Oh-edo Antiques/Bric-a-brac Market

Lots of punters abroad even by 9am.  There were some nice specimens of lacquerwork and old tansu chests I would think about buying if I lived in a bigger house.   I was also tempted by a complete set of mounted John Player cigarette cards: Sea Fishes of the British Isles but thought better of it.  However, after some searching I found what I was looking for in the first place: a Japanese traditional stream fisherman’s creel (called biku, 魚籠 in Japanese).  It was very cheap and with some scrubbing and maybe lacquering, will be perfectly serviceable.

Anyway, on returning home the shirogisu whiting – boned except for the tail and spread out – I had laid out to dry in the sun were ready.  Treated this way the fish will keep for a fortnight or so.

Paan, paan!

Not the emergency, but being in London last week I was able to indulge my very great weakness for meetha paan, this time on Drummond Street.  Perfect after a lunch of dosas.

Books

Just one part of my library at home, but oh dear…

Sakura Cherry Blossoms

over the Ohyoko River in my neighbourhood.

Fishing Bangkok

Made the trip to the Land of Smiles, viz., the Kingdom of Thailand, more specifically to Bungsamran fishing park in Bangkok, for two days of fishing for the famous Mekong Giant Catfish.  It was a fantastic trip, click through for the full story.

Tanago fishing & new rod

Made the trip up to Lake Teganuma in Chiba Prefecture.  This time I would be baptising my recently completed eight-piece tanago rod, and as it is always bad luck, bad luck of the sticking nature, to not catch anything the first time you use a rod, I hoped it would be a good day.  I was not disappointed: the tanago were in great number and despite the low temperature, put up a pretty good show. 

Happy New Year 謹賀新年

Wishing you big catches & safe journeys at sea for 2012!

Well this New Year’s Day I travelled to the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine.  It is a while since I came here, and time to renew my magical fishing amulet.  My current one attached to trusty tackle-bag, has rusted over with the salt of four seas and is rather worn.

The first thing to do is take the old one back to the shrine, hand it over and, if it has ‘worked,’ give a prayer of thanks.  Since I have been fortunate enough to not have been lost at sea or had some terrible accident in the mountains, and have had some great days out fishing on both sea and stream, I consider it to have done its job.  The next step is to buy a new one from the shrine maidens, offer a prayer over it and all is done.  Today I bought two, one for my sea-tackle bag and one for my ayu/fly fishing vest (one must cover all eventualities of course) both of which, according to the label, protect the bearer from misfortune whilst fishing and also provide him/her with good catches.

After all the holiness and sanctity of the shrine, I found myself with something of a thirst, and in all the roads and lanes in the neighbourhood is a great variety of food stalls and eateries selling almost all kinds of street food like yakitori, takoyaki, oden, yakisoba and suchlike.  I settled for a jar of cheap, hot sake and a bowl of hot motsu-nikomi (trippa/chitlins stewed with vegetables). 

Nikomi is often scorned as poor-john suitable only for working men and the lower variety of izakaya, but it is perfect for keeping out the biting cold of Japanese New Year, and as the food stall also has a hot stove between each table, having a quick drink and a bite there has become something of a ritual for me every time I am in the area.  I also stopped by to make my seasonal greetings to my rod making teacher who lives nearby, then went home.  After shipping the amulets on the relevant fishing tackle, I spent the rest of today at home with my feet up.

Holiday Roast Beef

roasted to a turn but with the inner parts nice and rare, with potatoes roasted in duck fat and a red wine-Madeira gravy, hot English mustard on the side (sadly I am out of horseradish).   A salad of greens and daikon radish was consumed on the side, as a minor concession to one’s vasculature.

With only two diners there is really no point cooking a turkey or even the far more delicious goose, and this roast beef dish is far, far harder to muck up.  All it wants is seasoning and a calculation of cooking time by its weight, then it is stuck in the oven and can be forgotten till ready; no basting, no changing cooking temperature or extravagant dressing or stuffing.  It is curious how easy it is to make & delicious in result, yet held in contempt compared to other dishes – the French use of the word rosbif – and like all roasted meat, is just as good the next day, cut thick and eaten in a sandwich or stewed.  There wasn’t a scrap left by the third day.

Boxing Day Fishing

A very good day out on the water cuttlefish-fishing.  A Thermos flask of strong coffee, doubly-shotted with Bajun rum, kept my spirits up and I was treated to a fantastic observation of Mars and Saturn in the morning, before sunrise.  I took a brace of cuttlefish and on the way out spotted a magnificent specimen of P. haliaetus snatching fish at the water’s edge, and could see a snow-capped Mt. Fuji looking regal over the Bay all day long.

The combination of hot coffee and my trusty Guernsey frock kept the cold out – it was about 2°C at dawn – and I even got sunburnt by the day’s end.  Proceedings were completed with a Japanese hot bath and a few bumpers of Madeira whilst I prepared Korean-style cuttlefish (ojingu jeot) and a dish of cuttlefish in tomato and ink pasta sauce. 

The chilli-cuttlefish came with quite a punch, and I look forward to being able to make this again in the future.  The pasta was highly acceptable too, and a couple of cans of distilled rice spirit saw off the end of the meal.

On an unrelated note, an unusual piece of Japanese scrimshaw (seaman’s carved whalebone) came into my possession, a multi-layered inro box.  The reverse is somewhat adult-oriented so I did not photograph it, but it is always gratifying to own a piece of maritime history, especially one so niche as this.

Happy Holidays &c.

No matter how you are celebrating…