Ume-flavored shrimp salad

 This dish is absolutely Japanese due to the inclusion of myoga ginger and pickled plum. 

Ingredients (serves 2):

• Tomato: 1/2 large one or 5 small ones (about 150g)
• Shrimp (deveined): 12 pieces (about 140g)
• Myoga ginger: 2 pieces
• Onion: 1/2 
• Umeboshi (pickled plum): 1 piece (10g)
• Olive oil: 1 tablespoon
• Soy sauce: 1 teaspoon

Instructions:

Step 1: Cut the big tomato into 8 wedges or half if small tomatoes. Cut the myoga ginger in half lengthwise, then into thin slices. Cut the onion in half lengthwise and then into thin slices.

Step 2: Leave the tails on the shrimp and devein them. Add a pinch of salt and potato starch (about 1/2 teaspoon) to the shrimp, rub them gently, then wash and pat them dry. Make a 3mm deep cut along the back of the shrimp to remove the vein.

Step 4: Boil water in a pot, add a pinch of salt, and cook the shrimp for about 30 seconds. Drain and cool the shrimp.

Step 5: Mix ingredients from step 1 with olive oil and soy sauce in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and tomato, and season with salt and pepper. Mix gently and serve.

Myoga is the flower bud of a ginger type that is very popular in Japan. It is one of typical flavours in the summer when it shows up on cold noodles or salads to refresh eaters. However, to me it is available all year round because I can always find it in supermarkets, perhaps because it can be harvested in green houses as well. It is also common found in tempura shape.

Myoga flower, from Wikipedia.

I've never seen this ginger anywhere I know or live through, so at first I hesitated to buy it. Then one day I decided to try it. I bought it home and fried it with squid and turmeric powder. It tasted great, but not very interesting. It does not taste like ginger that we usually know. It tastes more like a flower with firm and crunchy texture, and then when we eat it, some pungency will break out in our mouth. The taste is indeed like nothing we ever know. I just feel weird eating this myoga.

Myoga is aromatic, reminiscent of a scallion-like scent, and the buds are edible raw or cooked. Raw Myoga has a zesty, peppery, and tangy taste with delicate onion nuances. The plant's young shoots are also edible and contain a similar flavor profile with vegetal, green qualities. (from here) 

Recently I saw the recipe above in a local cook book and tried myoga again. This time it tastes perfect. And I started to understand why it's so popular in Japan.

Pickled plums are also all year round. It's also normally served on salad or cold noodles (like the one below), and honestly it tastes amazing! It's not sour like dead but sour enough to entertain our tounge, and it has a subtle sweetness that makes us happy. I also think it's more welcoming than myoga. Spring is the season of plums. They're on sales all over places. Japanese people buy a lot of them and then pickle in large glass jars. You can watch an NHK documentary about it here. You can learn to pickle it following this guide.

The cold noodle I ate recently at a restaurant. It was refreshing and enthralling every sip!

Plums this spring in a nearby supermarket.

Plums on the cover of local cook books.