Why Tokyo Kari~Bancho's Nisuke Mizuno delivers the spice.
In recent years, more and more people have taken up the challenge of making curry from spices. Books on spices are now available, and even supermarkets in the city have an impressive assortment of spices. Even so, there are still many people who are confused and give up in the face of the profound world of spices. In 2016, Nisuke Mizuno, who has been spreading the appeal of curry through his numerous unit activities, launched a service to deliver spice sets with recipes. This was an opportunity for him to put an end to his life as a salaried worker and also to become independent. Why does Kale~Bancho deliver spices? We interviewed him while actually making curry with "AIR SPICE.
AIR SPICE
This service delivers the spices and recipes needed to make one type of curry for four people each month to your home, with a trial version (¥980) that delivers only one month's worth of spices, as well as three-month (¥2,940), six-month (¥5,880) and 12-month (¥11, 760) courses to choose from. 760). Includes a journal to help you enjoy the spice life, including spice-related spills, discussion of techniques, and events from your trip to India.
To solve the spice problem that still hasn't gone away.
Jinsuke Mizuno
Representative of AIR SPICE, Curry Star, chief cook of the traveling cooking group "Tokyo Curry Bancho" formed in 1999, formed "Tokyo Spice Bancho" in 2008 and "European Curry Bancho" in 2015. He presides over "Eat Me Project," a content creation project specializing in curry. The T-shirt he was wearing at the time of the interview was made on the spur of the moment when he told Shigesato Itoi that he was having trouble finding a title, and it was suggested that "Curry Star" would be a good idea.
-Many of our readers may not know that you have been active in various units, including "Tokyo Kari~bancho," while also working as an office worker. Once again, please tell us how you became independent.
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.)： For 17 years, I have been involved in various activities as a curry expert, but my special focus has been on live cooking and publishing. I have published about 40 curry-related books so far, but only about 5 of them are guide books, and the rest are mostly recipe books. In Tokyo, there are a lot of restaurants, and there are many people who go out to eat, but nationwide, there are more people who want to make their own curry.
The term "spice curry," which I started using about seven years ago, has become widespread, and many related books have been published in the past two or three years. Recently, I have noticed that more and more people are interested in spices, and curry made with spices is attracting worldwide attention.
However, as usual, all I hear from people is negative comments such as, "It seems too much trouble," or "I bought the spices as written in the recipe, but what should I do with the leftover spices? Even if they are interested in cooking, many people are turned off by the high hurdles involved. So I decided to do the hard part for them.
When I started doing this, I would hear from people I met at events that they made the spices with "AIR SPICE. With a book, you can only deliver pictures and recipes, but with this, you are delivering the spices directly. After many years of activity, I felt for the first time that I was being of service to curry lovers. That was the main reason why I decided to take this project seriously.
How to make Mizuno Style Curry Part 1
In the cooking class, I said, 'If you can spare some time, please stretch the skin of chicken thighs to make them look nice. When I told the class, "By the way, I am very happy when I am doing this," some people said, "He's crazy.
-Is the name of this service also in keeping with this sentiment?
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.)The original story is air guitar. Air guitar is a guitar that you play as if you have a guitar, even though you don't have one. AIR SPICE" also allows you to make curry without stocking spices at home. I don't really explain it properly, so some people ask me, "Is it air because you air ship the spices from India?" (laughs).
Curry becomes an opportunity for new communication.
-What is it about spiced curry that drives Mr. Mizuno?
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.)Aroma: It's the aroma, after all. Curry roux has a good aroma, but the combination of multiple spices has a much more pronounced aroma. Of course, you can experience something similar at a specialty restaurant, but most people have yet to experience the overwhelmingly strong aroma.
What I have experienced in my past activities is that curry tends to be more lively when there are many people around. Curry is the most popular dish at school lunches, or it is always made at camps, and it is a dish that is very suitable for gatherings of people.
