By Bruce Rutledge 
Photos by CC Yaguchi

The Japanese izakaya has an all-embracing attitude when it comes to cuisine. “Anything goes,” says Yoshinao Matsumoto, owner and chef at Setsuna Japanese Restaurant and Bar on Seattle’s north side. “It’s a global approach with lots of different choices.”
In Japan, an izakaya menu rarely features sushi, which is considered more upscale, and often includes non-Japanese fare such as kimchi and pizza. The atmosphere is akin to a house party with really good food.
Today’s izakayas are getting more down-home than ever, partly because of the sputtering global economy. One popular izakaya that opened last year in Tokyo’s Nakano neighborhood is called Seihin (“purely poor”). It was designed to look like an urban campground complete with a kitchen where guests cook their own food. The prices are comparable to supermarket prices and beers sell for 199 yen, or about $2.30, so even those strapped for cash can have a night on the town.
That’s the nature of izakayas: they’re about having fun and good food at an affordable price.
Food at an izakaya is served on small plates, and the atmosphere is more laid back than at a sushi bar. At an izakaya, it’s okay to be loud, hoist an oversized mug of beer and order plate after plate of food. In fact, it’s encouraged.
Yuki Tanaka, president and CEO of Safari Group, runs a string of successful izakayas in Japan. When he turned to the US to expand his business, he chose Seattle because of its nascent foodie culture and its relatively high standard of living. There is more room for a restaurant to grow than in New York or Los Angeles, he says, and more hunger for new types of dining. Three years ago, Safari Group opened Issian in the Wallingford neighborhood.
“There is a saying in Japan that food is culture,” Tanaka says. “You begin to understand a culture by tasting its cuisine.”
After building his business in Kansai and spending years behind a desk, Tanaka decided to refresh himself by working in the kitchen of an izakaya on Okinawa that served Osaka food to the locals. “I wanted to work in a restaurant again and rub shoulders with the staff and the customers,” he said. Now he’s out to make Issian as authentic an izakaya as possible, he says.
Tanaka makes sure that each of his izakayas has a reputation for being the best at at least one dish or style of cooking. One chain specializes in grilled beef tongue, another in Kansai-style cuisine, and another (including Seattle’s Issian) features a stone grill.
Izakaya culture in Japan sprang from sake shops that wanted to give their customers a place to sit and eat something. As the stores developed and added items to their menus, they would feature local specialties, known as kyodo ryori, a practice that today’s izakayas continue and something that should be near and dear to Seattle’s locavore heart.
In the Pacific Northwest, our growing number of izakayas offer a potpourri of regional dishes made with different cooking styles. If you want a quick tour of Japan via Seattle izakayas, try the stone grill dishes of Issian, which originated off the coast of Fukuoka on Tsushima Island; the Osaka-style deep-fried kushi katsu skewers at Miyabi Sushi; the Kansai-inspired ikayaki (grilled squid) of Maekawa or the simple Tokyo-style soy-sauce ramen of Setsuna (great for after you’ve finished drinking).
Tanaka explains that different regions in Japan became famous for different dishes or cooking styles. Robatayaki, where raw food is laid out in front of the customer, grilled right in front of him or her, then served on a long wooden plank to keep the chef and diner out of the fire, first flourished in Hokkaido. Sendai is known for its delicious grilled beef tongue, known as gyutan. And Kyoto’s vegetables, called kyo-yasai are famous throughout Japan. Just about every region in Japan has a specialty, and the best place to find that specialty is at your local izakaya.
On the following, we describe the basic cooking styles used in an izakaya kitchen:

• Yakimono
• Agemono
• Nimono
• Chinmi
• Osaka Cuisine

Yakimono

Yakimono is the term the Japanese use for grilled dishes. A traditional Japanese grill will use binchotan, Japanese charcoal made from oak trees and with no chemical additives. There’s no smoke with this kind of charcoal. It gives off an infrared glow that is excellent for roasting. Chicken is one of the most common grilled items, but as Harold Fields of Umami Kushi catering service says, “If you can get it on a skewer, you can grill it.” Fields imports his charcoal from Japan to give his grilled items that authentically Japanese taste.
Fields learned the art of grilling at the well-known Tokyo izakaya Gonpachi, working from 7am to 7pm six days a week. Today, he caters events in Seattle and serves up skewers of grilled chicken and other meats and vegetables just like in Japan. “It’s all about the quality of the bird,” he says. “I sometimes buy free-range chickens at the Columbia City Farmer’s Market … I make my own seasoning salt, too, using Japanese sansho pepper, fresh sea salt and lemon kosho (pepper), which is similar to the yuzu kosho in Japan.”
Another type of grilling – stone grilling – has been used in Japan for centuries by fishermen who would cook their catch on stones that retained the sun’s heat. Issian in Wallingford features both a standard grill and the stone grill. Fish and steaks roasted on the stone grill retain their flavor and juices; skewered items roasted over coals take on a smoky flavor, explains Head Chef Yuta Sugimoto.

