Edomae bento from a popular Taishu Kappo that has been loved in Nihonbashi for over 60 years

2021.06.23

Nianago-iri Kaisen Bento (Boxed meal with seafoods including boiled conger eel) from Shiki Ryori Ikemasu

Text: Yuko Shibukawa  Photograph: Yumiko Miyahama

  • Nianago-iri Kaisen Bento (JPY 1,620) developed in response to a request from a department store for an event

Shiki Ryori Ikemasu is located near the Nihonbashi intersection, just around the corner from Chuo-dori. Going down the large staircase at the entrance, you will see a counter seat lined with sake.

 

There, I saw the Nianago-iri Kaisen Bento, my target for today. What a glittering bento! A whole boiled conger eel across the bento. All-star seafoods such as sea bream, abalone, shrimp, snow crab, and salmon roe are also elegantly arranged in front with bamboo shoots, snow peas, and hand-fried egg adding color.

 

But the quality of this bento wasn’t just in its appearance. Each seafood has been carefully cooked beforehand. Therefore, even though fresh seafoods are used, takeout is still available even in the coming hot season.

 

When I heard that, I remember the word “Edomae.” Edomae originally referred to the sea in front of Edo (Edo Bay). Eventually, it came to mean seafoods caught there as well. Until the Great Kanto Earthquake, Edomae seafoods were landed at the fish market at the foot of Nihonbashi. The abundance of freshly caught seafood gave birth to “Nigiri-zushi,” which is made by combining topping and rice. And nigiri sushi came to be called “Edomae-zushi,” in contrast to the Hako-zushi of the Kansai region, which is made by pressing into a wooden mold.

 

However, no matter how fresh seafoods are, no refrigerators were available at that time. The longer seafoods sit, the less fresh they become. So, they used their ingenuity to preserve the freshness of seafoods as much as possible by pickling them in vinegar or soy sauce. And that is the true essence of Edomae-zushi.

 

Edomae bento. That was my first impression, perhaps due to the location and the bento filled with shiny new toppings.

At a Taishu Kappo, you can enjoy dishes that the chef has put a lot of effort into and carefully selected sake at an affordable price.

  • The sign at the entrance to Ikemasu. The restaurant has the basement floor, the second floor, and spacious tatami seating.

  • Takahiro Kita, the third owner of Ikemasu, says that when he talks to customers over the counter about the food and alcohol, they are often convinced and enjoy the food.

So how does he actually cook? Takahiro Kita, the third owner of Ikemasu, explained the process, and I took notes.

 

For the boiled conger eel, he uses a young fish called mesokko, which is soft enough to cook so that the bones don’t become noticeable. To prevent turning black, he doesn’t overcook it but finishes it until it’s plump. As you like, you add sweet and salty nitsume that comes separately.

 

Shrimps are simmered in soy sauce (called shibani). Quickly cooked in ginger-flavored dashi broth so that they still retain their shine. Once cooked, they are left to cool in the pot in the broth to thoroughly soak up the flavors. Sea bream is marinated in kelp to bring out its flavor, and abalone is steamed in sake. Snow crab is seasoned with sweet vinegar, and salmon roe is marinated in the classic soy sauce. When bamboo shoots are in season, he uses fresh ones, and the way they are cooked changes depending on the season, making use of their aroma and texture and using light flavors.

 

Just hearing about how much effort it takes makes my eyes widen as I usually only cook quick meals. But as I listened to the history of the restaurant, I started to feel that it would be rude to ask why he put so much effort into their dishes.

 

Ikemasu was founded around 1950 as a yakitori restaurant in Akabane, Tokyo. Later, it was opened as an Izakaya at the current location near Tokyo Station in 1958 over 60 years ago. Since then, it has continued to provide alcohol and snacks as a place of relaxation for people working in the area. Kita describes this restaurant as a Taishu Kappo.

 

“I don’t use pre-made dishes. For example, for simmered spring bamboo shoots and seaweed, I buy fresh bamboo shoots and boil them in rice bran. For boiled soybeans, I buy vine soybeans, cut, and boil them here.”

