Photo/Illutration Stewed oxtail (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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Many Japanese chefs who had trained in Italy opened their own restaurants to serve authentic Italian dishes in Japan back in the 1980s. Ristorante Al Porto, which chef Mamoru Kataoka owns, opened in 1983 in Tokyo’s Nishi-Azabu district. The restaurant will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year.

Although Kataoka remained active at the forefront of an Italian cuisine craze that swept through Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, he says he had doubts about his abilities until he was in his 40s.

He recalls thinking, “I have not trained for years at restaurants, nor do I have any solid skills.”

Yet it was his experiences exploring various restaurants and learning home cooking around Italy that sustained him.

“The dishes are an expression of the life I have led,” he said. “That means I must continue eating tasty things.

“I want to visit new restaurants if they open in Japan, as well as in Italy, Spain, France and China.”

He tried stewed oxtail in Rome while living in Italy and was greatly impressed by it. It is a traditional local dish that sprung from the presence of a meat-processing plant in the city. 

The oxtail is simmered with a generous amount of celery and tomato.

For comparison, there is a staple French dish in which oxtail is simmered in red wine. It is known for its thick, rich red wine sauce.

The stewed oxtail from Rome tastes more refreshing than its French counterpart thanks to the amount of celery used.

The tender meat, cooked for a long time, also goes well with the rounded sourness of the tomato. It can also be used as pasta sauce and enjoyed with spaghetti.

Kataoka feels he overcame his self-doubts when he reached his 50s.

“I incorporated the dishes, which I thought tasted good, in my own way to create my own culinary world,” Kataoka said. “I will continue with my own cooking because I think it is my life’s work.”

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Mamoru Kataoka: Born in Tokyo in 1948, Kataoka is the owner and chef of an Italian restaurant. In 1968, he went to Milan, Italy, as a cook for the consul general. His published books include “Ma gohan; 0 sai karano aijo reshipi” (Meals for grandchildren: Loving recipes from infancy).

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Mamoru Kataoka (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serve three)

1 oxtail (between 800 grams and 1 kg, skinned and cut up), 1 carrot (3-cm-thick slice), 1 and 1/2 onion, 8 to 9 celery stalks, 4 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic, some flour, 1 cup red wine, 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, 1 cup bouillon or water, some finely chopped parsley

1. Peel carrot and onion. Remove leaves and strings from 1 celery stalk. Finely chop all of them.

2. Remove leaves and strings from rest of celery, cut in half lengthwise and cut into pieces 7 to 8 cm long.

3. Pour 2 Tbsp olive oil in pot with garlic, place on low heat and stir-fry until golden. Add (1) and stir-fry on low heat for about an hour without burning.

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Sprinkle salt and pepper on the oxtail. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

4. Sprinkle oxtail lightly with salt and pepper and dust with flour. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in frying pan and cook oxtail until brown.

5. To (3) add (4), red wine, tomato, bouillon or water. Skim off foam and simmer on low heat while mixing. After simmering for about an hour, add (2) and stew for another 1 to 2 hours until oxtail becomes tender. Add salt and pepper to taste

6. Serve oxtail and celery on plate. Pour sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

About 1,090 kcal and 2.5 grams salt per portion

(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

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This column, translated from The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column, will next appear on Jan. 26.

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