Tiny Shop, Big Ramen

It's cold..... really cold and the wind is bitter, whipping around us and we've been standing here for 20 minutes. Here is out side a tiny six seat ramen restaurant etched into a corner of building opposite Bic Camera in Sapporo and every second we wait in the out in the cold my hope that what's on offer inside is worth it grows. Having seen this place on several occasions and wondered what sort of building planner allows a two meter indent in the corner of their building for a possible shop?




We had thought we had arrived bang on twelve, yet as we peeped through the doors there were six butts on six chairs so the waiting had begun.

Finally seconds before we succumb to frost bite and hypothermia a space clears and we're in.



There's just the six stools at a bar and a kitchen barely big enough to stand still in and one guy doing the cooking then walking the two feet to do the serving.



Kat opts for the spicy ramen and I'm always a sucker for roast pork with soft egg. With the kitchen within touching distance we can see every move, for Kats spicy ramen the pork, chili, beansprouts and bamboo are stir-fried before the stock is added and the lot poured over the noodles. The result a spicy broth with a good kick piled high with goodies. Mine comes loaded with pork a great soft egg and a sheet of toasted nori tucked into one side.



After both ramen are slurped down enthusiastically it's tempting to just sit and enjoy being warm and content but our memory of standing outside in the queue is still fresh and others are outside needing a break from the icy breath of Siberia, so very reluctantly we move on. The next time we come here it's going to be in summer, good ramen or no, really cold is really freakin cold.

Getting ready for winter ....

Since arriving in Hokkaido in October, we have wanted to take advantage wherever possible of the amazing local produce. We have been busily bottling and preserving whatever we could get our hands on to get us through the long, cold winter.

Wandering to work one day, out the front of the Reading Room was a table covered in amazing baby Roma tomatoes and white eggplants. After arriving at work and expressing our excitement to M1 we were back with a handful of ¥ ..... there's a great little sign advertising "Locally grown Organic Niseko produce" and an honesty box, asking you to pay what you think the vegetables are worth to you... How cool! But as we arrive back, a little truck pulls in unloading more veg. Conveniently it's the farmer himself, so here the relationship begins with Dennis.

We buy the entire contents of the table, and have arrangements for delivery of whatever else he can spare for us.... There's white eggplants,



& Mini red & yellow Roma's.




We made a delicious eggplant, chili & fig chutney. (Which we're now using on the charccuterie plate) and did some tres cute little jars of pickled eggplants. This recipe was found in Stephanie Alexanders the Cook's Companion and is so delicious. It says they will keep for a few months, but ours are disappearing at an alarming rate on antipasto, panini's, pizza's and everything else!



Pickled Eggplant
adapted from Stephanie Alexanders the Cook's Companion

1kg eggplant (we were lucky enough to have organic white Hokkaido eggplants)
¼ cup kitchen salt
100ml red wine vinegar
about 200ml extra virgin olive oil
For layering1 hot chili, sliced finely or chili flakes
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
mint leaves or thyme sprigs
fennel seeds (optional)

Slice eggplants into 5mm thick rounds. Spread out on a tray, sprinkling each layer with salt. Place another tray on top and something quite heavy, like a large jar of olive oil, and leave in the fridge overnight. This is to remove excess moisture from the eggplants.
Rinse slices very briefly in cold water, and the dry really well.
The slices can then be grilled with a little olive oil. We don't yet have a grill so we fried them in a pan until they were nicely golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and allow to cool a little.
Transfer the eggplant to a stainless bowl or tray and drizzle over the red wine vinegar. Leave the eggplants for 1 hour, to absorb all the vinegar.
Layer the eggplants with tongs or a fork into hot, sterilized jars adding the chili, garlic & herbs alternately. Press down very well and cover with olive oil. Release the slices from the side of the jar with a fork to remove any trapped air. Press down once more and fill to the top with oil.
Seal the jar and leave for at least a week (if possible :)) before eating.
If air has been correctly excluded and the jars are perfectly clean this pickle will last for months. Keep in a cool dark cupboard to prevent deterioration of the olive oil.
Makes 1 x 500g jar.

Then with the tomatoes, 80kg in total, we were constantly drying and semi-drying. Our combi oven certainly had a workout .....



We would love to be using these super sweet dried tomatoes for so many more things, but they only have about a 10% yield after dried, so they've been saved exclusively for our salad on at Sekka. Next year we just need to get in much earlier and have Dennis grow us about 500kg :)