I know I talk a lot about Western food on this blog. I just had a burger month last month where all I did was post about burgers. But that does not mean I ignore washoku (Japanese cuisine). I love washoku. That being said, I have to be honest, I really don't have a favorite washoku restaurant. I do however, have a favorite washoku food truck. That food truck is called Food Truck Nakazawa.
Food Truck Nakazawa
Food Truck Nakazawa is a traveling washoku food truck that mainly goes around Southern Ibaraki. You can usually find them at Village Market Tsukuba, the Namiki Mujirushi (pictured above), or at Bando's Andcontainer. The food truck is run by a lovely couple that make excellent washoku dishes. I have bought their food on more than one occasion and I have never been disappointed.
The Menu
Sorry my English speaking Ibarakians, no English menu. Not to worry, I'll help translate. From top to bottom:
The top menu item and the next menu item bring ginmutsu. Ginmutsu is Patagonian toothfish (took me a while to look that up), and it is simmered in shoyu, soy sauce, which is the very top option, or grilled which is the next option. Both options bring white rice, fine chopped cucumbers, and seaweed. Both options also bring maguro for an extra price.
The third menu item is a half and half option. One piece of ginmutsu simmered and one piece of ginmutsu grilled. The fourth menu item is salmon simmered and grilled. After that, you have the maguro set which brings minced maguro. Finally, we have the ungai, eel, rice bowl.
On the left side there are two drinks, both homemade. One is the plum soda, and the other is green perilla soda (no idea what that is but I believe it is a plant.) Finally, the bottom item is about white rice. Either an extra serving or you can take out the rice from your boxed lunch.
I should also mention that Nakazawa changes their menu from time to time depending on the season. Since it is getting chilly outside, Nakazawa has just introduced oden in their menu.
Ginmutsu Grilled
First, let me talk about the grilled ginmutsu. As you can see from the picture and like I said before, this bento box brings white rice, chopped cucumbers, and seaweed. I highly recommend putting the cucumbers and seaweed in the white rice.
Now, we come to the ginmutsu. I dug my chopsticks into the fish and got a small piece of ginmutsu and gave it a try. It was transcending. The fish was so soft and full of different flavors, I believe there was a hint of miso in there. It didn't have that overly fishy taste and it wasn't too oily either. It felt like it was perfect. There are some bones in the fish but they are mainly huge bones that you can find, not those tiny bones that you may choke on. There are also some fatty parts to the fish which are excellent. Mixing that with white rice is heavenly. Mixing those excellent pieces of ginmutsu with white rice brings me so much joy that I am smiling just thinking about it.
Ginmutsu Simmered in Shoyu
Now, we move onto the simmered ginmutsu. Careful when carrying this bento box. Unlike the grilled ginmutsu, this ginmutsu has a bit of shoyu on the bottom of the fish. So if you tip it like I did, you might get some shoyu on your shirt.
This ginmutsu was a bit more tender and soft. The meat just falls off the bone if you even slightly touch it with with your chopsticks, which makes it way easier to eat. The shoyu really does change the taste of the ginmutsu. It tastes like it doesn't have any of that oily fish flavor at all and there is more of an explosion of shoyu in your mouth. Not too overly full of shoyu but just right. This simmered ginmutsu goes extremely well with the white rice, more so than the grilled ginmutsu. But I am actually a bigger fan of the grilled ginmutsu.
Unagi Don
Finally, we come to the eel rice bowl. At the time of this posting, I am not 100% sure if this is still on the menu. But I did see it on the menu a few weeks ago at the Village Market Tsukuba. I don't know how you feel about unagi, but I love it. The sauce, the texture, the taste of fresh BBQed eel is a delicious but expensive treat in Japan. The awesome thing about Nakazawa is that their eel is just as amazing and it doesn't break the bank. Nakazawa's unagi has that soft texture that a grilled eel should, and the sauce is very tasty. Sure, it is a bit smaller than a regular size serving but it is still a fantastic unagi don.
Food Truck Nakazawa is always a delight to have at any event or at the Namiki Mujirushi. It is always lovely to talk to the couple who run the food truck and I have never been disappointed with any of their washoku dishes. My wife is a huge fan and always asks me to bring home one of their bento boxes. I hope to see them soon, possibly this weekend.
So if you are at Mujirushi or the Village Market Tsukuba and see a cool looking food truck with a wooden roof, that would be Food Truck Nakazawa dishing out delicious fish. Why not give them a try? Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying the grilled ginmutsu and buying the simmered ginmutsu for my wife.
Enjoy!
For more information on Food Truck Nakazawa, check out their Instagram page:
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