November 13, 2011

Market Festival/市場まつり

Today, I went to the local market festival.
今日は地元の市場まつりに行きました。

Flyer:
チラシ:
Exterior of the market building:
市場の建物の外観:
Apple and mikan stand:
りんごとみかんの売り場:
Samples of different varieties of apple:
色々な品種のりんごの試食:
Samples are big as usual!
試食はいつも通り大きいです!

Samples of two varieties of mikan:
二品種のみかんの試食:
Sample sare big here, too.
ここでも試食が大きいです。

Pinapple and banana stand:
パイナップルとバナナの売り場:
As you can see, samples are big here, too.
ご覧の通り、ここでも試食が大きいです。

People having mushroom soup offered for free:
無料で振舞われるきのこ汁を食す(しょくす)人たち:
Vegetable stand:
野菜売り場:
Large daikon with leaves on:
葉付きの大きな大根:
1,000 yen per 10.
10本で1,000円。

Fish and seafood stand:
魚介類の売り場:
You can see crabs and ama ebi (sweet shrimp).
かにと甘ええびが見えます。

Anko (monkfish) "tsurushi giri" (hanging and cutting) demonstration!!!
アンコウの「吊るし切り」の実演!!!
It was big, 20+ kg in weight. A man with a megaphone said a monkfish this big is rare these days. Most of them are 5-10 kg. He also said the selling price at the market (market in Itoigawa, Niigata) was 40,000 yen, and added that it would be at least 80,000 yen when it reached the consumer.
重さ20キロ台の大物です。メガホンを持った人が、最近ではこれだけ大きいのは珍しいと言っていました。大抵は5~10キロ程度だそうです。また、市場(新潟の糸魚川の市場)での売値は四万円で、消費者に届く時には最低でも八万円にはなっているそうです。
Holding up the liver triumphantly
勝ち誇ったかのように肝を持ち上げています。
No wonder! The price of a monkfish is mostly depends on how large the liver is. Monkfilsh liver (called ankimo in Japanese) is called foie gras of the sea.
無理もありません。アンコウの値段は肝の大きさでほぼ決まります。アンコウの肝(アンキモと呼ばれる)は、海のフォアグラと呼ばれます。
For more about tsurushi giri, click here.
吊るし切りについては、ここをクリックして下さい。

For me, the biggest event of all in this festival is maguro kaitai (tuna cut) show.
私にとっては、このまつりの最大のイベントはマグロ解体ショーです。

69-kg big-eye tuna.
69キロのメバチマグロです。
For more details of the show, click here
ショーの詳細については、ここをクリックして下さい。

My purchases:
私が買った物:
1,500 yen assorted sashimi
1,000 yen mentaiko (spicy cod roe)
500 yen ikura (salmon roe) marinated in soy sauce
刺身の盛り合わせ1,500円
明太子1,000円
イクラしょう油漬け500円

Mascot of the festival?
この祭りのマスコット?

17 comments:

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, you are a very disciplined person. I would end up with twenty bags of different products ;-)
I would love to see the monkfish "show". I love monkfish. Have you ever had monkfish cheeks? They are amazingly good (I will post a recipe one day). I have never had monkfish liver, but some people have already told me it is excellent. They sell it rarely at my fish shop.

Fräulein Trude said...

I didn't know monkfish liver is something good - they don't sell it. I like to cook and eat monkfish very much but it is way too expensive - only on special occasions as special treat. Besides: Monkfish is a funny name - in german monkfish is called devil of the sea: Seeteufel. They always display Seeteufel very nicely between other fishs. Here the monster/demon - there the good ones.

Sissi said...

Kiki, they sell monkfish liver in Switzerland and in France, but not very often. You should come liver shopping here and me blood sausage in Germany ;-)

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi and Kiki:

You can see two Iron Chefs doing the tsurushi giri:

Morimoto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0YxvhUtYVU

Michiba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3quRuTah-Y&feature=related

Sissi, I'm not disciplined. I'm frugal and I'm low on money (laugh). I don't think I have had cheeks... Or have I? I don't know. Anyway, almost all parts of a monkfish are used in Japanese cuisine, as you can see from the videos above.

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, I am ruining myself on expensive food every month... and I really shouldn't. I'm always shocked and furious at the end of the month. Lack of self-discipline.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Life isn't easy with a wife and two children...

Fräulein Trude said...

Hiroyuki: Children are always expensive. We were really glad when son got a job, started his own family (a little bit too early) and left. We were really surprised about the amount of money we were able to safe after he was gone - life is much brighter now. But monkfish is still a little bit out of range - old behaviours never change that quickly. Sorry that life is not easy for you but maybe there will be some better times too?

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki:
>but maybe there will be some better times too?

I hope so, but I may be physically too old then (sad).

Fräulein Trude said...

Hiroyuki: Usually people nowadays don't crumble down that easily getting 60+. At least I hope so.

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki and Kiki: I don't have children, but often think how life is complicated... Thoughts about getting older doesn't help either. I agree about the "old" age changing. 60, 70 is no longer old and every year it progresses.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki and Sissi: I'm healthy now, but my father is hypertensive and my mother diabetic, so at my age, I got to be really cautious. Two years ago, I was first told during an annual medical checkup that I had slightly high pressure. This year, I was told so, too, so I have finally decided to get my weight down. I hope I can reduce my weight by at least 5 kg and hopefully 10 in a period of, say, half a year.

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, I keep my fingers crossed. I would feel much better with 5 kg less too (I haven't made a check up for long years... so even have no idea if I'm healthy or not). I think Japanese cuisine at least has been stopping me from gaining weight. (If I cooked Italian as often as I cook Japanese, I think I would look like a monster). Although I should limit korokke, tempura and other dee-fried delicacies.

Fräulein Trude said...

Hiroyuki: we have the same birth year (laugh). Don't worry, diabetes is something you have at young age (bad) or you get it as a result of too much eating the delicious things and drinking the wrong things. You can work on it. High blood pressure is not so funny. I keep on dieting (no fat, not that much alcohol) and doing my sports due to Dyslipidemia. But don't worry as long as they can tell you what you should do to keep in shape, it is alright.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: Thanks!
Have you ever checked out this or similar chart?
http://gigazine.jp/img/2007/05/18/fat_list/fat_list.png
I have a BMI of 27.1, so I'm NOT in the 3% obese Japanese.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: Do we? But it's sometimes depressing to think that I will be 59 when my daughter comes of age.

muskratbyte said...

I'm always so impressed by the festivals, I would love to attend something like this. I've only had monkfish liver - once. My local sushi restaurant had it, but I couldn't afford it. So, the chef gave some to me to try! Very delicious!

Hiroyuki said...

muskrat: My city is relatively small, with a population of about 61,000. In larger cities, such festivals are bigger and more impressive.

I'm impressed by your generous chef!