I had long wanted to visit this place because their portion sizes are big according to reviews in Tabelog (Japanese only). Besides, I was interested in their "Yukiguni moyashi tempura", which I happened to learn from a TV program.
息子の誕生日に、家族でレストラン雪国に行きました。「雪国まいたけ」（舞茸やもやしなどを作っている会社）直営の店です。
前からここに行きたいと思っていました。食べログのレビューでは、一人前の量が多いそうです。それに、テレビ番組で知った「雪国もやしの天ぷら」に興味がありました。
My daughter ordered cream spaghetti.
娘はクリームスパゲティを注文しました。
My son ordered maitake don (donburi with maitake tempura).
息子は舞茸丼を注文しました。
My wife and I each ordered their most popular meal: Kinoko jiru teishoku (set meal with mushroom soup, chicken karaage, maitake fry, salad, and pickle).
妻と私はそれぞれ人気一番のメニュー「きのこ汁定食」（きのこ汁、鶏のから揚げ、舞茸フライ、サラダ、漬物）を注文しました。
The amount of mushroom soup is incredible!
きのこ汁は信じられない量です！
This is Yukiguni moyashi tempura.
これが「雪国もやしの天ぷら」です。
Each moyashi is coated and deep-fried individually.
もやし一本、一本に衣をつけ揚げています。
As you can see, the dish actually served contains more moyashi tempura than in the photo on the menu! Just incredible!
ご覧の通り、実際に出されたお皿には、メニューの写真より多くのもやし天ぷらが入っています。信じられません！
The four of us shared two cakes.
四人で２つのケーキを分けました。
Rare cheesecake:
レアチーズケーキ：
Apple and sweet potato pie:
りんごとサツマイモのパイ：
At first glance, I thought the cheesecake was crust-less, but I was wrong.
一見したところ、チーズケーキはクラストがないと思いましたが、違いました。
The four of us were unable to finish off the one serving of moyashi tempura, so I asked the server if I could bring the rest home. She kindly gave me a plastic container, a rubber band, and a plastic bag.
四人でも一人前のもやし天ぷらを食べ切れなかったので、店員さんに残りを持って帰ってもいいか訊きました。親切にプラスチック容器と輪ゴムとプラスチック袋をくれました。
Very satisfying meal! We were all full!
とても満足の行く食事でした！みんなお腹いっぱいになりました。
The whole meal looks beautiful and scrumptious, but moyashi tempura is a hit! I would love so much to try making it, but, on the other hand, maybe starting my first tempura this way is a bit too ambitious ;-) ). Dipping the sprouts in tempura mix separately looks like a lot of work...
ReplyDeleteSissi: According to this page of the official website of Yukiguni Maitake
ReplyDeletehttp://www.maitake.co.jp/03resipe/spring03_05.html
(Japanese only)
you first add moyashi to batter and then put them in oil one by one with a hand, as follows:
For 4 servings:
200 g moyashi
1 cup (= 200 ml) tempura mix
Appropriate amount of salt
Appropriate amoutn of ao nori (a type of seaweed)
1. Dust moyashi with 1 tbsp tempura mix.
2. Mix tempura mix with cold water to make thin batter.
* Making a thin batter is the key.
3. Add moyashi to batter.
Put moyashi to oil heated to 170-180C, one at a time quickly with a hand.
* To prevent moyashi from sticking together, stir quickly with chopsticks.
4. Sprinkle with salt and ao nori to taste.
If you find the recipe too hard to follow, why not just make moyashi kakiage instead?
Hiroyuki, thank you so much for having taken the trouble to translate and post this detailed recipe. I am very grateful. I copy it and tomorrow will try this weekend to buy some bean sprouts on the market (I have tempura mix, but was always worried to use it...). Too late to look for ao nori though (the Japanese grocers have closed for Easter), but maybe I'll find a substitute in my kitchen.
ReplyDeleteKakiage looks easier indeed; a great way to cheer me up if the above doesn't work for the first time...
Thank you once more for both ideas.
Encouraged by your kind translation of the recipe and looking at your yummy bean sprouts tempura photos, I have finally decided to try tempura. I spent a lot of time adjusting the batter thickness and lumps were -and still are - really difficult to achieve. Bean sprouts were a complete failure, but asparagus worked quite well... I don't think my asparagus tempura was as it should have been, but it was beautiful, crunchy and delicious. I have put a photo on my blog; you can judge how far I was from what tempura should look like (http://www.withaglass.com/?p=4779). I have already made it twice. Thank you for the encouragement, I feel like experimenting with more ingredients very soon!
ReplyDeleteSiss: I checked your blog before you informed me, and found a photo of asparagus tempura. You seem to have done a very good job! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to view images of aspragus, just do an google image search for アスパラガスの天ぷら.
As I said previously, I will post about tempura when I have more free time, using hakurikiko (low-gluten flour).
Thank you, Hiroyuki. I am very happy you approve of my tempura. I have bought two bunches of asparagus on Saturday market and will make more tempura tonight! Afterwards I'll try with other ingredients, but now I try to profit from the asparagus season.
ReplyDeleteLow-gluten flour sounds very intriguing...
Sissi: As for me, I'm thinking of making fukinoto tempura, "imo ten" (sweet potato tempura), kakiage, and prawn tempura.
ReplyDeleteBy "low-gluten flour", I simply mean one of the three types of flour commonly sold in Japan that has a gluten content of 6.5 to 9.0%. In Japanese, it's called hakurikiko. In English, it's called soft flour, weak flour, cake flour, or cookie flour, right?
Thank you, Hiroyuki, I thought it was some kind of special flour...
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to read about your tempura!