Parippu is to Sri Lankan cuisine as adasi is to Iranian cuisine. They’re both lentil stews, but the difference is all in the seasonings.
I grew up with adasi, redolent with garlic, onions, turmeric, and angelica powder. These days, I’ve developed a taste for parippu, which soaks up the flavors of coconut milk, lemongrass, curry leaves, and chiles. This is comfort food at its finest. Best of all, it tastes even better the next day.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound red lentils
2 cups water
1 onion, chopped
2 green chiles, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/8 teaspoon pandanus/pandan leaf extract (optional)
2-inch stalk lemongrass
1 cinnamon stick
1 cardamom pod
1 clove
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
salt
1 sprig curry leaves
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 dry red chiles
1. Wash and drain lentils.
2. Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Add lentils, half of the onion, green chiles, garlic, pandanus extract, lemongrass, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod, clove, and turmeric. Cover and simmer until lentils are soft, about 25 minutes.
3. Add coconut milk and salt. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. In another pan, heat oil for tempering. Saute onions and curry leaves until onions are translucent. Add mustard seeds and dry red chiles. Fry until mustard seeds begin to pop, about 1 or 2 minutes. Pour over lentils and mix well.
Sri Lankan cuisine is under the radar in the U.S. and it’s a shame. I’ve been lucky to taste so many Sri Lankan dishes with Nishan’s family and these days, I’m learning to cook it myself. It’s fiery, vibrant, and the flavors are an amalgamation of Sri Lanka’s history. The rice and curry spreads vary with Tamil dishes, Sinhalese dishes, Muslim dishes, Dutch and British-influenced dishes, and rice and coconut factor into nearly every meal. I could go on forever, but Serious Eats has already written a terrific primer on the cuisine.
The base to many of the curries I’ve been cooking is this roasted curry powder. In practice, it’s usually supplemented with large doses of chili powder and fresh chiles. This curry powder should keep indefinitely in the fridge, but I wouldn’t know. A batch rarely lasts long in our household.
1. Toast each ingredient on a saucepan separately over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from heat, cool, and grind in a coffee grinder. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
Part of what makes Japan so special is the traveler’s ability to hop on a train and be transported somewhere entirely different in just one hour. Before we planned this trip, my friend Karen urged us to take a day trip to Hakone, famous for its hot springs and view of Mount Fuji.
After the train ride into town, we hopped off to explore the Hakone Open Air Museum, which features sculptures on its spacious grounds that blend into gorgeous views of the surrounding valley and mountains. The museum also includes a sizable Picasso collection and a relaxing hot spring foot bath for visitors.
Next it was back to Chokoku-no mori train station and a quick chicken katsudon lunch set before stopping at the Hakone Museum of Photography.
This museum, like the previous one, boasted incredible views of the region, and we soaked it all in over matcha tea and cherry blossom wagashi before heading to Koen Shimo station to board the funicular. Are you keeping track of the stations, yet? Hakone does not play when it comes to diverse transportation.
Our next stop was the Hakone Ropeway, an aerial lift connecting us between Sounzan and Togendai via Owakudani. Owakudani literally translates to “Great Boiling Valley.” Sounds relaxing, right? It’s a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs and especially kuro-tamago, or “black egg.” The eggs are hard-boiled in the hot springs, turn black, and smell slightly sulphuric. I passed on the black eggs but bought a bag of smoky dried scallops instead. Souvenirs aside, Owakudani was freezing! Note to future travelers: it’s cold up there. Bring a jacket.
For those keeping track, our next mode of transporation was another aerial lift where we reached the dock at Lake Ashi. At Lake Ashi, we boarded a boat to take us to Hakone town. It was so overcast that Mount Fuji was nowhere to be seen, but the lake was stunning.
After a brief stroll through the side streets of Hakone, we boarded a bus which took us to Hayakawa River. Seriously, do the views get progressively more stunning as the day goes on in Hakone or what? After oohing and ahhing at the river, we strolled over to Hakone Yumoto station, where I grabbed us a snack of inari sushi to hold us over for the train ride back to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, thus completing our Japanese Public Transportation Extravaganza.
We spent our next and last day in Tokyo enjoying some of our favorite foods, among which include department store sushi. No, I’m not joking. The otoro sushi at Kinokuniya’s food hall in Shinjuku may be the best I’ve ever had. This is the sushi dreams are made of. Sublime and perfect, like butter.
