapped around by a special band that keeps it from crumbling apart.
Hiroyoshi Kurokawa
The shichirin is a little hard to use when you have a lot of people, but it’s simply the best cookware for drawing out rich flavor from your food. If you’re going to use the shichirin, the most important thing you have to attend to is the charcoal. If you use high-grade binchotan, it’s expensive but it burns smokeless, burns evenly for a long time, and looks pretty! By adjusting the vent on the bottom you can control the heat. An uchiwa (paper fan) or hifuki-dake (bamboo shaft with a pinpoint size hole at one end) are the best ways to turn up the heat. Every Japanese person has at some time in their life enjoyed the warm glow of a shichirin. Be sure you experience this humble piece of Japanese culture too.
Today we’re going to try barbecuing with a humble shichirin. We’ll start with learning how to use it. Then we’ll show you what happens when you cook up fresh seafood and vegetables on a shichirin. All the ingredients were sourced locally in Itoshima.
How to use Shichirin
Once you have lit your charcoal, you can add coal from time to time, but since adding charcoal can weaken the flame, you can regulate the heat by placing the shichrin in a breeze, or by giving it some air with a fan or bellow.
Binchotan
There are two types of charcoal: black and white. You can generally obtain black charcoal easily. Binchotan is a type of white charcoal. It is high quality because of its fineness, and kishu binchotan is considered the best.
Vegetables
Shiitake mushrooms and green peppers cook rather quickly. Eggplant will cook all the way through even if you place it on the shichirin whole. Bacon wraps are also delicious! A little bit of salt is all you need for some flavor.
Sazae no Tsuboyaki , Aji no Himono (turban shell cooked in its own shell, (dried horse mackerel) )
Add some sake and soy sauce and you can do some simmering. When the aroma of charcoal and stone rises, you can almost taste the luxuriousness. Dried fish doesn’t really need to be cooked; simply broil it over a weak flame.
Broiling fish wrapped in foil
White fish and vegetables, butter and lemon mixed in oil, a little bit of sake and soy sauce. The key point here is to wrap it up in oil. After you have heated it over some charcoal and opened it, you’ll note the change in aroma.
Jidori (free range chicken)
If you are enjoying the pleasures of the shichirin and the differences of charcoal to your heart’s content, then do give chicken a try. Firm free-range chicken from Itoshima needs only a little salt and pepper for flavor.
Mochi (rice cake)
For times when you feel just a little hungry, mochi makes the perfect choice. Mochi cooked on a shichirin is gooey and delicious!
Nippon Daihyo
Hiroyoshi Kurokawa / Hinode
Located along Nokita beach and popular among surfers is Kurokawa’s mobile kitchen, Hinode. Its no frills menu features Special Taco Rice made with Itoshima vegetables and brown rice.
Adress>> Nogita Beach Parking (Shima-machi, Itoshima-gun)
Hour>> 11:00 ~ one hour after sunset
Closed>> Rainy days
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A necessity of the food culture country
Barbecue grills are so popular in the West that you could say there is one for every household and not be exaggerating. There are numerous tales of the history of barbecues, and one is said to have begun around the turn of the last century in an open-air meat market in Texas, U.S.A. Mention barbecue in America, and you have the monthly publication of the newsletter “Barbecue Times,” and the book “Steven Raichlen’s BBQ USA” published two years aga, which ranked among the top five books in sales (it’s a thick book containing barbecue recipes, the differences in barbecue from region to region, information on barbecue restaurants and more). With barbecue so permeating the country, how can it not be an emblematic example of meat food culture? Whatever the case, most people associate that hearty sizzle of the grill with barbecuing, but since the original method relied on grills that allowed for fine tuning of the smoke, the current barbecue craze is all about giving the grill plenty of time and cooking up your original barbecue recipes.
*Weber makes the most popular type of barbecue grill in America. There are charcoal types, but gas types are equally popular in the West. Open up the tap, push the flame button, and you’ve got yourself a simple and convenient cooking tool.
Matthew Braley
The great thing about barbecuing is that it is delicious and easy. Cleaning is a cinch, too, and since you’re just grilling over a screen, there is something festive about it all. With a little more effort, you can begin grilling the day before for enhanced flavor, and you can add some homemade dressing as well. If the thought hits you and you snap up some ingredients, you can grill right away. Don’t worry about how to dish it up. The point is this: grill with zest and little effort! Can’t you just hear that sizzle beneath all the brilliant sunlight beating down?
Fire up some food on your barbecue with zest and light spirits. This time, we’re going to get some barbecue secrets from Matt, who spent most of his college years barbecuing everyday, and who still just can’t separate himself from the grill.
Firing up the barbecue grill
Before preparing your vegetables and meat, more than anything, you have to prepare the flame for your grill.
Mustard Sauce Chicken
The essential meat menu for your barbecue. Cover a block of chicken in mustard sauce. The sumptuous aroma and the juicy meat is sure to whet your appetite. From the looks of it, this makes for a true America dish.
*Mustard Sauce
Baste the meat in the sauce once you have mixed all the ingredients below. It might be wise to wear some plastic gloves to keep from getting messy. One half cup mustard, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, 3 tablespoons of syrup, and a pinch of dried thyme.
Hot salad
Top your chopped vegetables with some special sauce and grill them until they are soft. Keep an eye on them until they are just beginning to darken, remove them from the flame, and cut them into bite sizes. Oil for grilling corn. Add the dressing while it is still warm, and you have yourself a fresh, bright hot salad.
*Salad dressing (to complement the taste)
Mix grated garlic and ginger in with olive oil and raspberry vinegar, and add some thyme for the aroma.
*Salad dressing (as a finishing touch)
Add a little vinegar to olive oil. Add salt and pepper to your liking
Barbecue sauce corn
Cook up some scrumptious corn using this sweet barbecue sauce as a light finishing touch. The key to creating delicious taste is in the preparation of the corn. Lightly boil the corn in some water, milk and sugar for a wonderful taste.
*Barbecue sauce
Use equal amounts of ketchup and brown sugar. Add vinegar and soy sauce to your liking. Sprinkle on some grated garlic. Add some sweet flavor with pineapple juice. This sauce works brilliantly with meat and vegetables alike.
Banana chocolate
Feast your eyes! A standard desert with rich sweetness in mind. Put chocolate over banana sliced in four parts, add a little sugar and butter, and just before you grill it, add a little rum for the aroma. Add as much topping as you like. It’s ready to eat when the butter melts.
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– Use a hairdryer!
How American can you get! Plug’n’play baby! Set your drier to turbo hot and point towards already lit coals.
– Tongs in the right hand, water sprayer in the left.
Squirt some water on a flame that’s too big; it’ll ruin all that aroma you’ve work to create.
American BBQ Pro
Matthew Braley / Izakaya Matt’s
Tatami and sunken tables, ornamental gravel at the entrance: a restaurant with things Japanese in mind. Open for business near Kego intersection, an izakaya with food from many countries.
Adress>> 1-122-5 Kego, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka
Hour>> 18:00 ~ 1:00
Closed>> Sun.
.
