Archive
Jul 28, 2010

The Asia Trip: Skewers Galore! Tempura and Yakitori Paradise

yakitori skewers
While I was in Yokohama, I stepped into a fairly sizable (for Japan anyway) supermarket and saw a whole display of tempura (breaded and deep-fried food) and yakitori (grilled chicken parts skewers). If I hadn't felt so sick from eating too much MSG-laced ramen, I would have eaten up a storm of skewered foods.

I have never seen so much tempura or so much variety of tempura in one place in all my life. It's like a country fair of deep-fried things except available every day at the supermarket... well, this particular supermarket anyway. I can't say a tempura display was common at the supermarkets that I went to while in Japan. I think it would only make sense in a heavily-trafficked area.

various vegetable and seafood tempura

There was a lady that would bring out freshly fried tempura every once in a while. They had tempura fish, a lot of various veggies, shrimp, and even tempura sausage!

chicken katsu

Chicken cutlets or katsu. I need to go back to Japan and find this supermarket so I can stuff my face.


Sausages and pork. I think that's a corn dog like skewer on the upper left.

croquettes

They also had a table of croquettes, which are deep-fried mashed potato patties with various fillings.

*Sigh* I think my biggest regret in Japan was not be able to try the tempura/yakitori table at this supermarket.

4 comments:

  1. Have you been to Tenya for their tempura-dons? it's tremendously tasty for its price!
    http://www.tenya.co.jp/index.htm

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  2. Sadly, no. =( It looks really good though. I did go to a pretty cheap udon place in Kyoto where you can add all the tempura you want though. It was really good!

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  3. You could have bought some and eat them later!

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  4. It would have been cold and maybe soggy from sitting too long! Tempura must be eaten (relatively) fresh out of the fryer!

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