Yes, duck. I am sure when you hear about eating duck, you think of peking duck from Chinese cuisine. But this is completely different. It is a Japanese style of eating duck that I had the pleasure to try not too long ago. I got to try this nabe style of eating duck from a place in Hitachi Naka called Torinago.
Torinago
One warm night in July, the Ibaraki Eats Duo, and some friends of ours, decided that we wanted to try a place that serves duck meat. My wife had heard about Torinago from one of her customers so we decided to check it out. It seems like this place is popular because the night we went, all the seats in the restaurant were taken. Glad we made a reservation before hand.
Torinago is a 5 minute walk from Katsuta station. It is across the street from a barber called Up Block, which I recommend.
I do have a confession to make. This is not an Ibaraki original. There are a few Torinagos in Tokyo and it originally came from Kyoto, but this place was interesting and delicious so I thought I should talk about it.
Menu
The menu at this place has the usual izakaya menu items. A lot of yaki tori and other small dishes you can pick at while having a beer. I would advise you to skip all that and go straight to two things. The duck section and the fried chicken section.
Fried Chicken
My wife and I ordered two pieces of fried chicken that night as a starter. The staff let us know that it would take some time to make and to please wait. 10 minutes later, our crispy delicious looking fried chicken arrived. The staff told us to be careful because it was hot. My brain ignored that warning and a small amount of boiling hot grease got on my hand when I picked up the chicken leg. This taught me my lesson, listen to the staff. After a few minutes, I bit into my fried chicken leg. Crispy fried skin and juicy delicious chicken flooded my mouth in a fried chicken euphoria. It reminded me of KFC but way, way better. (Yeah I said it.) I loved this fried chicken. My wife and our friends were big fans as well. We contemplated ordering another round of fried chicken but then our duck arrived.
The Nabe
First, our nabe arrived. The staff told us to sip the broth so our taste buds can get used to the nabe. I tried the nabe and it was a little bit salty, but otherwise delicious. It felt like a very light soup and I could not wait to dip the duck meat in there.
The Duck
Our duck, or kamo as it is called in Japanese, arrived at our table and look at that picture. Beautiful. The middle of the plate had a sort of duck pate. The staff rolled small pieces of that pate into balls and put them into the nabe. They ended up becoming duck meatballs, and they were amazing. The thin slices of duck around the plate looked so appetizing, I couldn't wait to dip them in the nabe. But wait, there are rules.
First, grab a piece of duck meat and put it into the hot nabe. The meat cooks quickly, so the staff told us to only cook it for 15 seconds. After cooking the duck for 5 seconds, you are supposed to put these long string like green onions (negi) in the nabe with your duck. After 15 seconds, grab your duck and negi with some broth and get to eating.
15 Seconds Later
The duck cooks quickly. Make sure to cook it for 15 seconds only, and also add some negi in there. I got a piece of duck with negi and soup, and gave it a try. It was fantastic! The soup went really well with the duck meat, and the negi was a nice little added bonus. The duck meat tasted very lean and light which it is supposed to. This might be the healthiest nabe I have ever had here in Japan.
After finishing our duck, I felt very light but full. It was a nice feeling not to feel like I couldn't move after a big meal. We all thanked the staff and were feeling great that we had chose this as our diner spot that summer night.
Torinago's duck nabe is an interesting nabe that I highly encourage you to try. The atmosphere of the place is very izakaya like, but the two main food attractions are anything but izakaya like. I hope you get to try this place, and don't forget to make a reservation since seats are pretty much gone during dinner time on the weekend.
So if you are feeling a little adventurous and are in the mood for some great fried chicken, why not give Torinago a try. Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying a fried chicken leg while dipping my duck meat into that delicious nabe.
Enjoy!
For more information on Torinago, check out their Hot Pepper webpage:
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