Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Osaka - Kuromon Ichiba Market

Kuromon Ichiba Market


Blowfishes and eels.
Baiacus e enguias.


Dried octopus.
Polvo seco.


Tempura.


Smoked eels.
Enguias defumadas.


June 14th, 2008

Osaka is the third largest and the second most important city in Japan. Since it is considered "tenka no daidokoro" (nation's kitchen), I had to check out the Kuromon Ichiba Market! It was amazing... The place has covered alleys with so many vendors and products. It is a place to spend a whole day checking out all the different seafood and produce they sell. Some examples are: fugu (blowfish which are poisonous), kyoho grapes (concord like), dried octopus, smoked eels. The place is full of new things and smells for a foreigner and is a "must visit" for food lovers.
The vendors are so kind and I had no problem when asking to take pictures. The only problem I noticed was the bicycles circulating among the the people freely so I had to be careful not to hit or get hit by one of them.
Some interesting things about the fugu: Even containing a deadly poison in the organs about 10,000 tons of this exotic delicacy is consumed each year in Japan and only licensed cooks are allowed to prepare it. I was very curious about trying but I did not feel confident. The place we used to spend the summer in Bahia (Brazil) is full of those funny fishes and I remember the only person that knew how to clean perfectly was Mrs. Dulce, an old lady that lived right beside our house. Everybody in the island trusted her and I never heard of someone that died because of it. She also used to sundry some in her backyard. When fishing with my father all the blowfish we caught was for her and they are hard to take off the hook since they have "bunny tooth" and blow when you hold them out of the water.
I got a package of kyoho grapes! So yumi and juicy! They are a cross of Vitis vinifera and Vitis labrusca (Campbell and Centennial varieties) and are very similar to Concord. The skin is not commonly eaten and separates from the flesh easily. They have been produced since 1942 and can be found in California's Central Valley and Chile too.


14 de junho de 2008

Osaka e' a terceira maior e a segunda cidade mais importante do Japao. Considerada "tenka no daidokoro" (cozinha da nacao), eu tinha que conhecer o Mercado Kuromon Ichiba! E' maravilhoso... O lugar tem becos cobertos com muitos vendedores e produtos. E' um lugar para passar o dia conhecendo todos os frutos do mar diferentes e frutas e verduras. Alguns exemplos sao: fugu (baiacu, que e' venenoso), uvas kyoho (tipo concord), polvo seco, enguias defumadas.  O lugar e' cheio de novidades e cheiros para um turista e e' "visita obrigatoria" para apaixonados por comida.
Os vendedores sao bem atenciosos e nao tive nenhum problema quando pedia para tirar fotos. O unico problema eram as bicicletas circulando no meio das pessoas normalmente e eu tinha que ter cuidado para nao ser atropelada ou esbarrar em alguma.
Algumas curiosidades do fugu: Mesmo contendo um veneno mortal no organismo, aproximadamente 10.000 toneladas desta exotica iguaria e' consumida por ano no Japao e apenas cozinheiros licenciados podem preparar. Estava curiosa para experimentar mas nao tive coragem. O lugar que passavamos as ferias de verao na Bahia (Brasil) e' cheio desses peixes engracados e lembro que a unica pessoa que sabia limpar perfeitamente era a D. Dulce, uma senhora que morava na casa ao lado. Todos confiavam nela e nunca ouvi falar de alguem que morreu por isso. Ela tambem secava no sol uma parte dos peixes no quintal. Quando ia pescar com meu pai, todo baiacu que a gente pescava era para ela e eles sao dificeis de tirar do anzol porque tem dentes parecidos com os de coelho e inflam quando a gente segura fora da agua. 
Comprei uma caixa de uvas kyoho! Tao deliciosas e suculentas! Sao resultado do cruzamento da Vitis vinifera com a Vitis labrusca (Campbell e Centennial) e sao bem parecidas com a Concord. A casca normalmente nao e' ingerida e e' facilmente separada da polpa. Elas sao produzidas desde 1942 e sao encontradas no Central Valley, California e no Chile tambem.

Kyoho grapes.
Uvas Kyoho.


Fruits and vegetables.
Frutas e legumes.

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