Sublime

‘From top left,’ began Nagare, tucking the tray under his arm, ‘Miyajima oysters, simmered Kurama-style, miso-glazed baked butterburs with millet cake, bracken and bamboo shoot stew, chargrilled moroko, breast of Kyoto-reared chicken with a wasabi dressing, and vinegared Wakasa mackerel wrapped in pickled Shogoin turnip. In the bottom right you

‘Well then, Mr Taro Yamada. Let’s get to business. What dish are you looking for?’ asked Koishi. ‘I’d like you to help me with a certain kind of mackerel sushi.’ ‘What kind, exactly?’ asked Koishi, scribbling away with her pen. ‘The refined type they serve at the Izu restaurant? Or something a bit more rough and ready, like you get at Hanaori?’

• 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, split


• 2 shallots, split


• 1 garlic bulb, split


• 11⁄2 cups sake


• 1⁄3 cup maple syrup


• 1⁄3 cup soy sauce


• 1 cup chicken stock


• 1 4x6inch piece of kombu


• 2 lbs skinless pork belly


• 1 Tbsp cornstarch


• 2 tsp water


• 2 tsp rice vinegar


• Sliced scallions, for serving


• Maple furikake, for

Chef Sati Invites You to Dinner Chef Sati—a chef and Buddhist teacher—invited us to dinner to introduce us to the art of mindful cooking and eating. He promised that his dishes would enlighten our senses and that the evening would simply be an opportunity to touch the joy of life, but we would all have to take an active part in the meal. He placed