If I could find a pearl in my kaki-furai?

Yes, it’s oysters… So let’s bite one to see if I can find one of the famous Japanese pearl.

No luck. Next one…

I will not complete my collar today. At least, you can see the oyster retained its pearly color and glow. It is hot but not over-cooked. And around, it’s crunchy. Oishii ! Delicious.

Kaki-furai is kaki (oyster) and the English world “fry” that they pronounce furai). It’s one of the Yoshoku (Western cuisine) dish, that mean the first versions of European and American recipes that were adapted and served in Japan.

Kaki-furai is simple to do… And easy, after you missed 2 or 3.

Japan was once famous over the world for its abundant production of pearls. They mastered the trick to cultivate them before others. They are still a major producer.

(yeah, they sell them, I have no relation with that page but send me a few if you want)

Well, there were oyster parks in the bay of Kobe, before the city was build. But now, you have more chances to find pearls there (many traders and artisans) than oysters to eat. There are a few artificial islands and an airport floating in the bay. So they moved the production to Hiroshima, Ise, etc.

How to :

-Rinse shelled oysters. Drain them.

-Prepare a cup of batter : Whisk egg and water, add flour.

-Prepare a saucer of panko. It’s rough white bread crumbs. Here it’s sold cheaply everywhere. But no need to import some, it’s easy to make. Just grate (with the stuff to julienne veggies) the white part of sandwich bread.

-Prepare a saucer of flour.

-Heat 4 centimers of frying oil (I used rapeseed) to 160 degrees C, in thick bottom pan.

-Pass one oyster in flour, then in batter, then in panko.

-Put it in the oil.

-Take it out when it is orange on all sides. Check that it’s crispy around and not too cooked inside. If it’s not well, tweak the oil temperature and cooking time.

-Put on a grill while you do the others. Serve hot.

Sauces :

I simply used Ikari so-su (Ikari sauce, it’s a Worcester sauce) and sudachi lemon.

Other possibilities exist, like tonkatsu sauce, ponzu, tartar sauce…

The fried items are often served with shredded cabbage (much finer than that usually, but I had the tender heart of a small cabbage). The reason is raw cabbage favors digestion of fat food. It’s possible to add a dressing.