KaisekiChakaisekiBentoTenshin


Restaurant-Style Kaiseki Cuisine

Unlike chakaiseki, or tea-ceremony kaiseki, restaurant-style
kaiseki cuisine originated in the meals served at poetry
gatherings. (This explains why restaurant-style kaiseki is
usually written with Chinese characters meaning "banquet.")
Today, this type of cooking can be found at first-class Japanese
restaurants, where guests can enjoy eating in a relaxed,
informal setting. In restaurant-style kaiseki, courses are served
on lacquered trays without legs and are enjoyed one at a time.
The menu generally consists of a sakizuke (appetizer), a suimono
(clear soup), a mukozuke (usually slices of raw fish), a
kuchigawari (palette refresher), a yakimono (something grilled),
a nimono (something boiled or simmered), an aizakana
(something steamed or deep-fried), a sunomono (something
vinegared) and a tomewan (final dish). On the simplest level a
kaiseki course consists of one soup and three side dishes (rice
and pickles are included but are not numbered among the dishes.)
Courses increase in complexity in odd increments to include
arrangements of five dishes (two of which are soup), seven,
nine, eleven, etc. Their contents and the order in which they are
served is left up to the chef's discretion.


● An Early Spring Restaurant-Style Kaiseki Set  ●

     

● An Autumn Restaurant-Style Kaiseki Set  ●




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