I just read your post Tokushima and I found myself agreeing, strongly, about your bacalau comment. I have a Brazilian friend who prepares one version of bacalao andvi really love it! What I did not realize is that there are hundreds of bacalao recipes, each of them VERY different from the one I love! It is funny now but during my stay in Lisbon last week I searched in vain for that type of a dish and ate 4 different versions that were each different and each disappointing.
But I did find a good bottle of port! Though itās strength and sweetness take a little getting used to.
Then I visited a touristy bacalao pastel place that was surprisingly tasty and it was served w a decent, not great, port.
I think the type of bacalao i was looking for was a Bacalao a Gomes de Sa with tomatoes, potatoes, boiled eggs and olives. Never found it though.
YMMV.
Thanks for the warm welcome! Iām currently based on the Island of West Seattle but went to college in Bāham and have fond memories of that lovely place. Iāll check out the PNW regional board!
Iām curious about how you and @ZivBnd had bacalou in Portugal. I donāt recall eating it there, but I find that hard to believe since I love trying it different ways. I grew up eating the Trini fish cake version.
There is a salt cod thread here somewhere if youāre interested.
I am from New York and lived in LA for awhile too. Now I am in the N. California Bay area.
Probably not wrong. Given they are in WA state, they almost certainly meant Bellingham and not Birmingham.
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Presunto
(--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])
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Iād eat all the bacalhau and drink all the port, for you, but we split this right down the middle, though!
Love bacalhau, especially in cream. All the best ports remain in Portugal. I visited a bunch of port producers and did lots of tastings.
Mt. Fuji forms a dramatic backdrop for Shizuoka. Stunning views. Would love to visit the ābig islandā again but we are still taken with the small far southern islands.
Btw, we have a forum member living in Japan who likes to tackle complex recipes and produces beautiful dishes. His video clips are brilliant, too. Heās not around lately, though. (cteavin is his name, and IIRC, heās also from CA.)
A youngster! We did a poll of average HO age a while ago and it looks liked the majority of folks were 50+ with a smaller chunk in the 40-50 range and a much smaller chunk younger than that. I graduated college in '95 Not at WWU.
Iām sure I had it more than one time, but the most memorable dish I had it in was āCaldo Verdeā, the famed hearty soup (which is often referred to as Portugalās national dish) of kale, potatoes and bacalhau (Iāve seen it spelled as you typed it ābacalaoā as well.) and although some recipes/places use lingĆ¼iƧa/chouriƧo this restaurant used bacalhau. I donāt remember the name of the restaurant because I went to Portugal in 2005 and while I have a good memory, such details from 18 years ago are too hard to recall. I do remember it was highly rated and I was able to sit outside facing a busy pedestrian only street near a public square. I didnāt like bacalhau because not only was it fishy (which I generally find cod to be anyway), I didnāt like the preserved taste of it (living in Japan which has lots of preserved foods generally isnāt a problem, though.)
As for Port wine, in general I donāt like hearty/robust or sweet wines. I did LOVE Vinho Verde, though. Light, refreshing and quite different from any wine I had drank in the USA.
Thank you for your comment and for telling me about another forum member who lives in Japan and is from CAā¦Iāll look them up later.
Shizuoka does indeed have stunning views of Mt. Fuji and I feel lucky to be able to see it daily (as long as the view isnāt blocked by clouds.) BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing Mt. Fuji from the Shinkansen (bullet train) or from the flatlands in general, winter is your best bet. BUT beware, Mt. Fuji is NOT open for climbing in winter. As to why winter is the best time to view it, thatās because winter in Japan tends to be quite dry.
The only southern island Iāve visited in Japan is Kyushu (which I loved). Iāve been to all the prefectures there except for Oita (there are 7 in total, even though āKyushuā translates as ā9 statesā. There 's a long historical reason for the discrepancy which Iāll not get into). Iād love to visit the umpteen islands that form the many archipelagos from the southern tip of Kagoshima on Kyushu to nearly Taiwan, but I havenāt had the time nor money to do so (domestic travel in Japan is quite expensive and as a resident Iām not able to buy/use the famed Japan Rail Passā¦which is actually good on limited ferries & buses).
