Sakuraba - 桜馬
There are many times in my life I find myself asking, "Who decided that?" For instance, who decided that you don't wear white after Labor Day? Who decided that you shouldn't drink alcohol before noon? And most relevant to this story; who decided that horses are to be ridden and not consumed? Well, it certainly wasn't me.
Recently, while walking the kids to school the same way we've walked hundreds of times before, I noticed a small display of Japanese Sake bottles outside a little shop just a few furlongs from our apartment. Curious what this place was, I made a mental note to give it a Google. Turns out, this hidden-in-plain-sight shop was a restaurant specializing in the skewering of little girls' precious ponies.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I made reservations. Well, technically, I had a friend make a reservation...but the point stands!
At night, it looked so much different. Instead of the normal metal gate covering the door, we were greeted by a lovely entranceway with a stone and sand pathway to the main section of the restaurant. It really helped set the mood and got us chomping at the bit for some dinner.
Being a slightly fancy restaurant, the meal is a set course consisting of horse prepared in various ways. This is ideal. When I find myself in an inevitable argument with a vegan in the future, I want to be sure I know the merits of each cooking method and why the vegan is wrong.
The first course was a small plate consisting of vegetables, smoked horse, and a bit of kimchi. The kimchi had some real kick to it, and the smoked horse was as delicious as many smoked meats are.
Next up was the course I was most looking forward to; horse sashimi, or basashi (馬刺し). This consisted of a triple crown of raw meat alongside a small bowl of minced meat dressed in a sesame sauce and topped with a raw quail egg yolk.
We were instructed to mix the egg yolk and meat before eating. I was so excited to eat the three pieces that I've honestly forgotten the details of the egg and horse mixture. I don't remember it being bad but it didn't blow me away either.
The smallest piece of horse was filet. The other two were thigh and something I've forgotten. In my opinion, the thigh was the champion.
With the filet, I wanted to eat it without any additives. I wanted to experience the finest cut in its purest form. It was good but not as good as what followed; the thigh.
Combined with a bit of wasabi and a small dip of soy sauce, the thigh was horse heaven. Well, not a heaven for horses but, you know what I mean.
Next up was what I would call horse meatloaf. This was served alongside an egg yolk that we stirred and then dipped the meatloaf into. I feel like no matter which animal you are eating in loaf form, there is an upper bound to how delicious it can get. With the egg yolk as a dipping sauce, that helped elevate the flavor to the next loaf-level.
At this point, we were all in full stride when a hot pot containing a mixture of broth and vegetables was brought out.
Once the broth was up to temp and simmering, each of us were given a stone plate consisting of six slices of pristine horse. Time for a little horse shabu-shabu.
This was as good as it looks. Giving the meat a quick dip in the broth, just enough to provide a light sear, resulted in a delicious bite of food that quickly dissolved in the mouth.
When we all had finished the shabu-shabu, we were given the option to use the remaining broth to cook rice or udon noodles. We chose the udon noodles and began cooking.
Having all eaten like horses, a final dessert course with teramisu, freeze dried fruit and a scoop of ice cream was delivered. With this final deliciousness, our fun night had come to a close.
Not to beat a dead horse, but this was a dinner I won't soon forget. And, for those who may still be on the fence about consuming stallions, I have but one thing to say; Get off your high horse!