 

Just like a traditional Japanese restaurant, the chefs put a lot of effort into the dishes they serve. However, prices are kept in check to make it easy for ordinary people to visit. Indeed, the handwritten menu posted inside the restaurant shows a wide selection of seasonal appetizers that seem to go well with alcohol, such as firefly squid with vinegared miso dressing and Yanaka ginger, priced in the 400-500 yen level. What’s more, excluding the standard menu items, the restaurant changes eight times a year with around 13 seasonal dishes.

  • The seasonal menu changes eight times a year: twelfth lunar month, spring, early summer, midsummer, late summer, fall, early winter, and winter

     

  • The restaurant also stocks alcohol that he personally tasted and is satisfied with. About 30 kinds of sake are provided at any one time. He changes the selection with the season. For example, chilled sake in the fall and the first pressing at the beginning of the year. There are six kinds of draft beer, and wines that have been selected for about 40 years to go well with Japanese food.

That’s not the only attention to details of foods. Not changing the flavor is another thing Ikemasu has maintained for a long time.

 

“I joined the restaurant about 10 years ago, and learned all the recipes from the head chef, who had been there for about 30 years at the time, and wrote them down. Although the way dishes are presented, such as the way they are served, has changed little by little to suit the times, the basic flavors have not. For example, whereas in the past I used decorative knives, now I simply present dishes to bring out the best in the ingredients themselves.”

 

Customers can enjoy the unchanging flavors of the seasons as they change. Perhaps that’s why the restaurant has been able to continue doing business for 50 years in this rapidly changing urban area. I heard that several customers have been coming to the restaurant for the 50 years since it opened. “People say things like, ‘This used to be a wooden building,’” Kita continued, laughing.

 

“The fact that some customers have been coming for years means that we’ve been able to provide the same taste. They are treasures to the restaurant.”

 

Taste memories embodied in neat work

  • The expiration date for Nianago-iri Kaisen Bento is within seven hours. Thanks to the Edomae work, it can be carried at room temperature.

     

  • Popular takeout Dashimaki Tamago Sandwich (JPY 864). Dashimaki Tamago (fried beaten eggs mixed with dashi broth soup), full of dashi, and the mustard mayonnaise on the bread go perfectly together. It’s filling, but you can eat it all in one go.

After returning from the interview, I opened the bento I brought home. First, I cut a plump, soft conger eel with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth. The subtle sweetness of the seasoning brought out the light flavor of the conger eel.

 

Shrimp, soaked in dashi, had a firm, satisfying sweetness that comes through. Soft, hand-fried egg is not too sweet, and has just the right amount of saltiness. When I eat something carefully prepared, I think I naturally slow down the pace of eating, but my chopsticks keep moving. The light seasoning, salty abalone, crunchy bamboo shoots, and other ingredients are perfectly balanced in both taste and texture, making it impossible to stop eating.

 

What surprised me was the chewy deliciousness of the white rice, which perfectly held the glittering toppings. Kita told me that every year he tastes Koshi Hikari from various regions and choose the one he thinks the best, so that rice alone is delicious enough. He also said that he still adhered to the old teaching that rice in restaurants should be cooked soft. Bento rice tends to be hard and dry, but there is not a trace of that tastelessness in this rice.

 

I suddenly remember that in the middle of his talk, Kita said, “Actually, the previous founder of the restaurant was my grandfather.”

 

“My grandfather didn’t cook in the restaurant himself, but he went to Tsukiji to check ingredients and try out popular restaurants, and he was very enthusiastic about developing new menus. When he ate favorite dishes somewhere, he reproduced them at home and for us.”

 

Sadly, Kita’s grandfather passed away when he was 11 years old. But the dishes made by his grandfather, which became the starting point for the restaurant’s flavors, are surely etched deep in his memory.

 

The wisdom of Edo and the flavor his grandfather aimed for. These two elements are combined in this elegant bento. Although the restaurant is forced to suspend evening operation due to the state of emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this bento connects the restaurant to its customers and delivers the same unchanging flavors.

INFORMATION

Shiki Ryori Ikemasu Nihonbashi Ten

Address

2-2-6 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku

TEL

+81 (0) 3-3271-5685

Business hours:

Lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m./Dinner 4 to 11 p.m.

Regular holidays:

Sundays and public holidays

Website

http://ikemasu.jp/

Notes

*During the state of emergency and priority measures to prevent the spread of infection, opening hours will be shortened, and Saturdays and evenings will be closed. Please call for details.