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Mar 31, 2017
Hello, Koto!
Out Of The Shell
Dig in to this neighbourhood specialty of Fukagawa.
Koto City encompasses two main areas that merged in 1947: Joto and Fukagawa. During the Edo period (1603 — 1868), the latter, then a bustling shitamachi (downtown), was mainly occupied by fishermen due to its proximity to Sumida River. And this is where the story of Fukagawa-meshi begins.
See, back in the day, the fishermen did not have easy access to warm rice. By a stroke of creativity, they dreamed up the idea of heating up Asari clams from Sumida River in miso soup, then pouring the savoury broth over rice to keep it warm and palatable. This easy-to-prepare dish got so popular, it became a fast food of sorts for the fishermen.
At least that’s what the owner of Fukagawa Kamasho — one of the 25 shops in Fukagawa that serve Fukagawa-meshi — has heard; without any official written record, nobody knows for sure the origins of Fukagawa-meshi. But the one thing that’s guaranteed is the wonderful taste of this neighbourhood specialty at Fukagawa Kamasho. Founded in 1987, Fukagawa Kamasho was among the first three restaurants to set up shop in the area. Interestingly, while they had Fukagawa-meshi on their menu since day one, their main items were kamameshi (traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in an iron pot) and yakitori. As requests for Fukagawa-meshi started pouring in, the owner decided to turn this dish into one of their two specialty items; the other is Fukagawa-don, or braised rice with Asari clams.
So, what is it about these two specialty items at Fukagawa Kamasho that garnered the restaurant such rave reviews? Perhaps the more apparent reason is the generous amount of clams in every bowl, as you can see in the image of the Fukagawa-meshi on this page. Visitors would post images of these dishes on social media, which draws many curious patrons to the restaurant. But what ensures returning customers is the exquisite tastes of Fukagawa-meshi and Fukagawa-don. The former is fluffy rice braised with Shimeji mushrooms and a special broth of clam dashi, and of course topped with clams; the latter is a soup-based dish with rice, with the unique addition of a half-boiled egg — when stirred into the soup, the egg lends the dish a creamy taste, making it the perfect comfort food that’s hard to beat.
