Eat "spring" dinner 春を食べる夕食

My friend has had her friend by her for a few weeks, she arranged the meeting yesterday to eat something together before her friend's departure and I cooked something for that. In Japan, there are lots of things available in spring which would tell us that spring has come and we can enjoy spring taste. Here there are not very many, asparagus, new potatos or onions, and are not especially advertised at supermarkets that they are new from the year. Just small on the package. How to cook the same vagetable but from the different season should be quite different from each other; Fresh ones are usually softer and sweeter, do not need long cooking time, or it just spoils the natural taste. I wanted to use something seasonal and fresh for this event to encourage her friend for her new life and thought about the menu I would cook. I especially wanted to use bamboo sprout, the symbol of growing fast.

友人のところに彼女の友達が数週間泊まっていて、彼女が帰る前にみんなで集まってご飯を食べる企画を友人がアレンジした。日本では春に旬のものがたくさん店に並ぶ。そして春を味わう。ここではアスパラガス、新じゃがやたまねぎ以外にこれといったものがない。というかスーパーでも特に新じゃがだと表示されていない。パッケージに小さく書かれているくらいだ。でも違う季節のものの調理の仕方は全然違う。新しいものはやわらかくて甘く、長く火を通す必要がない。そうじゃないと自然の風味が台無しになってしまう。この食事会には旬のものを使いたかった。友人の友達の新しい人生のスタートのために。メニューもいろいろ考えた。特にたけのこが使いたかった。成長のシンボルだ。

I finished working much earlier than usual and went "hunting" for what I needed. It is already May, I looked for fresh bamboo sprout in some shops near Naschmarkt, they only had boiled one in a bottle, but not which I wanted. I knew that it started to disappear from shops a few weeks ago. It started raining and I finally found it at the fifth shop. And this one was really good, although it is not bamboo but actually reed, small young one which can be eaten even raw. Living in country side like my home town in Japan, it is not uncommon to see or have the young bamboo sprout which we can eat like sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi. But I have never thought that I may find similar one in Vienna. I was really very lucky.

この日は仕事を早めに切り上げて、料理に必要なものを探しに出かけた。もう５月。ナッシュマルクト近辺でたけのこをさがすが、だいたいのところは茹でた瓶詰めのものしか扱っていない。数週間前から徐々に店先からなくなってきていたのは気づいていたが、それでも生のが欲しかった。雨が降り出し、ようやく５軒目で見つかった。これ、正確には葦でたけのこではないが最高のもの。若くてとてもやわらかく、生でも食べられるくらいのものだ。実家のような田舎だと若いたけのこを刺身のように食べるのはそれほど珍しいことじゃないが、まさかウィーンでそれに近いものが見つかろうとは。運がいいとしか言いようがない。

Six people gathered at the apartment of another friend of mine where there are more place, I adore his place for its roomy living room with tastful pictures. It is not impossible to let more than 3 people sit properly at my place to eat something together. He cooked rice porridge with tuna fish to satisfy our hunger at first, and was very good, then I started to cook;
*Annin-dofu with strawberry
*Fish cake with asparagus
*Avocado salad
*Spring onion and carrot soup
*Shrimp with broccol

別の友人宅に６人で押しかける。彼のアパートはとても大きい。彼のいい絵が掛かった広いリビングは正直羨ましい。自分のところじゃ３人が座って普通にご飯を食べるのが精一杯。みんなが空腹で騒がないように、彼がたたいたマグロをリゾットに載せたようなメニューを用意した。おいしい。それで今度は自分の番。


*杏仁豆腐のイチゴトッピング
*竹輪のアスパラ詰め
*アボカドサラダ
*春たまねぎとニンジンのスープ
*えびとブロッコリーの炒め物

We did not have much time and all of them helped me to prepare dishes. I thank you all! There were some unexpected trouble and I had to change my menu a little bit, as for dessert we were not able to open red bean can I brought and then I somehow managed to think of alternative from my friend's fridge. It is nice to eat together, I am always happy to see that friends are enjoying talking while eating what I cook. Just wishing to let others eat something delicious would naturally make dishes tasty without special effort. I really thank for good friends and also for the nature.

料理する時間があまりなかったのでみんな準備を手伝ってくれた。感謝、感謝。いくつか予想していないトラブルがあって一部メニューを変えた。デザートにも用意していた小豆の缶が開けられないというトラブルが発生したが、なんとか彼の冷蔵庫にあるもので別のものを用意できた。みんなで食事するのはいい。自分が作ったものを食べながらみんなが会話を楽しんでいるのを見るのは何よりもうれしい。みんなにおいしいものを食べてもらいたいと思って作れば、特別なことをしなくても料理は自然においしくなる。素敵な友人たちと自然の恵みに感謝。