African Restaurant in Tsukuba: The Hub
From the TAIRA mailing list:
A new Restaurant called "THE HUB RESTAURANT & BAR" has just opened in Tsukuba. It's an African restaurant with delicious and traditional African meals. It's located on the second floor of the Richmond Building, room 203, at Amakubo 1-10-18. It's the 4th building behind the 7/11 at Amakubo, close to the Medical Centre.
Come and have a taste of traditional African food and spicy soup with some African special BEER and more.
Open: Lunch to Midnight
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An Old Recipe for Yuzu Jam from the Foot of Mt. Tsukuba
Yuzu Jam made according to my neighbor`s old family recipe
By Avi Landau
In the old town of Hojo, where I live, you have to always remember to stay properly dressed, even when you are inside your own home. This is because the neighbors do not knock before entering- they just open your front-door and come in ! ( when I first moved in, I was frequently caught with my pants off before I learned this lesson!). When they do come in, however, ( and this is surprisingly often), they almost always bear with them some sort of gift- freshly picked home-grown fruits or vegetables, or some other home-made treats.
The other day, my next-door neighbor opened our door in the early morning ( and actually caught me offguard in my underpants once again!) and handed me a little dish wrapped in cellophane- freshly made Yuzu Jam. She said it was her family recipe, handed down from generation to generation. It was made using fruit which grows in her garden ( just about every garden on my block has such trees).
This was in fact perfect timing as I was just about to fix breakfast. When I was ready to eat, I spread a little jam on a slice of toast and took a bite expecting something harshly sour. Chewing cautiously, I quickly realized that this jam was mild and deeply flavorful. I spooned out some more on the toast and ate with gusto. I ended up nearly finishing the whole bowl in one sitting.
After breakfast I walked over next-door to say thank you and to ask for the recipe.
I`d like to share it with you. It is remarkably simple, but does require a little patience.
Peel your yuzu and break them up into segments.
Remove all the white strands from around the segments.
Squeeze out most of the pulp from each segment
Wash the remaining PACKETS ( I mean the segments with the pulp squeezed out) in water in a bowl.
Rinse away most of the water.
Heat the packets ( with no extra water but wet from the rinsing) in a sauce pan over low heat.
Keep stirring to prevent burning.
Add sugar to taste
and that`s it!
A yuzu tree bearing fruit in Hojo, Tsukuba ( December 22nd, 2011)
Though I have read that they originally come from the upper-reaches of the Yangtze River in China, Yuzu trees can now be found all over Japan ( south of Aomori Prefecture). As I have already said, they grow in Tsukuba and its vicinity in abundance. Varying in color ( from lemon-like yellow to mikan-like orange) and in size ( from tangerine-size to that of a grapefruit), I sometimes have trouble differentiating them from Tsukuba`s other winter citrus fruit.
Since each yuzu tree bears many fruit, there are always more than one can actually use ( even though the Japanese have so many ways of using them). That is why it is perfectly normal to receive gifts of yuzu from people with these trees. I have been getting them for the past two weeks ( by the bagfull) and have been using them in various ways- for example today, on the winter solistice, I put some in my bath- it was a tingly experience!
Here is something else to do with the yuzu that you have probably recieved- make a traditional skin lotion:
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Ancestors Remembered Around the Autumnal Equinox
The Japanese never go very long without taking care of their ancestors or departed loved ones. In fact, there are many who pray and make offerings at their family altar (butsudan) every single day. In addition, as part of the annual cycle of events, there are four times a year (besides individual memorial days) for special ceremonies in which extra efforts are made for family members who have passed on: New Years, O-Bon (in August) and then the week around (three days before and three days after) the equinox days. In fact, there are national holidays in March and September making it possible for anyone who wishes to do so to visit their family graves for O-Higan (for more detail see my article).
Walking around Tsukuba today, I saw many signs of yesterday's higan-iri (彼岸入）, the first day of O-Higan. First, the graves in all the old neighborhood cemeteries have been swept and decorated with offerings of seasonal flowers.
