Photo/Illutration Acqua pazza of dried fish (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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While he was in college, Ryuta Kijima assisted an acquaintance who ran a clothing company and went on to work there for two years after graduation.

Although becoming a cooking expert was his desire when he was in high school, it was a time when there were not many male cooking experts around.

But when Kentaro, a cooking expert who usually uses only his first name, and others began to make their mark, Kijima, who could not get over his wish, made a direct plea to his mother, Naomi Kijima, to assign him to be her assistant.

While he worked as her assistant, he saw the emergence of cooking experts around his age who became popular through their blogs. Feeling increasingly impatient, Kijima told his mother that he wanted to strike out on his own as soon as possible.

Yet Naomi remained calm.

“It is easy to make a debut, but you will be gone quickly,” she said. “You should wait until you acquire more skills.”

Kijima knew that he would not have a chance if he did what his grandmother and mother had been doing. He thought perhaps there are ways to apply dishes served at restaurants to home cooking.

When he ran out of ideas, he would go to the supermarket to check out the ingredients. An aha moment came one day when he saw dried horse mackerel, whose recipe is introduced this week.

Even those who cannot fillet a fresh fish can cook simply by placing a piece of dried fish in the frying pan. It was indeed a recipe unique to Kijima, who applied dishes served at restaurants to home cooking.

The acqua pazza, which adorned the cover of his second recipe book titled “Ryuta no Furaipan Hitotsude Otoko Meshi” (Men’s cooking using just a frying pan by Ryuta), became a life-transforming dish.

Looking back, Kijima says the dishes he created in his 20s and 30s are something his grandmother or mother, who pursued “home cooking,” would not make. Having said that, he says he feels anew that he is “third in line.”

“The idea of focusing on dishes that use familiar ingredients and are easy to make for anyone is definitely that of my grandmother and mother,” says Kijima. “Nothing has changed on the philosophical level.”

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Ryuta Kijima:  Kijima was born in Tokyo in 1981. Professionally, the cooking expert is third in line, following his grandmother, Akiko Murakami, and mother, Naomi Kijima. He has an official YouTube channel called “Kijima Gohan.”

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Ryuta Kijima (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 large, dried horse mackerel (aji-no-himono), 200 grams asari clams (after removing sand), 1 clove garlic, 8 cherry tomatoes, bit of coarsely grated black pepper, 2 Tbsp olive oil, some baguette if preferred

1. Rinse asari clams and drain. If liquid has emerged from dried fish, pat dry with kitchen paper. Remove calyx from cherry tomatoes. Cut off hard end of garlic, squash with skin, remove skin and sprouts and chop.

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If liquid has emerged from dried fish, pat dry with cooking paper. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

2. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and garlic to frying pan, lay horse mackerel skin-side down and place on heat.

3. When fish has colored after about 3 minutes, turn sides. Add clams, cherry tomatoes, 150 ml water and simmer while shaking occasionally.

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When fish has colored after about 3 minutes, turn sides. Add clams, cherry tomatoes, 150 ml water and simmer while shaking occasionally. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

4. When clams open and tomatoes start to burst, add 1 Tbsp olive oil while shaking frying pan. Simmer for about 1 minute until sauce thickens somewhat.

5. Check taste and add salt if necessary and sprinkle black pepper. Serve with slices of baguette if preferred.

About 210 kcal and 1.9 grams salt per portion
(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column

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