Cook Around Japan - Amami Oshima: New Blood Flows into the Island

Chef Rika Yukimasa travels to Amami Oshima, an island in southwest Japan. She meets people who work to raise the profile of the unique food culture and traditions of their homeland. Featured recipes: Spoon-molded Sushi / Rika's Sashimi Salad.

Check the recipes.

Spoon-molded Sushi / Rika's Sashimi Salad

Ingredients
Fish fillets of choice
Salt, as needed

600 g cooked rice
3 tbsp sushi vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
2/3 tsp salt

Vegetables of choice

Sauces:
-2 tsp soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and dried red chili, as needed
-1 tsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp lemon juice
-Same amount of soy sauce and olive oil

Rika's Sashimi (Preparation)
1. Skin and de-bone the fillets.
2. Sprinkle salt on the fish and cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for a couple of hours.
3. Slice the fish in 1 single stroke.

Spoon-molded Sushi

Mix the seasonings and hot rice, scoop up with a spoon and top with the fish and the sauce.

Rika's Sashimi Salad

Dip the sashimi in the sauce and wrap the vegetables around the fish to form a roll.

Transcript

00:07

Dining with the Chef!

00:15

Today we're cooking around Amami Oshima!

00:20

The best way to explore its local specialties is to visit a local restaurant.

00:26

Wow, look at this!

00:31

This is a traditional dish called "Abura-zomen."

00:35

This aspic is made from wild seaweed.

00:41

This is called "handama" rice.

00:44

The pretty color comes from infusing herbs in vinegar.

00:51

Amami produces delicious muscovado "shochu."

00:56

So this sake is also a speciality of Amami Oshima.

01:01

You can't find this kind of food and shochu in Tokyo.

01:06

This is wonderful.

01:07

I have to be careful not to drink too much.

01:12

Hello, I'm Rika Yukimasa.

01:16

For me, encountering new foods is one of the highlights of traveling.

01:22

As a culinary specialist, I'm fascinated by the food and sake of Amami Oshima and am dying to find out more about its local specialties.

01:35

So, join me now as we cook our way around the island.

01:44

Let's explore Japanese cuisine in greater depth.

01:47

Japan is a chain of islands approximately 3,000 km long from North to South.

01:53

There is a large variation in climate, and the terrain of each region has given rise to a diverse culture of food.

02:02

Today, we're exploring an island in Kagoshima Prefecture...

02:08

Amami Oshima lies 380 km south of the Kagoshima mainland.

02:17

With a population of about 40,000, and an area of 700 square kilometers, much of Amami is covered in forest.

02:25

The mountainous region provides a rich natural habitat to rare and diverse species.

02:33

Unlike the temperate humid climate of Japan's main island, Honshu, Amami's climate is subtropical.

02:39

It was a registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021.

02:48

Located between Honshu, Okinawa, and the Asian continent, it's assimilated many diverse cultures, giving rise to a unique cuisine.

03:03

Join our host, Rika Yukimasa, as she explores this fascinating culture.

03:13

Amazing!

03:16

Cook Around JAPAN.

03:18

Explore the natural bounty of Amami Oshima.

03:31

At the fishing port, the work day starts early.

03:43

I came to the fishing port today.

03:48

It's so brilliant.

03:51

The collor is so different.

03:54

I've never seen this kind of huge reddish colored fish.

04:02

I always wonder how I can cook these fish.

04:06

Well, I can make "sashimi," I can do that "tempura."

04:11

I can fry them with breadcrumbs and I can sauté and I can steam them.

04:19

So I come up with all these ideas when I see the ingredients.

04:33

Rika heads to a fishmonger right by the port.

04:37

It ships far and wide, even to the metropolitan areas of Tokyo and Osaka.

04:44

Such a variety of fish!

04:47

We get a lot of colorful fish.

04:49

They all come from the coastal waters of Amami.

04:53

This is a yellowfin tuna.

04:55

This one's a tilefish.

04:57

I've never seen such colorful fish,
not even in Tsukiji or the Toyosu market.

05:04

This is a Japanese blue-spotted seabream.

05:08

It's only found in the waters off Amami.

