Article 006: Karasumi—Time Soaking In
Article Summary
Late September, dinner after visiting shrines and temples.
Roasted pumpkin slices, karasumi, spinach—simple dishes, yet each holds time within.
The discovery that wasabi transforms the flavor of seared karasumi.
The years it takes for Bizen-yaki pottery to settle into your hands.
Spinach brings back my mother's voice from childhood: "Chew slowly—time matters more than quantity."
Birds know the seasons too, choosing vegetables at their peak.
A quiet record of things that soak in, given time.
Categories
Cooking, Autumn
- I write about moments from Japanese food culture as I've encountered them in daily life.
I hope you'll read this with the calm feeling of gathering around glowing embers.
1. A Drive After So Long
- Roasted pumpkin slices (with olive oil)
- Karasumi
- Spinach stir-fried in oil
I thought the heat might ease a bit by late September, but the cicadas were circling to the undersides of branches to escape the sun—that's how hot it still was.
Stepping out of the air-conditioned car required considerable resolve.
During hot periods, I try to limit outings for health reasons.
That said, the weather settled this week, so we enjoyed a drive for the first time in a while.
Our destination: shrines and temples in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The weather was fine, and we found much to study—the complexity of wooden joinery, stone lanterns, the chisel-finished surfaces of stone pagodas.
We just got home late from looking at so many things.
2. My Wife's Thoughtfulness
We were both tired, so we decided on a simple dinner tonight.
That's my wife for you.
She'd anticipated our return time and already finished the prep work.
I bow my head daily to such thoughtfulness.
For more on "pumpkin" and "karasumi," please also read the following articles.
They'll help the overall flow make more sense.
3. Roasted Pumpkin Slices
The thickness of the slices depends on that particular pumpkin's flesh.
When the warm smell starts filling the kitchen from the oven, it's ready.
After that, just let it rest in the residual heat and wait for the olive oil to settle in.
Not too soft, not too hard—that's what matters, I think.
4. Giving In to Karasumi's Temptation
Last meal, we ate half of what we'd bought.
My wife and I talked it over and decided to split the remaining half into two more meals.
But we gave in to the delicious temptation, and this became the last time.
This time, we ate it thinly sliced and seared.
5. Wasabi Makes the Difference
With seared karasumi over rice in hot water, I first eat it down to about half the rice bowl, loosening the roe as I go.
Then, when the rice and karasumi have mixed to just the right degree, I add a pinch of freshly grated wasabi.
This change in flavor was a first for me.
The distinctive aroma that survived the searing softened with the wasabi's sharpness, opening an entirely different taste world.
I enjoyed two flavors within one bowl.
6. The Scent of Sesame Oil
Along with "karasumi" and "pumpkin," we also ate spinach at this meal.
My wife had blanched it ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator, so all that remained was stir-frying.
When I smell sesame oil rising from the wok's edge, my hunger deepens.
This one scent tells me I've made it home safely today.
7. Pottery and Netsuke
The Bizen-yaki bowl turned face-down in the back—I bought it when I first visited Inbe in Bizen City.
At first, the texture felt very "papery-dry" to the touch, but lately the "edges" have worn down, making it easier for me to handle.
I use a walnut netsuke that's absorbed just the right amount of camellia oil.
Finally, it's reached the point where I want it to stay in my hands forever, just like this netsuke.
Bizen-yaki pottery settles into your hands the more you use it.
That kind of relationship is one of my pleasures.
Now it's taken on a deeper tone than even the color of karasumi.
8. The Papery-Dry Feeling
The usual texture of Bizen-yaki is thought to be the "sandy-rough" feel of clay.
With this particular bowl, my perception differs slightly.
The sensation of it trying to drink the moisture from my hands—like water soaking into washi paper—dominated.
Hence I chose the word "papery-dry."
And "edges" means not just the physical texture, but also the passage of time between the bowl and me.
9. Spinach
When I hear "spinach," the first thing I remember is an anime scene I watched glued to the television.
Looking back, I was quite convinced.
Childhood impressions don't fade easily for me.
Back then, wanting to be even a little stronger, I'd beg my mother for spinach dishes.
Each time, she'd counsel me that chewing slowly mattered more than quantity.
Quite some time has passed since then, and I've finally come to understand what my mother's words meant.
10. Birds Are Gourmets
I love spinach as ohitashi, stir-fried, and in vegetable soup when it's cold.
When I observe nearby fields through the seasons while walking, I've noticed something interesting.
According to my observations, birds also prefer seasonal vegetables.
Crows for summer vegetables, bulbuls for winter vegetables, and pigeons appear when seeds are sown.
They seem to peck at vegetables when they're at their most delicious.
And herons follow tractors after the soil's been tilled, eating insects.
Crows very carefully tear open the bags neighbors put over loquats, pluck only the delicious fruit, and eat it somewhere safe.
Troublingly, crows start their meals on our garage roof.
Seeing the remains of seeds and such doesn't bring peace of mind, but I'm afraid of crow revenge, so I look the other way.
11. My Spinach Growing Experience
I used to believe, influenced by anime, that spinach was rich in nutrients and would build impressive muscles.
Looking into it, I understood it does indeed contain vitamins and minerals.
And I learned that while spinach was originally a winter vegetable, breeding improvements and cultivation innovations to meet demand have made summer growing popular too.
I'm the type who wants to try what I learn.
Since space had just opened up in my home garden, I decided to grow spinach.
There are apparently Japanese and Western varieties of seeds, but this time I bought and grew seeds strong against disease and heat (Western variety).
This spinach (Western variety) yielded quite a lot as thinnings before insects could eat it.
Next time, I'll try the Japanese variety that's been cultivated for about three hundred years and develops red stems.
12. This Time's Summary
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「うでだめし しおのかんまん ははのこえ」
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[Oudé daméshisshio no kanman haha no koé]
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Eût, Des, Dam, Mes, Si, Sel, Eau, Nos, Qu'en, Mans, Ah, Ah, Nos, Coque, Est.
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L’horizon au bord de l’ongle — le ciel qui s’infuse.
Related Links
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Pumpkin
Article 001: Pumpkin and My Mother's Memory — Seasons Held in a Chrysanthemum Bowl
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Karasumi
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Read this article in other languages:
References
For references, please use the link below.
The references consulted this time are: 料 01, 料 02, 料 05
Audio Data (Sound): 2025_006_ja01
Audio Data (Reading): 2025_006_ja02 (In Progress)
Microsoft Clipchamp: Brigitte, VOICEVOX: 四国めたん
End of Article
- I hope to bring small discoveries and nostalgia to your table.