Sometimes people say, "I live alone, so I don't want to make 4 servings at once," so I recommend the "AIR SPICE" party. It is more enjoyable if everyone participates in the making of the dish, and some people wait about three months to make several kinds of curry for a large group of people. In this way, curry becomes an opportunity for communication.
How to make Mizuno Style Curry Part 2
Although the recipe says you can put in the meat raw," he said, "on this particular day, I grilled it before putting it in. By grilling the meat from the skin, the excess fat can be removed.
A friend's shocking remark was one of the triggers.
-I know that "Tokyo Kari~Bancho" was based on the concept of making the same curry only once, but "AIR SPICE" also receives a new recipe every month, doesn't it?
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.)The rest of the dishes are limited to each month. Eventually, we are also planning to create an introductory course that can be purchased at any time and start with the first issue.
Because when I told my friend about this service, she asked, "Do you mix several kinds of spices to make a curry?" I didn't know what he meant by that question. I didn't know what he meant by that question. I thought it might be possible, so I told him, "There is no such thing as a tree from which you can get curry powder," and he was very surprised.
My friend was not the type of person who is interested in curry, but there are people who are impressed by the mere mention of "mixing a few spices to make curry," so I thought it would be a good idea to have her actually mix the spices herself and enjoy the process of gradually turning them into curry powder, If more and more people can enjoy the process of using spices by mixing them by themselves, more and more people may enjoy the process of using spices.
The spice corner in his home kitchen is indeed an impressive selection. He recommends "Otsuya" in Ameyoko for more maniacal spices, although supermarkets also have a good selection.
-Curry is a dish that is made from spices, but it is not a dish that is made from spices.
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.): You all started your curry life with solid roux, you know. That is a magical tool that makes curry the moment you put it in. It is a wonderful invention that Japan is proud to share with the world. However, spices do not have magical powers. First of all, you don't know where to start blending them, what to buy, and how much to use.
I was very happy to see someone write on the site that they were able to become a spice genius in one session. I am one of those people who did not become a spice genius in one try, so I know exactly how that feels. I mixed powders I had never seen before, and it turned out to be curry. And I think it is a very moving experience to have a real taste.
How to make Mizuno Style Curry Part 3
Saute spices, onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger together and add grilled chicken.
The goal is to make curry open source.
Add water and bring to a simmer.
-With so many people interested in spices, was there no service like "AIR SPICE"?
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.): Kits with recipes were available in the spice section, but there was no service to deliver them to your home. The supplier was busy getting good spices and putting them on the shelves. The recipients had no way of knowing how to use the spices except by reading recipe books. Therefore, if someone other than a person who knew the spices well stood in front of the spice shelf, the shelf would not speak to him or her.
I thought I was in a position to bridge the gap between the two, based on my various experiences with live cooking and books.
How to make Mizuno Style Curry Part 4
When the stew is finished, add the pak choi at the end.
- "AIR SPICE" also includes detailed information on the gram quantities of each spice. The quantity of spices is the key, but what is the point of being so open about it?
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.)AIR SPICE" is not about selling spices, but about bringing the joy and pleasure of cooking with spices.
I want to open source curry through this service. By making services and products on the Internet open source, they can be updated more and more. By writing down the amount of spices in a recipe, the recipe can be updated to say, "Mizuno-san's recipe is like this, but I would do it this way. In this way, we hope to expand the enjoyment of curry.
How to make Mizuno's Curry, Part 5
What kind of rice goes well with curry? He simply answered, "Good rice. I disagree with the saying that it is good to cook rice hard. I think it's ridiculous to say that you should cook rice hard only for curry. There are preferences, but basically I tell people to cook rice the same way they always do.
-AIR SPICE" is also selling the experience of making curry. Finally, what are your future plans?
pond snail (Viviparidae spp.)I would like to hold workshops where fathers and children make curry from spices with their children at elementary schools throughout Japan. This way, mothers will be able to relax at home on Sundays. Besides, fathers can show their children how cool they are by making spiced curry.