05:13

- Such a pretty color.
- Yes, very stylish.

05:23

Amami is an island, so the coral reefs are shallow.

05:29

But the fishing grounds beyond that are 100 to 400 meters deep.

05:36

So Amami's coastal waters are home to around 1,700 species of marine life.

05:44

Premium grade seafood like this sells well in the cities, too.

05:53

Careful not to get bitten.

05:56

Hello.

05:58

There are so many varieties of fish in Amami Island.

06:03

If I was to live here, I want to give it a try and try to cook different kinds of fish every day.

06:13

This fishmonger has been in business since 1949.

06:18

It's now run by the second-generation owner, Takanori.

06:23

And his son, Koichi.

06:28

Besides running the store, Koichi opened a restaurant this year to promote Amami's bountiful seafood.

07:00

- This is so good.
- Thank you.

07:02

You don't often see this fish in Tokyo.

07:07

The catch, or rather the population, is limited.

07:11

It's a fish that's very much in demand from chefs all over Japan.

07:18

Fish from the southern waters tend to be rather lean.

07:22

They don't have much fat.

07:25

But they are quite gelatinous, so although the meat is light, it has just the right amount of fat and is rich in flavor.

07:37

Koichi worked in Japanese and French restaurants in Kyoto and trained as a chef and sommelier before returning to the island.

07:49

I was born the eldest son of a well-established fishmonger in Amami Oshima.

07:53

So, I began using a knife from an early age.

07:56

I don't even remember when.

07:58

I was brought up to follow in my father's footsteps.

08:00

So I knew I would eventually have to return to the island.

08:05

My experience in various fields made me realize that very few people appreciate how delicious seafood can be.

08:13

Not even the islanders know how lucky they are.

08:17

So, I made up my mind to do something about it.

08:23

In order to encourage overseas visitors to try Amami seafood, he decided to open a French restaurant and make the most of his expertise.

08:35

His seafood cuisine is designed to go well with wine.

08:43

I don't want to sound pretentious, but I hope to inspire people all over the world to learn more about what Amami has to offer.

09:00

Along with seafood, Amami Oshima is also famous for its muscovado sugar made by extracting the juice from sugarcane.

09:11

Muscovado has been produced here since around 1610.

09:16

It's an integral part of Amami Oshima's food culture.

09:22

Muscovado continues to be produced the traditional way.

09:42

The juice of sugarcane is extracted, mixed with edible lime and cooked while carefully removing impurities.

10:00

The sugarcane juice is slowly simmered for an hour, overseen by artisans who rely on experience to adjust the temperature and consistency.

10:12

I want people to know what real muscovado tastes like.

10:17

It's nothing like processed sugar.

10:24

After mixing to incorporate air, the sugar is left to cool naturally until it hardens.

10:39

This labor-intensive process brings out the true flavor and richness of unrefined sugar.

10:52

If the old folks on the island say it tastes good, I know I'm making it properly.

10:59

Nothing makes me happier.

11:03

The islanders use muscovado in their daily cooking.

11:07

And in recent years, people from all over the world have started to come to Amami Oshima in search of muscovado.

11:17

An alcoholic beverage made from muscovado has become very popular.

11:35

Muscovado shochu is Amami Oshima's traditional alcoholic beverage.

11:41

Made by fermenting rice and muscovado sugar, it's produced exclusively on Amami Oshima.

11:49

Each of the Amami islands has a brewery.

11:52

Some shochu fans go around the islands to taste the different kinds of shochu.

12:01

- Hello.
- Hi, I'm Rika Yukimasa. Nice to meet you.

12:09

A shochu brewery in central Amami.

12:13

At Nishihira's brewery, shochu is aged in barrels using a special proprietary technique.

12:25

Every single barrel is full of shochu.

12:31

What kind of barrels?

12:33

Oak.

12:36

- Same as whisky.
- Yes.

12:40

The brewery was founded in 1927.

12:45

Nishihira Serena is the forth generation president.

12:48

Together with people of her generation and Australian staff members, she's seeking new ways to export her product overseas.

12:59

Actually contains a 0% sugar of the mean.

