We went to a Hiroshima cuisine restaurant in Ginza. Hiroshima is famous for oysters and seafood. Sashimi course was super fresh. Fried oysters and oyster rice were sublime. Those large oysters were so plump and rich.
Then, each of us were served an individual size donabe hot pot dish. It's called Lemon Nabe (lemon hot pot), which has become a local specialty of Hiroshima past years. Hiroshima is also known as the largest lemon producing region in Japan. In a small donabe, sea bream head, pork belly, oysters, and vegetables were cooked in a lemon-dashi broth, then to finish, the dish was topped with slices of lemon and green onion and cooked (covered) for extra minute or so. Hiroshima lemons are quite delicate and mild, so we were encouraged to eat the lemon slices, too. The dish was really delicious! it was rich in all the flavors and somewhat refreshing at the same time.
Once I return to LA, I want to recreate a lemon hot pot with California meyer lemon in my classic-style donabe!
We talked and laughed over wonderful meal. Happy donabe time.