Rare mound type graves for full burial(before cremation was mandatory)
In and around these graveyards, and in many other places as well (the gardens of old houses, parks, or even along the road), are the amazing higanbana. These flowers are so named for the very fact that they appear, each year, during the higan season.
Higanbana along Tsuchiura-Gakuen Road
At convenience stores, department stores and traditional sweet shops, O-Hagi are on sale. These are oval shaped mochi-rice cakes, covered with a layer of sweet beans, soy bean powder, or black sesame. You can buy them individually, or in sets. The name of these traditional cakes during the autumn o-higan is o-hagi because hagi are a typical flower of this season, while the same sweet cake in spring is called botan-mochi, after the peony, a typical spring flower.
O-Hagi at Seibu
You will notice that many Japanese, when talking about the weather will use the expression- atsusa samusa mo higan made (hot and cold until O-higan), which I guess means that the equinox days (spring and autumn) are seasonal and climatic turning-points. With the crazy weather we've been having who knows when it will get cooler. One thing is for sure, though, the nights will start getting longer and longer, until next spring's equinox.
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And Still More Food For Autumn Foraging In Tsukuba: MUKAGO (or NUKAGO)
I was on my way to a little adventure in the woods surrounding the ruins of Konda Castle, near Sakura Junior High School. As I turned off the road and headed onto a little dirt trail, I noticed a neighbor of mine busily doing something by a bush of some sort. I called out a greeting so as not to startle her (Have you noticed that when Japanese are doing work outside, they never seem to glance up or around? I always attribute this to a deep focus on what they are doing, which is probably true, though some have told me that it's just a way of avoiding having to say hello!), and then I asked her what she was doing. "I'm picking NUKAGO," she said, "why dont you join me?" I thought, "Well, why not?!"
Nukago is the archaic name (still often used by native Ibarakians) for MUKAGO (零余子), which look like tiny potatoes (they are actually tiny yams) clinging delicately to vines which grow out of the stems of the yama imo ( Japanese yams). I say delicately, because to be picked, they merely have to be touched and they come right off. I helped my neighbor gather up a small bag-full. She said she was going to cook them up with the rice in her rice cooker (some people also add ginkgo nuts and some kombu stock). Some Ibarakians also fry, roast, or boil them with salt, sake, soy sauce, etc. I found some original recipes online as well.
Mukago can actually be found on sale at some supermarkets for about 500 yen a fistful (as you can see in the blog linked above), but buying them could never match the fun of finding and picking them yourself. Kids, especially, always enjoy cooking up what they have foraged.
Many of your Japanese friends might not have ever tasted or even heard of mukago (also remember that in Ibaraki it is often called nukago), and those who HAVE might not rave about their taste. Still, having mukago at least once in autumn is considered a MUST by many, since it is a rustic symbol of the season and a welcome change of pace from just plain ol' rice.
Mukago can be found in this area throughout autumn. In English they are called wild yam propagules (or bulbils) as they are how the yam plants propagate (by dropping these little babies to the ground). You can find them in wild fields, by the side of the road, and even in some parks.
Happy hunting!
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Another fruit which grows wild in Tsukuba (and other parts of Japan)- MUBE (moo beh むべ)
By Avi Landau
Before a meeting with Junko Yamamoto, I`m always filled with anticipation. This is because, more often than not, she comes bearing surprising OMIYAGE (gifts), from the seemingly endless stream of interesting places she visits both in Japan and abroad (though what I really do look forward to is her smiling face and lively stories!).
Last Thursday, when I arrived at the Community Center in Hojo, she handed me a bundle wrapped in paper, saying that THIS time, it was not something from some far off reaches of the globe or Japan she had brought, but rather something which she had FOUND growing in her very own garden, right here in Tsukuba .
Opening the package, what I found was MUBE ( pronounced MOO- BEH), which grows, mostly wild, on vines in Japan ( as far north as Kanto), Southern Korea, Taiwan and China. These fruits closely resemble their relative, the AKEBI, which I have written about before ( see-http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/10/still-more-fall-foraging-in-tsukuba-akebi/ ).
