Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo - Japan Haul

Friday, November 18, 2016

Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo - Japan Haul

While my husband was on business trip in Tokyo, Japan, last week, he stayed at hotel located near Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場). He stayed there for two nights this time, so he was able to enjoy having high quality fresh fish and bought some delicious souvenirs for me. I am glad that he always brings delicious foods from Tsukiji Fish Market to our home in the U.S. when he has a chance to stay in Tokyo. Today, I'm going to share nine products he purchased there with you.

Tsukiji Fish Market Haul

1. みそ汁の具 (Dried Ingredients for Miso Soup)
As I mentioned in my previous entry, he also bought this previous time he visited Tsukiji Fish Market. Since we make miso soup at home pretty often, this is very useful. :) It contains shijimi, dried wakame, dried green onions, dried mekabu and fu. Just put water and a few tablespoons of these in a pot, and bring to a boil. Then add a few tablespoons of miso paste according to your taste.

みそ汁の具 (Dried Ingredients for Miso Soup)

2. あおさ (Dried Sea Lettuce)
Dried sea lettuce, which is called aosa (あおさ) in Japanese, looks like dried wakame, but they are not same and taste so different. You can add aosa into miso soup right before serving the soup. When we lived in Osaka, we sometimes traveled around Mie prefecture, where is famous place for aosa, and we always purchase aosa there and enjoyed having delicious miso soup at home.

あおさ (Dried Sea Lettuce)

3. いりこ (Dried Infant Sardines)
Dried infant sardines are called iriko and niboshi (いりこ, にぼし) in Japanese. At Tsukiji Fish Market, he was told that you can eat them as snacks without heat. I remember that my friend sometimes have iriko as snacks when I was a child, and my grandmother always used to make fish broth with using iriko to make miso soup.

いりこ (Dried Infant Sardines)

4. 乾燥しじみ (Dried Shijimi, Dried Freshwater Calms)
Freshwater clams are called shijimi (しじみ) in Japanese. As I mentioned in my previous entry, shijimi contains ornithine which improves liver function, and natural succinic acid from shijimi creates umami flavor. We will use this one for making miso soup.

しじみ (Dried Shijimi, Dried Freshwater Calms)

5. うるめ干し (Dried Sardines)
Last time, he also purchased this at Tsukiji Fish Market. This is delicious fish snack!

6. インスタントしじみ味噌汁 (Instant Shijimi Miso Soup, Instant Freshwater Calm Miso Soup)
This is a set of 4 servings of instant shijimi miso soup. There are 4 packs of fresh shijimi with shells and 4 packs of miso paste. Just put those into cup and add hot water. You can enjoy delicious shijimi miso soup at home.

インスタントしじみ味噌汁 (Instant Shijimi Miso Soup, Instant Freshwater Calm Miso Soup)

7. 炙り焼ふぐ (Broiled Fugu, Broiled Japanese Pufferfish)
In Japan, fugu is one of expensive fish because fugu contains fatal poison, so licensed people need to remove poisons before selling it. This fugu is already broiled, so I can eat it without cooking.

炙り焼ふぐ (Broiled Fugu, Broiled Japanese Pufferfish)

8. 甘酢ガリ (Sushi Ginger)
Sushi ginger is called gari (ガリ) in Japanese. He bought this fresh sliced ginger at Sushizanmai (すしざんまい), one of famous sushi restaurants at Tsukiji Fish Market.