I always love visiting Lake Saroma. Everything seems incredibly flat compared to the verticality of Niseko.The sea, sky and land seem to merge into one. Apart from some small fishing villages that punctuate the shoreline, the place is desolate. It certainly isn’t known as a tourist destination. But for seafood lovers its an exciting little world of its own full of surprises.
I was visiting for the second time after an initial visit in August. The purpose was to taste the 2 year old oysters which were just coming to maturity. I hadn't ever heard of Saroma, but the more I enquired into the best seafood in Hokkaido, the more the name Saroma kept popping up. For example, the sushi chef at HIkkari, a sushi bar in the Sapporo Wholesale Markets, opined the quality of Saroma scallops was the best in Hokkaido – quite a statement considering the number of areas growing scallops. Or the shop assistant in the outer market ("Jougai") who recommended Saroma oysters as his pick of the oysters in Hokkaido. As I was opening an oyster bar in Niseko, I thought I better get up there and see for myself.
Saroma is easy to spot on the map. Just look along the northern coastline of Hokkaido facing the Sea of Okhotsk and you will notice a large mass of water. That’s Lake Saroma, or Saroma-ko in Japanese. It has a diameter of 92km, with only a narrow inlet to the sea towards the Eastern side of the coastline. That makes the waters ideal for raising oysters. The calm waters provide protection from predators on the one hand, and the ocean provides the salinity on the other. Salinity is one of the main factors that gives the oysters their flavor. The other is food -- nutrients and plankton, which Saroma oysters enjoy in abundance. The oysters grown at the western end of the lake, closest to the entrance of the river, are said to have the plumpest and whitest meats. (The oysters, for the record, are Pacifics -- Crassostrea Gigas -- which are native to Japan, but now grown on the west coast of the US, Canada, Australia and France.)
My rendezvous was with my supplier, who had invited me to the auction to be held on the dockside of Lake Saroma, which started on the dot at 11:30am with the sounding of an alarm bell.
The auctioneer informed the auction participants that there was a total of 428kgs of oysters for sale that day, and there were expected to fewer the next day, no doubt a result of the high summer rainfall from May through August which contributed to a fewer and smaller oysters this season.Oysters had been divided into separated oysters (individual) and clustered, which grow on suspended ropes (Mimitsuri method) allowing them to feed easily on plankton. The separated oysters were sold in blue trays and the clustered oysters in 12kg hessian bags. The auctioneer went through each of the lots rattling off numbers in descending order inviting bids from the participants. All of the lots were sold and shipped off within 20 minutes.
I had indicated to my supplier that I wanted to try both the 1 and 2 year old oysters and he bid on 2 trays. As the auction wound down, I shucked one of the 1-year old oysters and chewed. I was deliberately setting my expectations low but the meat was indeed white and plump. I was surprised at how plump and chewy it was – strong and briney upfront followed by a melony aftertaste -- just what I was after. But even better, the supplier told me that they should get even better as the waters get colder because the oyster continues to fatten up ahead of mid winter, before shutting down their metabolic systems and going into hibernation for winter.
After lunch, I quizzed my supplier about the safety of the oysters. He explained the 3 stages. First the oystermen wash the oysters in their shells by placing them in a huge revolving barrel with fresh water gushing in to clean the shell from parasites. This process also separates the oysters. The next stage is sterilizing and testing, which is done at the producer market. For the final stage, the supplier sterilizes the oysters for 24 to 48 hours and conducts his own tests for virus'. So by the time they arrive in Niseko, they have already been sterilized and tested twice. He mentioned there had not been a single case of illness from Saroma oysters for 8 years. He supplies oysters for half shell service to restaurants in Tokyo and so is particularly sensitive to safety issues. He has been in business for 30 years.
I had been mainly interested in the 1 year oysters because they were smaller in size, which I thought would be more suitable for Australian oyster lovers, who are spoiled on small and creamy Sydney Rock oysters. But I found the shells of the 1 year old very brittle and somewhat fluted, which means they are harder to shuck cleanly and without grit – a big problem for the shucker. The 2-year old oysters, on the other hand, had a firmer shell, and of course bigger meats, and are fan shaped as opposed to long and fluted. So I will be ordering the 2 year olds from December 1 at Ezo Seafoods. A little bigger, but not dauntingly so.
Although oysters were the main reason for visiting Saroma, the scallops were also coming into season and it so happened that the accommodation that we had chosen – the Saroma Youth Hostel -- put on a “scallop set dinner” (Hotate Teishoku). True to its name, the dinner set contained scallops, in fact nothing but scallops. But cooked and prepared in 6 or 7 different ways. “The scallops are really fresh”, the cook told us, but he needn’t have bothered -- I had already put the scallop sashimi into my mouth and was enjoying that shock of freshness. I told my traveling companion and photographer Glen Claydon that this was the experience I wanted my patrons at Ezo Seafoods to enjoy.
For those interested in the variations of scallops served up that night, there was deep fried scallop with tartare sauce, scallop tempura with daikon radish, boiled scallop in the shell, miso soup with baby scallop shells (very ornate), scallop and potato salad, even scallop with olive oil and rock salt. All superb. The Youth Hostel (more like a lodge) is right across the road from the wharves, right on Saroma lake, so it is well positioned to get all of the best fresh seafood. It is also incidentally positioned to enjoy the beautiful sunrises, and we took the advise of the manager and got up at 4:45a.m. to capture the sunrise on camera.
Well, my supplier sent me home with case of oysters that combined 1 and 2 year old oysters and also 500gms of scallops which I served at a tasting on October 25 with a couple of locals, all oyster fans. We served them with a Japanese mignonette (lemon zest, sake & wasabi), ponzu, and lemon. The oysters and half shell presentation were very highly rated. We also steamed a few in Japanese sake which were very tasty.
Well, I am looking for an excuse to return to Saroma though my supplier says that he will try to visit Niseko during winter, which would be great. My travel companion and photographer Glen Claydon came along this time and took some great photos that I think capture the beauty and desolation of Saroma that I mentioned. I hope you enjoy these.
