By ORINA SAKAKIBARA/ Staff Writer
April 4, 2022 at 10:00 JST
An employee of the Sadakuro restaurant in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, shows a strawberry pizza and a thick strawberry sushi roll for take-out on Feb. 17. (Orina Sakakibara)
YASUGI, Shimane Prefecture—A restaurant specializing in premium “kaiseki” multicourse meals is using strawberries in pizzas, spring rolls, sushi rice and other items to entertain diners with the in-season fruit.
Jun Ikeda, 55, the proprietor of Sadakuro in the Minami-Tokamicho district, has been offering original strawberry-themed dishes around this time of the year annually since 2014.
The Ichigo Kaiseki, priced at 5,830 yen ($49), comes with a hot pot cooked with strawberry puree to add sweetness to “dashi” stock, a grilled side dish with strawberries sandwiched between slices of “aigamo” duck loin, and a strawberry jelly with grated radish for dessert.
One new offering this year is a strawberry pizza for take-out, priced at 980 yen.
Instead of tomato sauce, the pizza is baked with strawberries cooked down to a sauce, with raw strawberries placed on the top.
The restaurant recommends adding wasabi for a spicy flavor.
Participants of a Feb. 17 tasting event said they were surprised by the tasty food combinations and fascinated by the visuals of red strawberries featured in each dish.
They took pictures of the plates with their smartphones.
In Yasugi, 67 strawberry farmers ship a total of about 145 tons between November and May.
Sadakuro serves strawberry-themed dishes until early May.
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