In Belltown, Kushi Bar serves up skewers in its simple picnic-bench front porch or in the more stylish dining and bar area. The taste is simple and authentic, like the street food you find in Japan. The Japanese practice thrift in their diet, which means just about every part of an animal is used. Grilled chicken hearts, cartilage, thigh and breast meat, liver and skin all end up on skewers, flavored with salt or sauce. Pork, beef and vegetables are also popular to grill. And don’t miss Issian’s baby octopus on a skewer. As Fields says, eating on skewers probably predates eating on plates, giving yakimono an “ancient, rustic” quality.

Umami Kushi (www.umamikushi.com) grills up authentic yakimono dishes at Seattle area events. Chef Fields imports his charcoal and creates his own seasoning to bring out the taste of the chicken, vegetables and other grilled meats. The grill doesn’t smoke and the infrared heat cooks the meat just right. It’s a tasty twist on the typical summer barbecue.

Issian (www.issian-seattle.com) Chef Sugimoto stone grills his filets so that the beef retains its natural juices. The special Issian sauce lightly poured on top is a “creamy ponzu” mix, Sugimoto says.	Gyutan (Beef Tongue) grilled at Issian.

The baby octopus on skewers is a hit with Issian regulars in part because of its exotic look. Bite into it, and the textury but tender tako will win you over.	Grilled hokke (atka mackerel) at Issian.

Agemono

Agemono refers to deep-fried dishes in Japan. It’s a general term applied to all sorts of deep-fried dishes, from Setsuna’s crisp fish fry to Maekawa’s tori sembei (breaded chicken cooked to a golden brown) to the kushi katsu (deep-fried items on skewers) found at Miyabi Sushi and Setsuna. Chicken and pork are the most commonly featured meats, but all sorts of vegetables can be used, including green onions, shiitake mushrooms and asparagus.
An agemono nabe is a Japanese pot that looks like a Chinese wok and is especially good for cooking deep-fried items. They are typically made out of cast iron and can handle very high temperatures. Pour in vegetable oil and heat to about 350 F to cook.
Agedashidofu, or deep-fried tofu steeped in a fish-stock broth, is another popular dish. The tofu is lightly dusted with cornstarch, cooked until golden brown, then served in a broth of dashi, soy sauce and mirin. 
Other popular agemono dishes found at a local izakaya include karage  (bite-sized pieces of chicken, fish or beef), croquettes filled with mashed potatoes or ground beef and vegetables, and tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet). Tempura is also a type of agemono.

Chef Matsumoto of Setsuna (setsunarestaurant.com) serves up chicken and fish fried to a golden brown. The fish fry comes with a tartar sauce; the crunchy exterior gives way to the soft white fish inside.	The classic chicken karaage of Setsuna is an izakaya staple in Japan. It is crunchy on the outside, juicy on the middle and goes well with a healthy spritz of lemon. And it’s not nearly as greasy as Western fried chicken.
Maekawa’s tori sembei is chicken pounded down to make it tender, then battered, covered in cornflakes and fried until golden. It comes with a mixture of soy sauce, mayonnaise and spices to add a little zest.

Nimono

Nimono refers to simmered dishes and slow-cooking stews. Typically, the dishes are simmered in a mixture of soy sauce, sake and mirin. Sugar and vinegar are also commonly used.
One of the most popular styles of nimono cooking is nitsuke, where fish is simmered briefly in a broth. Other forms of nimono are more akin to country stews, like beef-tongue stew, motsuni (stewed small pig intestines served with burdock, carrots, mushrooms and other vegetables at Miyabi Sushi) and kakuni (a Nagasaki specialty on the menu at Maekawa where braised pork is simmered for four hours until it practically melts in your mouth). Many of these dishes are thick with vegetables, making for a hearty, healthy meal.
But if beef tongue or pig innards are not your thing, there are plenty of semi-vegetarian options too. Many nimono dishes feature kabocha pumpkin, tofu, daikon radishes, lotus root and shiitake mushrooms, and you’ll find nimono vegetables in a lot of bento box lunches. But remember that the vegetables are typically simmered in dashi fish stock, making the finished product more pescatarian than vegetarian.
Heavy covered pots are used to prepare most nimono dishes. The broth is called nijiru.

