Autumn #5: Tororo Omelet / 秋＃５：とろろのオムレツ

Can't make an omelet without breaking any eggs? Not always.
英語のことわざで「卵を割らずにオムレツは作れない。」賛成できません。

Faced with the terrifying prospect of having to clear my fridge of leftovers before being able to buy new ingredients to play with, I disproved one old proverb while proving another: "Necessity is the mother of invention."
冷蔵庫にある材料を使わなきゃと思いながら、この卵を割らないオムレツを作った。

At my disposal: the nagaimo and edamame of Autumn #3, leftover rice, and little sweet red peppers. 使わなければならない材料は秋＃３の長いもと枝豆、残りのご飯と赤ピーマン。

I opted for a an omelet, the preparation of which was almost identical to Autumn #3, except I mixed the tororo with yuzu kosho (a spice made by grinding together the Japanese citrus fruit, yuzu, with chiles) and then fried it up in a pan, stuffed (rather overzealously) with edamame, slivers of red pepper, and rice.
作り方はだいたい秋＃３のとろろ丼と同じですが、とろろにゆずこしょうを入れて、フライパンで揚げた。中に（ちょっと多めの）枝豆、ご飯、赤ピーマンも入れた。

And: voila!
じゃじゃーん!

 

The nicest part was probably the bits in which the edamame got fried into the tororo:
一番気に入れたのは枝豆もとろろと一緒にに揚げたところかなー

ごちそうさまでした！

Autumn #3: Edamame and Persimmon Tororo Donburi / 秋＃３：枝豆と柿のとろろどんぶり

There is an expression in Japanese: "Shokuyoku no Aki." It translates into "Appetizing Autumn."　食欲の秋ですね。

I can't even walk down the street without the being stopped in my tracks by the produce spilling out of the mom and pop shops. 今の八百屋で青物大盛り。。。圧倒的な気持ち！

Just last night I couldn't resist the temptation to buy fresh edamame on the stalk. 昨日どうしても新鮮な枝豆を買いたくなってしまった。。。

Afterall, "edamame" does mean "beans on a twig." 枝豆っていうから、枝で買うともっと適当でしょう？

But what to do with them? それで、枝豆とどうすればいいかなー

Then I remembered another fall favorite: the persimmon. そうね！もうひとつの秋の味を思い出した！

I first discovered persimmons as a fifteen-year-old living in Japan. They baffled me. They were like the lovechild of a tomato and an apple. All I knew for certain was that I wanted to eat them. A lot of them.

柿との初めの出会いは１５歳の時だった。日本に来たばかりで、この果実は特に不思議だと思った。トマトとリンゴの隠し子じゃないの？

Whatever it was, it was love at first bite. 一口惚れだった。

Today the weather was perfect for something light, so I thought I would go ahead with my plan, and make an early autumn donburi. 今日の天気も晴れて、ちょうど軽い初秋がおいしいの日。

A donburi is basically a one-bowl rice dish. To bind together the bright green edamame and the vivacious orange persimmon, I turned to the nagaimo, or "long potato."　枝豆と柿を結ぶことを長いもに任せた。

Ain't much to look at, but like so many brutes, the nagaimo has a sensitive interior. いる人間のように外面はひどいけど内面はきれいな長いも。

The inside of this root vegetable, when grated, makes tororo: a cloud of white goo upon which I intended to rest my autumnal jewels. これでとろろの雲の上に枝豆と柿を載せる。

First, I parboiled the edamame and then shelled them. まず、枝豆をゆでて、さやをとった。

Such bright little beans! なんと元気なみどり豆ちゃん！

After dicing the persimmon, I then peeled and grated the nagaimo, filling a bowl with neba-neba : slimy deliciousness. それで柿をさいの目に切って、長いもをおろして、とろろのねばねばを生かした。

Neba neba! ねばねば！

Then I simply mixed all three, and poured them over my rice:
この三つを混ぜて、ご飯にかけた：

For seasoning, a little soy sauce and wasabi...
醤油とわさびで味付けして。。。

                          AND EAT IT! 食う食う食う！