鯵 (Aji) and 焼酎 (shochu)

Aji, or horse mackerel, is a great sashimi dish. In some parts o f Japan, Aji is served "live" with the tail still wagging on your table when all the flesh has been cut off the fish! Anyway its Friday night again so its Aji with Shochu!

焼酎 (Shochu) is created by fermenting and then distilling various carbohydrates such as rice, wheat, sweet potatoes and molasses. The main raw materials can be classified into such groups as rice, malt, potatoes, brown sugar as well as many others. There is probably no other alcoholic beverage that makes use of such a wide variety of materials.

The biggest appeal to shochu is that you can enjoy so many different flavors. In many cases shochu is made using locally grown items as the main raw material. Also it doesn't give you a headache the enxt day like sake does!

The famous area for shochu in Japan is in 鹿児島、九州　(Kagoshima, Kyushu). Of course Shochu is made elsewhere and all over Japan as well. When going to a Japanese restaurant next, never forget to try Shochu. My favourite is 芋　(imo-shochu) on the rocks. This is the sweet potato variety.