Maekawa in the International District slow-cooks its kakuni dish of pork and vegetables for four hours before serving. It’s the sort of dish that warms you all over. The dollop of togarashi mustard adds an extra kick. The broth infuses everything in the stew with a depth of flavor.	You’ve never tasted pig intestines like the ones served at Miyabi Sushi (www.miyabisushi.com). Simmered in a dashi broth, the intestines are tender and delectable, as are the accompanying vegetables.
Nimono dishes often use fish. Local halibut kama is simmered slowly at New Zen Japanese Restaurant (www.newzensushi.com).	Baby octopus and Japanese vegitable simmered at New Zen Japanese Restaurant.
The niku tofu dish at  the recently relocated Kiku Sushi (www.kikusushi.com) comes in a large sukiyaki-style pot.

Chinmi

Chinmi is a Japanese term used to describe a delicacy that is only known in one locality or is no longer in vogue. These are the rare or overlooked dishes. In Seattle, an example of chinmi would be the tasty, tender sea snails at Issian that you coax out of the shells with a toothpick or the unusual and popular uni shot at Miyabi Sushi, which Ibuki’s photographer CC Yaguchi had the chance to sample: “The creaminess of the (quail) egg and the uni (sea urchin) blends in a citrusy ponzu, and then you get a little zip from the wasabi.” Yum.
In Japan, a typical chinmi dish would be shiokara, or salted squid fermented in its own guts. Another would be ankimo, a dish made with monkfish liver. The liver is rubbed with salt, soaked in sake, de-veined and served in a ponzu sauce. Think of it as Japanese foie gras. In fact, the Japanese consider foie gras one of the world’s three great chinmi. The other two are caviar and truffles. In Japan, the Big Three would be uni, karasumi (salted and dried mullet roe) and konowata, a type of shiokara made from the sea cucumber.

The unusual and popular uni shot at Miyabi Sushi (www.miyabisushi.com), which Ibuki’s photographer CC Yaguchi had the chance to sample: “The creaminess of the (quail) egg and the uni (sea urchin) blends in a citrusy ponzu, and then you get a little zip from the wasabi.” Yum.	Sea Snails (Nagarami) at Issian Japanese Stone Grill (www.issian-seattle.com).

Osaka Cuisine

Osaka is known as Japan’s culinary capital, although you might get some debate from Tokyo and Kyoto denizens. Street food abounds in Japan’s second city, whether it’s skewers of kushi-katsu, okonomiyaki (think Japanese pizza) or takoyaki (deep-fried octopus topped with bonito shavings and sauce — a staple of Japanese festivals). Few cities love their food as much as Osaka does. They even have a word for it: kuidoraku, or “pleasure of eating.”
In Seattle, Osaka dishes can be found at many Japanese restaurants. Try the ikayaki (grilled squid in an omelet) at Maekawa, the kushi-katsu at Setsuna and Miyabi, takoyaki at Maekawa and Kushibar, or the okonomiyaki at Mashiko and Boom Noodle. Or ask your server for a good recommendation. If he or she is from Osaka, you’re bound to get plenty because Osakans not only love to eat, they love to talk about food too.

Takoyaki is a festival favorite in Japan. The lightly battered octopus is deep-fried and sprinkled with fish savings and sauce. Try it at Maekawa, which also serves up the Kansai favorite, ikayaki, a plate of squid and eggs sprinkled with aonori seaweed and mayonnaise. The dish comes to your table looking like nothing more than an omelet, but cut out a piece and flip it over and the succulent squid tentacles are exposed.
Osaka style Kushikatsu at Miyabi Sushi

Related article: IZAKAYA - Japanesee dining with a common touch

Info:
Setsuna Japanese Restaurant and Bar
(206) 417-3175 | 11204 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle
www.setsunarestaurant.com
Umami Kushi Catering
(206) 265-1923
www.umamikushi.com
Kushibar
(206) 448-2488 | 2319 2nd Ave, Seattle
www.kushibar.com
Issian Japanese Stone Grill
(206) 632-7010 | 1618 N 45th St, Seattle
www.issian-seattle.com/
Maekawa Bar
(206) 622-0634 | 601 S King St # 206,Seattle
New Zen Japanese Restaurant
(425) 254-1599 | 10720 SE Carr Rd, Renton
www.newzensushi.com/
Miyabi Restaurant
(206) 575-6815 | 16820 Southcenter Parkway, Tukwila
www.miyabisushi.com/
Kiku Sushi
(425 644-2358 | 13112 NE 20th St, Ste 200, Bellevue
www.kikusushi.com/

Related article: IZAKAYA - Japanesee dining with a common touch