The British get a lot of stick (no pun intended) for deep-frying Mars bars and saveloys, but I feel the Japanese kushikatsu restaurants have mastered the art of frying just about anything.
Indeed, kushikatsu, which literally translates to "fried skewers" in Japanese, is one of my guilty pleasures that I enjoy every time I visit Osaka. While most kushikatsu restaurants are good fun for a quick pint or two, I've had varying degrees of success when it comes to the quality of what's on the stick. Sometimes the whole thing is a thick, bready, greasy mess that you have to quickly wash down with beer; at other times, the restaurant tries too hard, with bizarre toppings and combinations that leave you wondering whether you actually enjoyed the skewer.
Kushikatsu Daibon (串かつ だいぼん) is certainly neither of those. As the name Daibon may ring a bell for many, Chef Izumitani Dai (泉谷 大) trained at the renowned Kushikatsu A-bon (串かつ あーぼん) for ten years before opening this restaurant a couple of years ago in Nishitenma (西天満), Osaka. The restaurant is spotlessly clean, with a bronze frying pot set into a wooden counter that seats about ten people per sitting. It also has a private room for parties, where skewers fried at the main counter are served.
While I haven’t been to A-bon (invitations are more than welcome 😜), I’d describe the skewers here as having a touch of nonchalant finesse. The ingredients are certainly of excellent quality and Chef Izumitani thankfully doesn’t hide the effort he put into sourcing them. The whole fried leg of a snow crab (ズワイガニ) [pic 1, bottom-right] and beef fillet [pic 2, bottom-left] was certainly a statement for a ¥16,500 course, and the intensely sweet and earthy spinach root (ほうれんそうの根) [pic 4, top-right] was perhaps the best fried veg of the trip, which is no small feat given I visited Numata (ぬま田) the day before. The choice to use the spinach leaf in the mini soba that followed [pic 4, bottom-left] as a palate cleanser was a touch of brilliance; an intermezzo like this is much appreciated in a long course of fried skewers.
When he does choose to get creative, however, the results are compelling. The lotus root (蓮根) had its cavities filled with Japanese curry, and the tangy Worcestershire sauce I was advised to dip it in added extra spice and a bright acidity that I appreciated [pic 3, top-right]. The fried turnip (かぶ) with fukimiso (ふき味噌) [pic 5, top-left] was a gentle reminder of the spring to come (this visit was in early March). While the whitebait (しらす) with cheese and big-leaf shiso (大葉) [pic 5, bottom-left] was less successful, the ‘millefeuille’ of snow peas (絹さや) and bacon [pic 5, bottom-right] that followed more than made up for it.
I know deep-fried food isn’t the most interesting thing to look at, but here are some photos of the skewers, ordered from top to bottom, left to right, with ☆ marking the skewers and dishes I particularly enjoyed:
1. Whitebait on fried spring roll pastry, sansho leaves
2. Whole leg of snow crab ☆
3. Scallop
4. Aoriika from Nagasaki topped with Hokkaido uni
5. Fillet of beef
6. Seri(セリ) rolled inside hirame from Osaka, seri paste
7. Kurumaebi
8. Lotus root with Japanese curry ☆
9. Pork loin with shiso
10. Mushroom cream croquette
11. Tai from Ehime
12. Spinach root from Ibaraki ☆☆
13. Soba of spinach
14. Shiitake from Ehime
15. Turnip with fukimiso
16. New onions(新玉ねぎ) fried until deeply caramelised
17. Whitebait, cheese, and big-leaf shiso
18. Millefeuille of snow peas and bacon ☆
19. Burdock root(ごぼう) with minced meat
20. Sweet potato(さつまいも)
21. (Add-on) Strawberry topped with strawberry jam ☆, sakuramochi(桜餅)
22. Rum raisin ice cream
Unlike Kushikatsu A-bon, where reservations are notoriously hard to secure (and require a phone call, not so easy for travellers), Daibon accepts bookings via TableCheck and is easier to get into. Would 100% recommend, whether you’re looking for a full meal or a very large snack.
by dine_fining
Dining and Cooking