Every sakura shrimp landed in Japan comes from Suruga Bay. The fishing season runs twice a year, in spring (mid-March to early June) and autumn (late October to late December); the rest of the year is closed to protect the shrimp. I turned half of the shrimp I bought in Yui into kakiage to go with the Numazu bowl.
Ingredients
- Raw sakura shrimp (frozen, from the Yui Port cooperative shop)
- Tempura batter
- Sesame oil
How I made it
- Mix the sakura shrimp with batter in a bowl
- Slide the mixture off a spatula into hot sesame oil
- When golden, drain on paper towel
Sources: yuikou.jp
This moment in the journey
Making a Numazu bowl from the treasures of Suruga Bay
Time to make dinner. I opened the grill and cooked Numazu's dried horse mackerel, packed with the flavor of Suruga Bay. When the rice cooker was done, I took the grilled fish off the bones and mixed it into the hot rice.
The horse mackerel sashimi became tataki: I chopped it fine with a knife, and set half of it aside in a bowl with white sesame and soy sauce to marinate. Something to look forward to tomorrow morning. Half of the cherry-colored treasures of Suruga Bay went into kakiage: mixed with batter and dropped into amber sesame oil, they fried up beautifully.
Over the horse mackerel rice in a blue bowl went shredded nori, then the tataki and raw whitebait on shiso leaves, and finally the raw sakura shrimp and green onion. The Numazu bowl was complete.
Watch this scene on YouTube5:56
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