The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

From late February, fertile stems of field horsetail, Tsukushi in Japanese, are available as one of spring delicacies. They used to be everywhere and picking and cleaning them was my childhood part-time job (child labour!). But now they become a money-making commodity which we can only buy at markets.

It feels a bit strange to pay JPY100 for a pack of this plant, but as a commodity, the most annoying part of cooking them, removing the sheath, has already been done. What you do is just boiling, soaking in cold water, and seasoning as you like. 

This is not a food to fuel our body, and is not delicious on its own too. Actually, we eat them as a kind of ceremony to cerebrate the arrival of spring. The slightly bitter taste of the head and the crispness of the stem are highly appreciated as a flavour of spring, or flavour of the good old days.