Our last meal on this trip was at Ramen Setagaya in Haneda Airport. We paid at the vending machine and ten minutes later sat down to stellar ramen. In the U.S., ramen of this caliber would garner hour-long waits. In Japan, it’s airport food.
I’d previously visited Tsukiji Market with my sister back in 2009, but with the news that the market is slated to relocate in 2016, I had to visit again with Nishan. It was busier this time. Much busier. We navigated the 7 a.m. post-tuna auction crowds until we got to a nondescript sushi restaurant in the middle of the market, and enjoyed some of the freshest sushi the market has to offer. After that, it was time to shop. Preserved scallops, pickled vegetables, sugary mochi, oh my. This was my kind of market.
Afterwards we took the train back to Shinjuku for lunch at Nakajima, Tokyo’s Michelin starred restaurant specializing in sardines. I had the fried sardine lunch set and the pickled greens and radish paired well with the oily fish.
We spent the rest of the day taking it easy in anticipation of what was to come next: Robot Restaurant. Robot Restaurant is a nightmare or a fantastical experience depending on how you look at it. Popularized on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, it’s a dinner show but no one comes for the food. It’s bizarre and epic. You want to see giant metal robots battling it out with lasers? Done. You want to see rainbow rockers flipping into pyramids? Sure. It’s obnoxious, entertaining, and surreal.
The real highlight of the evening, though, was the gigantic bowl of mentaiko udon I had at Tsurutontan after the show. Even at midnight, the line to get in stretched around the corner of the building. One bite of these chewy, hearty noodles and I understood why.
Kamakura is probably the most popular day trip destination outside of Tokyo. An hour-long train ride away, it’s a beach town with relaxed vibes and it’s easy to walk from Kamakura’s central train station to most of the city’s sights. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Japan is second to none when it comes to train travel. After a bento breakfast of fried stuffed tofu and glazed sardines, we were on our way.
Shirasu, or boiled baby sardines, are a Kamakura specialty. After arriving in Kamakura, we stopped at Shamoji to try their shirasu and tuna bowl set.
The shirasu were so clean tasting with a light, smooth texture. Topped with a drizzle of ginger and soy, they were perfect alongside the fresh tuna, miso soup, pickles, and housemade tofu okara. We sat at the bar, slupring our shirasu while chatting with the charismatic and friendly chef, who shared with us that he’d road tripped through California in the 1970s. Our meal at Shamoji was one of our favorites in Japan, and we happily continued on our way to our next stop: Kotoku-in.
Kotoku-in, or the Great Buddha of Kamakura, is one of Japan’s most recognizable icons and it’s so large that you can even go inside the cavernous base. Kotoku-in was built the eleventh century and he’s seen a lot. At one time, the Great Buddha was gilded. There are still traces of gold leaf near the statue’s ears.
A sign near the entrance reads “Stranger, whosoever thou art and whatsoever be thy creed, when thou enterest this sanctuary remember thou treadest upon ground hallowed by the worship of ages. This is the Temple of Bhudda (sic) and the gate of the eternal, and should therefore be entered with reverence.”
Afterwards we explored more of Kamakura’s idyllic streets, stopping to sample tako sembei, or freshly cooked octopus crackers.
Next we made our way to Hase-dera, a Buddhist temple with gorgeous gardens and an impressive view of the coastline.
Behold the Japanese iteration of my blog’s namesake. Not-too-sweet yogurt beverage flecked with bits of pleasantly chewy coconut gel? Yes, please!
We made our way back to Tokyo as dusk was setting in and stopped at Shibuya Crossing to visit one of my favorite places: the Hachiko statue! Hachiko is basically the greatest dog of all time and I love Tokyo for dedicating a statue to this loyal furry dude.
Nishan and I spent the rest of the evening in Shinjuku and exploring the nightlife before stopping for dinner at 35 Steps Bistro. Tucked 35 steps below ground level in a converted parking garage, I wasn’t sure about this place at first. I’m glad I listened to Nishan though, because it ended up being outstanding.
We started with a house salad and tuna tartare, and next came the flame seared mackerel. This mackerel was melt-in-your-mouth tender and charred just right. And the freshness? No contest.
My favorite dish, though, was the mentaiko udon. I might go so far as to say this is among the top ten things I’ve ever tasted, period. Wonderfully chewy udon clinging to a salty-seafoody mentaiko butter sauce, topped with chopped kimchi and nori. You’d think the flavors might clash, but no. It was as if all of my favorite flavors joined forces in perfect, inimitable harmony.
It’s hard to say anything could top that udon. It’s been ten months and I still think about it.