13:02

Well, the yeast consumes that sugar and then it's distilled.

13:05

So if you want to count your calories, you're entirely safe with "kokutou" shochu.

13:10

- This is the drink.
- Right.

13:18

Amazing! Amazing.

13:23

I don't feel like it's too strong of a barrow flavor.

13:29

But yet it has distinctively different.

13:32

Well, it's kind of like so sophisticated to the level that I cannot believe it's shochu actually.

13:42

Wow. It's almost like an aged rum.

13:46

Exactly right.

13:49

The sweetness of muscovado and the "umami" from rice "koji" gives it a sweet and mellow flavor and rich bouquet that goes very well with various types of cuisine.

14:07

Nishihira inherited the brewery five years ago.

14:12

She was working Tokyo as a professional musician.

14:15

But she was asked to return to the island to help her father, who was suffering from poor health.

14:22

In the old days, women were prohibited from working in sake breweries.

14:29

But for some reason, in southern Japan, many of the master brewers who made muscovado shochu or "awamori" were women.

14:40

One of them was in fact my great grandmother.

14:47

She had many men working under her.

14:52

People say that she was a very tough master brewer who wasn't afraid of rising to the challenge.

15:00

She's my role model.

15:03

I wish I could have worked with her.

15:09

Nishihara's goal is to return to making muscovado shochu with Amami sugarcane, and revive the tradition established by her great-grandmother, the brewery's first master brewer.

15:23

Amami's breweries, including this one, use muscovado from Okinawa, as well as foreign imports.

15:32

That's because it costs less, which allows the shochu to retail for a lower price.

15:41

But looking at the future, I think it's important for local makers to return to using Amami ingredients.

15:48

We're still not at that level, but we hope to be able to do so before long.

15:55

I believe that using Amami ingredients is the key to keeping Amami's traditions alive.

16:10

All these local specialties provide a window into Amami Oshima's food culture.

16:17

I'm going to meet with a person who is trying to showcase Amami's appeal from a different perspective.

16:30

This store specializes in Amami handicrafts and food products.

16:42

We offer many products.

16:44

Squid confit? Interesting.

16:47

Yes, we also have tuna confit.

16:52

Very nice.

16:55

The southern Seto Inland Sea is famous for tuna aquaculture.

16:59

This product is made with farm raised tuna.

17:05

I think it's important to come up with new ideas like this.

17:11

Each of these products was developed to
highlight Amami Oshima's appeal.

17:22

The registration of Amami Oshima as a natural world heritage site has led to all kinds of new initiatives.

17:34

It's becoming increasingly difficult to rely solely on traditional methods to make a living and pass on the island's heritage to future generations.

17:49

Young people are returning to the island to apply what they've learned and experienced elsewhere to come up with new ideas, products, and projects.

18:08

Sasaki works for a company that runs a chain of hotels in Amami Oshima.

18:13

It renovates traditional farm houses and offers visitors a taste of Amami life.

18:21

We want to provide visitors with a chance to interact with local residents and experience the traditions that the islanders have inherited and cherished from the past.

18:31

By doing so, we hope to build a bridge to the future.

18:36

Renovating old farm houses and turning them into hotels, restaurants, and facilities for the elderly have helped attract more people to the island.

18:48

I moved here from outside the island.

18:52

I know many people who want to come and settle in Amami.

18:57

The influx of new people will help create
a more diverse culture.

19:07

I hope so, yes.

19:12

Getting in touch with Amami's traditions and the attraction it continues to hold for the young islanders has made me appreciate its potential to develop and thrive, way into the future.

19:29

Okay, Rika, it's time for you to prepare some food using Amami Oshima's delicious ingredients.

19:38

Here we have fish fillet from Amami Oshima.

19:42

Let's get started!

19:44

First, prep the fish.

19:47

Skin and debone the fillets.

19:53

First, I'm going to sprinkle some salt on top of this fillet.

19:58

Using Amami's salt.

20:01

You can try this with the filet you can find at the local supermarket.

20:07

I think the salt helps to firm up the fillet and the texture gets much better.

20:16

Sprinkling the fish with salt, will remove the fishy smell and excess moisture.

