For the first dinner of our trip to Kyoto, we had Kushiage at a restaurant called Kushi-Tanaka. This restaurant had Kushiage made with 20 different ingredients. Four types of sauces were available.
Kushiage is a uniquely Japanese dish in which meat, seafood, or vegetables are cut into small pieces, skewered, battered, and deep fried. When you travel to Kyoto, please try Kushiage at Kushi-Tanaka.
Kushi-Tanaka
Kushi-Tanaka was located in Karasuma. It was about a 10-minute walk from Shijo Subway Station. We made a reservation and arrived at 7:30 p.m. at Kushi Tanaka.
The store was located at the end of an alley. The sign and the reddish-brown curtain stood out in the darkness. It was a very quaint store. The menu was only a leave-it-to-us course where the master decided the type of Kushiage. This course was called “one-way” If I ate too full to eat, I could stop eating in the middle of the meal.
We were seated at the tatami room counter—the owner fried Kushiage in front of us. We ate while talking with the owner and watching him fry Kushiage. The course included 20 different types of Kushiage. Four sauces were available: salt, ponzu, mayonnaise, and Worcestershire sauce. The master told us which sauce would go best with the ingredients.
Rice cake and Beef
Shrimp and Maitake mushroom
Nama-fu and Egg
Nama-fu is wheat gluten mixed with rice flour and steamed in large blocks.
The green Kushiage seen on the left side of the photo was Nama-fu.
Asparagus and Tomato
Scallop and Apple
Strawberry and ginger sherbet
In addition to the Kushiage pictured, we had Kusage made with scallions, pork, Japanese parsley, cheese, mussels, tofu, oysters, mushrooms, and horse mackerel. Kushi-Tanaka used fine breadcrumbs to fry their Kushiage. It produced a crispy Kushiage. In addition, the oil did not burden the stomach. I could enjoy as many as 20 kinds of Kushiage to the last.
The master of Kushi-Tanaka
The master of Kushi-Tanaka was a gentleman. He looked just like this doll.
He fried the Kushiage at the pace of the customer’s eating pace so I could all taste freshly made, hot Kushiage. The secret to enjoying Kushiage was to eat it while it was freshly fried and hot. When we finished our meal and left the restaurant, the master saw us off with a smile in front of the restaurant. Thank you for the delicious Kushiage.
Kushiage is a uniquely Japanese dish. If you travel to Kyoto, try the 20 kinds of Kushiage at Kushi-Tanaka.
On the first day of our trip to Kyoto, we had a great meal of Japanese delicacies. We are looking forward to the second day of our stay in Kyoto.
