Pluck and pull

I’ve been making an effort to get out of the house more. I fear another lockdown is coming our way as coronavirus diagnoses are on the rise again. We have been beating records again and again. Yesterday over 2,100 new cases were reported in Japan. While this number isn’t anything compared to many other countries around the world, it is the most Japan has ever seen. I can’t help feeling like I need to take in as much oxygen as I can before another deep dive into the unknown.

I have been meeting with friends in the park for picnics, strolls, and chats. Outdoors is best for many things, including getting a dose of vitamin D. So, I’m getting my allotment of both interaction with humans as well as desperately needed immunity boosting vitamins.

I’ve also been trying to say yes more, instead of staying secluded at home. So when a family friend invited us out for a day at a farm, we jumped at the chance. I wasn’t willing to carpool, but my husband was willing to rent a car to have a day out in the countryside.

The friend’s family participates in a tax program, called Furosato Noze (foo-row-saw-toe no-zay), where they pay taxes in a city they do not reside in and they are rewarded with gifts. Something like 91% of people in Japan live in major cities. So small towns struggle to survive due to a lack of tax funding for infrastructure. By creating this tax program, the country can spread the wealth a bit. Participating in the program takes a little bit of work to set it up. So, to entice people to pay their taxes in their town, incentives that are special to the region are offered. Many people chose programs that send them gifts of food. Our friend selected a program where he can take his family out to a farm eight or nine times a year to plant and harvest produce. They can invite people to go with to share their rewards, if they so desire.

We headed out early in our rental car, following the friend’s car, for the hour and a half drive. It didn’t feel long at all before we were surrounded by farmed fields and tree covered hills. We parked in a grassy area in the middle of a farm. The kids quickly disappeared toward a play area while the adults got situated and our friend registered everyone.

This farm day featured two popular fall treats - picking kiwi and pulling daikon. Although we picked kiwi just the week before, we were excited to do it again in the beautiful setting of the farm. The kiwi vines were small in quantity, but the fruit was extremely plentiful. Obviously the plant loves having the space and healthy soil of the countryside. It didn’t take long for the kids to fill the bag given to us by the farmers - the amount allotted for each family participating in the tax program.

Next, we headed over to the daikon field. Our friends had planted a row of daikon earlier in the year and now we were getting to harvest them. We were given shovels to aid in getting the long root vegetables out of the ground. Not wanting to break them, we loosened the dirt and the kids wiggled the daikon until it could be easily pulled out. We harvested 20 or so daikon and only broke one of them. These kids are professionals!

The day before our excursion, I contacted our friend to ask what we should do for lunch. We had the option of going out to eat or having a BBQ. I wanted to have a BBQ, so I called and got details because a BBQ in Japan is very different than in the US. The farm had a BBQ area where we could rent a grill for ¥1500 ($14.50USD) for the afternoon. We decided to bring yakiniku (grilled meat and vegetables) as well as yakisoba (grilled noodles with meat and vegetables). The BBQ area was very nice.

The adults settled in to cook while the kids ran up a huge hill and rode a huge roller slide back down several times. I even went on it more than once. It was so much fun.

The time spent at the farm was so much fun. The kids all had a blast and the adults had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the outdoors. What a great way to get more mileage out of your tax dollars!



*****************************************



Once home, I looked up recipes for daikon. I wanted to use the daikon, as well as yuzu that another friend brought me as a gift. I ended up making this one - which was a huge hit - based on a iheartumami.com recipe.


DAIKON WITH CHICKEN IN YUZU SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
1 lb Daikon radish
1 lb Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
10 mushrooms, optional
1 tbsp potato starch
1.5 tbsp olive oil
2.5 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1.5 tbsp yuzu juice
1.5 tbsp soysauce
2 tbsp green onions, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Slice off both ends of the daikon radish. Peel off the outer skin. Dice it to cube shape, about 1 to 1 ½ -inch cubes.
2. Dice the chicken to 1 ½ -inch bite sizes.
3. Slice off the bottom end of the mushrooms and break them to pieces, if using.
4. In a small bowl, make a slurry with starch and 1 tbsp water.
5. Preheat a large stir-fry pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the oil, chicken, ginger, and 1 tsp salt. Sauté for about 3 minutes.
6. Add stock, daikon radish, and mushrooms. Make sure the radish cubes are in contact with the liquid. Cover with a lid and bring it to boil, about 3-4 minutes.
7. Then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the daikon turns soft and can easily be poked through with a fork or chopstick. The color will turn from pale to translucent. Stir the pot periodically to ensure even cooking.
8. Season with yuzu juice and soy sauce. Stir the slurry one more time before adding it to the pot. Gently toss for 30 seconds to thicken the sauce. Off heat, taste and add more salt, if desired.
9. Garnish with green onions. Serve warm.