Tonari no Tororo

Ootoya has to be my favourite restaurant chain for Japanese food in Thailand. When I sit down and look at a menu, it's the only place where I can almost feel like I am back in Tokyo (hontouni  kaeritai, Nihon ga daisuki dakara), even if it is only for one second. Aside from the little things like the menu design, I find the food much more akin to what I would encounter at restaurants of a comparable caliber in Japan. 

There is also a particular item that makes me squee like a little piggy with uncontainable joy. It isn't even a main dish or special order. It's a topping option for your rice. The elusive tororo. It features in one or two other menu items too. You will hardly ever see tororo on Japanese restaurant menus here in Bangkok, unless it is one that caters to a large population of Japanese expats. Here it is as expensive as it is controversial. The supermarket of Isetan at CentralWorld carries fresh segments of nagaimo a.k.a. yamaimo that cost around 250 baht, depending on the weight. 

Why is it controversial? When grated, this particular tuber turns into a sticky slimy glob of white goo with the viscosity of ... phlegm or mucus. Such descriptives are often used by those that can't pallet this dividing ingredient. Historically, it was used as a lubricant and it was deemed improper for women to consume due to its near uncanny resemblance to other bodily fluids. 

All negativity aside, I fell in love with tororo when I discovered a neba-neba (sticky-slimy) special at an udon shop in Tokyo. It had seaweed, half boiled egg, okra and of course, tororo. I was sold. There is something really comforting and satisfying about slurping down a big bowl of neba-neba noodles. Think of it as a lighter molten mozzarella atop a fragrant earthy crust. Tororo has a very mild vegetable flavour, much like potato, radish or turnip. It's light and refreshing with a hum of starch that mellows out the overall taste. As a potato lover, I can't help but order this addition every time I visit an Ootoya. 

This set is the fried chicken and potato salad ... salad (There is a mound of potato salad on the salad...) with leek dressing. Although the pieces seem small, the chicken is so juicy and tender that there is plenty of flavour to spare. The tangy sweet and savoury dressing accents the meat perfectly. The potato salad provides the heft and creaminess to balance out the lightness of dressing and greens. If you're going for a low-carb meal then ordering this salad is very satisfying in itself (the batter on the chicken isn't thick enough to count but provides enough flavour to give you that carb fix). If you are hungry or craving something more substantial then order it as a rice set as I usually do. Surprisingly the flavours are strong enough to carry a bowl or rice or two (free refils?! Okawari kudasaiii!). Hungry, want ...now ...ugh.