variety of shapes and sizes. It is used in soups, nimono, and sunomono.
fucha ryōri ふちゃりょうり 普茶料理 vegetarian cuisine of Chinese-style Zen Buddhism. In Japan it is practiced by the Obaku sect of Zen, centered at Manpuku-ji, the great temple at Obaku, near Uji. This vegetarian cuisine is also served at smaller temples and convents in Kyoto and other places. See also Appendix 15.
fugu ふぐ 河豚 puffer, blowfish Family Tetraodontidae. The various kinds of fugu are best known for their poison, and perhaps the main reason for dining at a fugu restaurant is the uncertainty and excitement that this knowledge arouses in anticipation. Certainly the taste of the fish itself is not sufficiently enticing to make one want to take the risk. Tora fugu is considered the best, and can weigh up to 2.5 kg. The restaurant preparation of fugu is very strictly controlled, but domestic preparation, whether of fugu caught on a fishing expedition or bought in a fish market, leads to deaths from time to time. Many, including myself, have survived eating the liver, which is the tastiest and also the most poisonous part, though it has been illegal to serve the liver since 1984. Fugu is served as sashimi and chirinabe, and the fins are toasted and hot saké poured over them. This saké is usually drunk as an aperitif.
fuka ふか 鱶 another word for shark, especially the larger species. The shark’s fin of Chinese cooking is fukanohire ふかの ひれ 鱶の鰭. Most species of shark are called same in Japanese.
fuki ふき 蕗 Japanese butterbur, sweet coltsfoot Petasites japonicus. Looking like giant rhubarb, the 1.2-m-long stems of this vegetable have a slight flavor of celery. They are blanched and peeled before being fried or made into various pickles. Fuki is also candied. There is a giant variety with 180-cm-tall stalks.
fukinotō ふきのとう 蕗の薹 unopened bud of Japanese butterbur. Available only in early spring, the buds are blanched to remove some of the bitterness and are used in miso shiru, tempura, tsukudani, and nabemono.
fukujinzuke ふくじんづけ 福神漬け one of the most popular pickles and an invariable accompaniment of Japanese-style curry and rice. A mixture of seven vegetables thinly sliced is salted and then pickled in soy sauce and mirin. The seven vegetables are chosen from among white radish, eggplant, lotus root, ginger, shiso buds, turnip, shiitake, udo, sword beans, shirouri, and others.
funa ふな 鮒 wild goldfish Carassius auratus. A freshwater fish mainly found in lakes such as Lake Biwa near Kyoto, famous for its funa called nigoro buna (C. auratus grandoculis), which is made into funazushi, an ancient form of sushi. Funa lives for ten to fifteen years, reaches a length of 40cm, and is at its best in winter. It is used for narezushi, sashimi, sunomono, tsukudani, and in soups. See also narezushi.
furai フライ a very popular method of cooking in which prawns, fillets of fish, or slices of meat are dipped in egg, coated with panko, and deep-fried. Ebi (prawn) furai is a particularly successful dish.
furikake ふりかけ 振り掛け topping sprinkled on hot rice. Usually it contains toasted seaweed and sesame seeds as well as ground dried fish and salt.
furofuki ふろふき 風呂吹き winter dish in which well-boiled white radish or turnip is served with a topping of miso flavored with yuzu or sesame. The classic dish is made with daikon.
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ganmodoki がんもどき 雁擬き tofu product. Tofu is mixed with crushed yamanoimo and chopped vegetables such as carrot, shiitake, and burdock, as well as sesame seeds, ginkgo nuts, and kelp. This mixture is formed into balls, the size and shape largely depending on local custom, and deep-fried. The balls are used in o-den and nimono.
gari がり thinly sliced ginger macerated in sweetened vinegar. Gari is served as a condiment in sushi shops, and the word is special sushi-shop vocabulary.
gazami がざみ 蝤蛑 blue crab Neptunus trituberculatus. See also watarigani.
genmai げんまい 玄米 brown rice Oryza sativa. Few Japanese eat brown (i.e., unpolished) rice, with the result that it is not easy to get hold of. Best cooked in a pressure cooker, even though the latest rice cookers claim to do the job.
genmai su げんまいす 玄米酢 brown-rice vinegar. An excellent, high-class vinegar, often made by the traditional methods. Best of all is glutinous brown-rice vinegar (genmai mochigome su). Not readily available, it has such an elegant sweetness and smoothness that it can be drunk neat.
geso げそ 下足 squid tentacle, cuttlefish tentacle. Often sold from stalls at festivals as teriyaki, these tentacles are also dried for use as tsumamimono. Geso, a shortened form of gesoku げそく 下足, which means footwear, was originally a sushi-shop word that has spread into common parlance.
gindara ぎんだら 銀鱈 sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria. A kind of cod that grows to almost 1 m in length, this fish comes frozen to Japan from the Bering Sea. It is delicious and can be cooked in numerous ways but spoils quickly and should be cooked and eaten as soon as thawed.
ginnan ぎんなん 銀杏 ginkgo nut Ginkgo biloba. The fruit of this lovely and very primitive tree (ichō in Japanese), though not strictly nuts, do have a shell that must be cracked to get at the kernel. Gathered in September and October, they are yellowish green and about 1.5 cm long out of the shell. Perhaps at their best when skewered and grilled, they are also a regular and welcome ingredient of chawan mushi.
gizami ぎざみ See bera.
gobō ごぼう 牛蒡 great burdock, edible burdock Arctium lappa. It is only in Japan that burdock root is eaten as a vegetable, usually about 1 m long and 3 cm thick. In China it is used as a medicine. The root is a very good source of dietary fiber and nutrients and should be scrubbed rather than peeled, since much of the flavor is close to the skin. For use, it is shaved (like a pencil is sharpened, sasagaki in Japanese) and dipped in cold water with a little vinegar to remove its considerable bitterness, because of which it is unsuitable for nabemono. Burdock is combined with carrot to make kinpira gobō and is used in kakiage and numerous other dishes.
gogyō ごぎょう 御形 cudweed Gnaphalium affine. Better known as hahakogusa ははこぐさ 母子草. See also nanakusagayu.
gohan ごはん 御飯 cooked rice. As with the informal word meshi, it can also refer to a meal.
goma ごま 胡麻 sesame Sesamum indicum. A nutty-flavored, oil-rich little seed of which three forms are marketed: black, white, and golden. Golden sesame has the best aroma but is not so readily available. Sesame is always parched before being used in such things as in furikake, aemono, and goma dōfu. Sesame oil is used in cooking, particularly for its flavor, and is important in the oil mixture for tempura.
goma dōfu ごまどうふ 胡麻豆腐 sesame tofu. Rather like a firm, baked, savory custard only gray, this resembles tofu only in texture and presentation. White sesame, usually parched, is pulverized with water, and the liquid is strained. This liquid is thickened with kuzu and set in a square shape. Served with wasabi, it can be highly recommended. Sesame tofu has an important place in all schools of Buddhist vegetarianism, such as shōjin ryōri and fucha ryōri.
goma
