Japanese Saffron Dishes

[Sativus]

Hello fellow food lovers,
I have been searching for some time for any Japanese recipes which utilize saffron. My area of specialty is saffron. Japan has been cultivating this spice for 180 years. They use it in a medicinal tea but I have never seen it included in recipes other than one for a saffron sake. With such a long history with the spice it seems impossible that they would not be using it in other than Western-style restaurants in the large cities. In particular, a young chef in Colorado once told me of a New Year's dish in which water chestnuts are colored "gold" with saffron to symbolize prosperity in the New Year but she had no recipe or actual source to provide me. No one else I have consulted has ever been able to verify that dish. Thanks in advance for any info or leads!

 

[buckytom]

hi sativus,

i did a quick search, and so far i've found that saffron is often used in japanese dishes that include fish (big surprise, huh) because saffron is supposed to enhance the delicate flavors of fish. this included sushi, japanese curry, and panko breaded fish balls and crab cakes.

search for "japanese recipes" saffron, and with a little digging, you should find some recipes. if you have no luck, i'll try to post some tomorrow.

 

[Sativus]

Japanese saffron recipes

Thank you so much for these insights. I have followed your advice and only find very contermporary references to saffron in fish dishes. Help! What am I missing when I search? And none of the recipe references I've found come with any additional comments about WHY saffron was used so obviously I'm not reading what you are. Oh, and no recipes, just referenvces to dishes someone tried in a Japanese restaurant. If you still have the patience, more info would be appreciated! And if you provide a snail address, I'll send you saffron as a thank you.

hi sativus,

i did a quick search, and so far i've found that saffron is often used in japanese dishes that include fish (big surprise, huh) because saffron is supposed to enhance the delicate flavors of fish. this included sushi, japanese curry, and panko breaded fish balls and crab cakes.

search for "japanese recipes" saffron, and with a little digging, you should find some recipes. if you have no luck, i'll try to post some tomorrow.

 

[buckytom]

ok sativus, but if you send me saffron, you'll have to send some to everyone here.

i will have some free time to dig tomorrow night and the coming week (too much irish cider tonight), and i'm pretty good with deciphering foreign languages, from a web or tv standpoint that is. i promise results. that's what dc is all about. worldwide friendship under the banner of food.
p.s. private message me about any info you have or specifics that you're looking for. that'll help. this may take some time finding a japanese ex-pat chef with a broad knowledge of food and history.