Cherry blossom enchantment
Vancouver celebrates spring Japanese- style dining on ( and under) a profusion of pink blooms
Vancouver is dressed in shocking pink with the explosions of cherry blossoms in full show- off gear. Celebrating their magnificence is a Japanese import I like very much.
For an entertaining read on the Japanese enthusiasm for cherry blossoms, you should read Hitching Rides with Buddha by Canadian humorist Will Ferguson. He hitchhikes 2,900 kilometres from the southern to northern tip of Japan following the cherry blossom front ( sakura zensen), joining the national sport of picnicking under cherry blossoms.
Cherry blossom enchantment goes beyond the sheer beauty. It’s a touching sight that’s heartbreakingly transient and a gentle reminder of mortality. No wonder cherry blossoms have such a huge symbolic role in Japanese culture.
In Vancouver, the annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival sees to it that we celebrate the beautiful entrée into spring. The festival goes from April 4 to 30 with entertainment ( ukulele celebration, taiko, flash mob umbrella dancers, origami making, 1,000 balloon haikus …), food events, blossom maps, talks and walks, and biking along blossom routes.
On the food front, on April 4, at the Cherry Jam at Burrard SkyTrain Station, you can picnic under the cherry trees next to the concourse. Four top Japanese chefs will have created a $ 20 Sakura Bento lunch ( order online at vcbf.ca or hope for one of about 50 sold during Cherry Jam). The bento won’t contain cherry blossom dishes. For such a dish, you’ll have to go to a good Japanese restaurant as the really
We keep it very simple because we wanted to keep the flavour of the cherry blossom.
KAZUHIRO HAYASHI SUSHI CHEF AT MINAMI AND MIKU JAPANESE RESTAURANTS
flavourful cherry blossoms aren’t an everyday ingredient.
Kazuhiro Hayashi, the sushi chef at Minami and Miku Japanese restaurants, has created a couple of sushi rolls that will be served at Minami for the duration of the Cherry Blossom Festival. You can see the pink of the pickled cherry blossom through the sliced white Amberjack fish on the outside of the sushi roll. “We keep it very simple because we wanted to keep the flavour of the cherry blossom,” says Hayashi.
The other sushi roll makes use of cherry blossom salt on the sushi. Inside the roll, he includes nano hana, a spring vegetable like young broccoli. “We made the cherry salt ourselves,” he says.
Japanese cherry blossoms are salt pickled ( salt is washed off before use), as they are so delicate and prone to damage. This year, as Miku restaurant is in the process of moving ( to 200 Granville, into the same building as The Vancouver Sun) during the Cherry Blossom Festival, Hayashi’s cherry blossom sushi are only available at Minami Restaurant.
“I remember every year in Kyoto, my relatives would get together once a year under the cherry trees. It was very beautiful,” says Hayashi. “It was more for adults because they’d drink beer and sake under the tree but it was fun for the kids because everyone was happy. We’d bring snacks like chicken karaage, rice bowls and sakura mocha ( a rice pastry filled with bean paste). The mocha would be wrapped in a cherry tree leaf.” Here in Vancouver, he continues the tradition, going to the Burrard SkyTrain Station Park with his wife and daughter. “We don’t drink. We watch the beautiful cherry blossoms and chat.”
Chef Hidekazu Tojo makes a special cherry blossom dish at his restaurant, Tojo’s, every year. In fact, this year, Tojo’s restaurant and staff will be donating $ 20,000 to the Sakura Line 311, a Japanese project to plant 17,000 cherry blossom trees demarcating the reach of the tsunami. The money will pay for about 2,000 cherry trees. An employee cycled across Canada raising awareness and funds, and the restaurant raised money with the Yoshi sushi roll, named for the employee.
On Tojo’s menu this year, he’s offering a salad with a cherry blossom vinaigrette. The salad, with scallops, abalone mushroom, cucumber, prawns and nano hana has a distinctive cherry blossom flavour and colour, he says. The cherry blossoms are from Kyoto and have more flavour than the blossoms on our streets. The semi- precious blossoms are about 70 cents to $ 1 per blossom.
“I make something with cherry blossoms every year. But many people are waiting for this salad,” he says, of the dish he’s served in previous years.
For more information on the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, go to vcbf.ca.