Watermelon

I feel the summer will soon come to the end. Before the last week, cicadas have chirred in chorus even in the evening. But this week the singers and musicians are crickets. We eat the watermelon in the hot season. It is served often to be cut into eight or twelves pieces as a dessert. In the case of another, we take the watermelon as an appetizer. It is cooked as the gazpacho of watermelon. I like this dish. Especially if it is served in the small glass which has been cooled in the refrigerator, I find an pretty oasis in the hot island.

The summer will soon come to the end.

Cucumber and whitebait in sweetened vinegar

This summer is really hot in Japan. Then I would like to eat a cool food for dinner. The food I introduce today is cucumber and whitebait in sweetened vinegar. It is cooked very easily and simple taste. Moreover, its appearance shows an image of summer. This may be inconsistent with cool. Although Japanese people remember the season of summer to look at or listen to the image of cool.

For example, the other images of cool are tofu, watermelon and wind bell. These images make us to remember the season of summer and the memory of summer.

White gourd

White gourd is eaten very well in Japan in the summer. White gourd includes much water. White gourd is similar to watermelon on this point. The difference between white gourd and watermelon is the way to be cooked. Watermelon is taken as only desert, on the other hand gourd is cooked as salad, boiled, soup and etc. If you are worried what you should cook in the summer, white gourd may help you to cook.

By the way, white gourd means the winter gourd. It is interesting that the meaning is the winter gourd though white gourd is taken in the summer.

Tofu

This week it has been very hot in Japan. Then I would like to eat Hiyayakko which is cold tofu cut into blocks. When we put a piece of Hiyayakko into the mouth, a chill spreads out from the mouth to the whole body. We feel the summer come this time.

Arashiyama in Kyoto is the most famous place where tofu is made very delicious. It is because tofu consists of much water and the water is very pure and clear in Arashiyama. There is Hozugawa-river in Arashiyama and the source of this river is the north mountain in Kyoto. This area is not developed and maintained true natural.

Pike conger

Pike conger which is called Hamo in Japanese is cooked in the summer, Especially it is eaten in Kyoto and Osaka. Since it is very hot in Japanese summer, it is difficult to cook fish this season. But pike conger has strong vitality. So dishes of pike conger are served in summer. This situation is similar to eel one.

The types of dishes are Otsukuri (Sashimi), soaked in sweetened vinegar, grilled and etc. Gion-Matsuri in Kyoto and Tenjin-Matsuri which are called the big three of Japanese traditional festival are held in the summer. The people in Kyoto and Osaka want to eat dishes of pike conger when Gion-Matsuri and Tenjin-Matsuri are going to be held in the summer.