20:22

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for a couple of hours.

20:30

Let's start slicing the fillet.

20:35

Today I'm going to use this bread knife.

20:39

Usually we have sashimi knife, which is long and it's single bladed.

20:45

But since you may not be find sashimi knife in your country, maybe you could try and use this bread knife.

20:54

Bread knife is also single bladed so it's very you can cut it thinly.

21:02

If you use a double-edged knife, you may end up ruining the texture of the tender fish, so be careful.

21:10

And it's important that you tilt.

21:13

Instead of cutting like this, you tilt the knife and then slice it from this bottom to the top.

21:26

When preparing sashimi, it's important to use a sharp knife and slice with a single stroke to minimize resistance.

21:33

This will greatly affect the taste and texture of the sashimi.

21:41

Use a "shiso" leaf or some other green leaf as a bed for the sashimi and arrange in a mound to plate decoratively.

21:53

Rika is going to show us two ways to enjoy the sashimi.

22:08

First, a simple way of making sushi without molding the rice by hand.

22:13

All you need is some freshly cooked rice seasoned with sushi vinegar.

22:23

When you have good, great sashimi, you would want to give it a try to make "nigirisushi."

22:28

But that's quite difficult, so it's not that easy.

22:34

So I have came up with this idea to make your own sushi using spoons.

22:45

Gently mix the sushi vinegar into the rice so as not to crush the grains.

22:53

This is that easy.

22:55

It's extremely easy to make sushi rice.

23:03

Now for a dish of sashimi and island vegetables.

23:08

Now let's prepare the vegetables.

23:13

The salad leaves, any kinds of leaves is fine.

23:17

I want you to wrap the sashimi.

23:21

So we want to have lots of vegetables.

23:28

These are very small shallots grown in this Amami island as compared to shallots we see most of the time.

23:40

It just gives a little bit of the spicy flavor to the salads.

23:47

All the vegetables I tried in Amami, they had very in the way, thick and aromatic flavor.

23:59

I tried to eat as much local specialties as possible, and when I tried to do that, I also have to try all the vegetables or anything that's indigenous to the land.

24:18

This dish is designed to give you your fill of watercress, cilantro, and other Amami-grown herbs.

24:26

That's it for the prep.

24:30

Rika has invited Maekawa, who has opened a restaurant to promote Amami's seafood, and Nishihira, the master brewer who is trying to convey the appeal of Amami

24:42

by returning to the roots of traditional muscovado shochu.

24:48

I'd like you to try my sashimi salad and spoon-molded sushi.

24:53

Dip the sashimi in one of the three different sauces.
Then, wrap with the vegetables.

25:14

Wrap the vegetables around the sashimi to form a roll.

25:22

- Too much?
- Not at all.

25:31

I noticed you sprinkled the sashimi with salt to improve the texture and draw out the "umami" flavor.

25:38

I love the crunchy texture of the vegetables.

25:41

This is delicious.

25:43

It's an entirely new way of eating sashimi, quite different from what we're used to in Amami.

25:50

With spoon-molded sushi, you just place a slice of sashimi on top of a spoonful of sushi rice.

25:58

It's a quick way of making sushi Rika came up with herself.

26:09

This is a favorite with my family.
You can enjoy sushi without the fuss.

26:18

I've never had sushi like this.

26:20

What a great idea!

26:23

This sort of meal is beyond the imagination of native islanders.

26:29

Getting input from people like yourself from outside the island provides us with inspiration and new ideas.

26:38

Thank you very much.

26:42

There's no doubt that natural foods have come to be appreciated on a certain level throughout the world.

26:50

I think it's important for people of my generation to work hard at getting the bounties of Amami recognized internationally.

27:13

I think it's wonderful the way young islanders like yourselves are providing a different take on Amami's traditions and culture.

27:24

This will allow the island to evolve and thrive, way into the future, adding to its appeal.

27:31

I look forward to visiting Amami again, 5 to 10 years from now, to see how the younger generation have nurtured its sustainable growth.

27:44

Thank you for watching.

27:46

I hope to see you again soon.

27:48

Bye for now.