By HIROSHI ONO/ Staff Writer
January 12, 2023 at 07:30 JST
The Navy Curry Gozen course meal served at Shoeikan in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, since Dec. 1 includes, clockwise from top right, consomme soup, Japanese-style curry, dried radish strips and fried tofu simmered together, “nikujaga” simmered beef and potato stew, salad with seasonal vegetables, creme caramel and traditional Navy curry. (Provided by Shoeikan)
MAIZURU, Kyoto Prefecture--A Japanese naval hero once described as “the Nelson of the East” would feel right at home savoring the new menu offered at a restaurant here that in his time operated as a favored ryokan.
The establishment, Shoeikan, recently started serving a full-course meal consisting of Kyoto-style cuisine items and curry dishes based on recipes developed by the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Navy.
The restaurant opened initially as a ryokan here in 1904, three years after the Navy established a key base nearby.
Its clientele included Adm. Heihachiro Togo, who made his name in the Japanese-Russo War of 1904–1905 and served as the first commander of the base, as well as other high-ranking Navy brass.
Currently, the restaurant serves navy dishes based on recipes from “Kaigun Kappojutsu Sankosho” (reference book of navy cooking techniques) published by Maizuru Kaiheidan (naval corps) in 1908.
The new Kaigun Kappojutsu Course meal was jointly developed by chief chef Hajime Isshiki, 55, and Yoji Satake, 47, an executive chef at Minokichi Inc., a Kyoto-style Japanese restaurant chain operator.
It starts with an appetizer salad topped with slices of salt-pickled beef tongue, followed by “nikujaga” (simmered beef and potato stew) and a bite-sized Navy Curry dish that is a regular fixture of the Shoeikan menu.
The main course is a Japanese-style Navy Curry dish that comes with rice cooked with barley and a fish croquette.
“The savoriness of the dashi stock is not compromised by the strong flavors of our spices. It made me realize how deep the art of Kyoto cuisine can be,” Isshiki said.
Satake noted that by making use of the golden combination of ‘usukuchi’ shoyu (light-colored soy sauce) and sweet mirin sake, “it has become a curry dish that is worthy of being promoted to the world from Maizuru.”
The special course meal is offered for 4,000 yen ($30), including tax.
Reservations must be made a day in advance.
For inquiries, visit the official website at (https://shoueikan.com/).
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