Though both of these purple-ish, mango shaped fruits appear in autumn, they can be distinguished one from the other by the fact that AKEBI open, as if slit length-wise, when ripe, and MUBE do not. Also, the leaves of the AKEBI vines fall away, while those of the MUBE do not. In addition, it seems to me that MUBE are generally smaller and less mango-shaped, They come closer to looking like a smooth-skinned, purple and yellow kiwi fruit.
Both AKEBI and MUBE are eaten in the same way. You break them open ( easily done with your bare-hand), suck out the delicately sweet pulp inside( the texture is not unlike that of green grapes), and chew gently, before spitting out the pits ( which are much larger with MUBE).
The abundance of pits makes eating these fruits troublesome and messy, which is why they are not popular commercially ( though you can find them on sale at fancy gourmet shops in Tokyo for about 400 Yen each!).
Mube seeds are spread in bird droppings ( and by other animals, especially monkeys), and thus, these vines can pop up anywhere. Asakura-San at the Azuma Community Center told me that she used to eat MUBE which grew wild in her garden in central Tokyo.
(The scientific name for MUBE is stauntonia hexaphylla, and it appears that the substance stauntonin, found in the roots and stems of its plant, can be used for antirheumatic and diuretic purposes).
Though most older Japanese ( those who grew up during and just after the war) are familiar with both of these rustic fruits ( the akebi and the mube), you might be surprised to find that few younger people have ever heard of them, let alone eaten them, especially MUBE ( I was surprised when while researching this article two professors in the department of agricuture told me they had never heard of MUBE!)
There is still at least one place in Japan where MUBE get a little attention, and that is in a little town on the shores of Lake Biwa, in Shiga Prefecture- Kita Tsuda Cho ( 北津田町). It is there that it is said the MUBE got its name, and for centuries there was a family there who offered ( kenjo suru, 献上する） MUBE each year to the Imperial Family. In recent years the town`s goverment has taken this up as a theme for local revitalization , with MUBE now growing in front of the train station and at various places around town.
Here is the story of how MUBE got its name, and of the fruits connection to this town on the shores of Lake Biwa.
In the 7th century, the Emperor Tenji ( 天智天皇), who reigned from 661-672, went out on hunting expedition to the reedy marshlands around Lake Biwa. It was there that he met a vigorous, elderly couple who had eight strong sons.
When the Emperor asked them how they stayed so healthy into their old age, the couple answered-
” In these parts there is a rare fruit which has the power to give long life and keep sickness away. We eat it each autumn, and that is why we are as healthy as we are.’
When the Emperor sampled one of these fruits for himself, he declared- MUBE NARU KANA (むべなるかな), which in classical Japanese means- It is indeed so!
This is how, it is said, the MUBE got its name.
The Emperor then proceeded to order that these fruit be sent to him every autumn. There are records of offering of MUBE arrving at the palace from this town since the 10th century, and this continued up to 1982, when the family which ahd been traditionally responsible for doing so, moved away.
In 2005, the town was given permission to restart the annual offerings.
By the way, in 1940, the Emperor Tenji`s spirit was enshrined at a Jinja (shrine) in that very same town.
Another interesting story related to MUBE and Kitatsuda Town, is that in the year 1878 ( Meiji 10), while the Meiji Emperor travelled the country, he stopped by and composed a poem in recognition of the towns long history of sending MUBE to his family- O-Gimi ni sasakeshi mube wa furuki yono tameshi to shitau tami no makokoro (大君ささけしむべは古き代乃ためしとしたふ民のまこころ), which I translate ( quite poorly) as: Very Many and Long Years, I Have Been Sent MUBE, a True Expression of the feelings of The People.
All this rushed through my head as a slowly savored the MUBE which Junko had brought.
After spitting out a mouthful of pits, I wiped my hands and face, and said a satisfied -YES, INDEED ( MUBE NARU KANA!)
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