Lastly, Shikoku (where Tokushima is) is Japanās least populated/developed of the 4 main islands (though many might say the same of Hokkaido, but it has Sapporo, a huge city). If one wants to see how Japan āused to beā, a visit to Shikoku (which translates as "4 countries) and indeed has 4 prefectures on it) might be in order. MANY tourists, both domestic & international go on the ā88 Temple Pilgrimageā around Shikoku. Itās supposed to be walked, but many of the temples can be accessed by car/public transportation. I have never done it myself as I prefer not to do such long trips (I have visited some of the temples in Tokushima, though.) https://shikoku-tourism.com/en/shikoku-henro/shikoku-henro
Sorry for being (ALWAYS!) so verbose. I teach English conversation here and itās a hazard of the job. Typing this out makes me fear that I likely do the same thing in my lessons. I hope Iām wrong about that!
We stayed in Shizuoka for 5 days in 2019. A calm relaxing respite from the hussle and bustle of Tokyo.
Great day trip across the bay to Numazu/Izu. Sakura shrimp was in season! Enjoyable day eating and wandering around the fish market, hot springs, bamboo forest. We got full value from our 3 day Gaijin transport pass, and just bussed, JRād and boated all over the area.
Happy to take the Suruga Bay Ferry āhomeā at the end of fun-filled day (included with our pass). We splurged for the 1,000 yen/2pp upgrade to first class (living large!). We were the only pax on the upper deck!!
Even from just the photos, it looks like it was a wonderful trip! Iāll eat āsakura shrimpā in a tempura fritter made with them, but as Iām not much of a fan of eating shrimp shells, I wouldnāt say I seek them out of even like them. But they are a very seasonal delicacy here. As for the other items in your seafood bowl, I am not a fan of āwhitebaitā, whether itās boiled/steamed or raw (both preparations seem to be included). Itās really sad that I dislike them because oddly enough they are famous and popular in Shizuoka AND Tokushima, especially raw and eaten in tiny diners right at the port. Theyāre just much too fishy for me. I do LOVE wasabi and am happy to see what appears to be the real stuff in that bowl, NOT the āfakeā stuff from the tube which is usually just colored āwesternā horseradish.
The first time I came to Shizuoka, about 30 years ago or so, I went to the Toro Ruins here in Shizuoka city. I was served freshly pounded (still hot!) rice cake with grated daikon radish, freshly grated wasabi root and soy sauce. I must say thatās the best food Iāve ever eaten in Japan. The dish is called ākarami mochiā (loosely translated ākaramiā means āspice flavorā) and if you ever have the chance to try it, I highly recommend you do (I must say Iāve never seen it outside of Shizuoka, though.)
Yes, it is. It is also the birthplace of Japanās green tea industry. Shizuoka used to be the #1 producer of green tea in Japan, but that title has somewhat recently been relinquished to Kagoshima Prefecture. Kyotoās Uji area is also quite famous for green tea. But youāll never (at least Iāve never) see tea here in Shizuoka labeled as āUjiļ½ā because of pride and all. Yesterday was the first day of the tea auction season. Earliest day everā¦thanks to (due to?) climate change.
Shizuoka (though not the city) is quite famous for melons, too. Especially a type of green-fleshed melon called āCrown Melonā. The central part of the prefecture around Fukuroi City is where theyāre mostly grown.
Risible stuff.
from http://www.crown-melon.co.jp/english/ ā
āMany VIPs also love Crown Melon. When the queen of United Kingdom came to Japan and ate Crown Melon, we got words of praise.ā Perhaps itās because the Crown Melon was born out of the British cultivar Earlās Favorite?
(on a side note, have you noticed that English versions of any random Japanese website are all business? Besides unintentional weird translations, theyāre so rigid, yet much less informative. I default to the Japanese version because they dive deep into esoteric knowledge.
Coincidentally, this Crown Melon page has a Google Translate option embedded in the top-right corner.)
Not at WWU.
