The Spotted Pig - February 12, 2011

The third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, once complained to a Buddhist monk, Takuan, that nothing tasted good anymore and asked him if Takuan could suggest anything good to eat. Takuan responded, “No problem. Come to my temple at ten o’clock in the morning.” Iemitsu faithfully went the next day and he waited and waited for Takuan to appear; but there was no sight of Takuan. Finally, several hours later, Takuan showed up, “I apologize for having kept you waiting. Here is the promised food.” Iemitsu looked at his plate, on which were a few slices of picked daikon along with a bowl of rice. So hungry was Iemitsu that he devoured the rice and picked daikon in no time. Then he declared that he had not had such delicious food in a very long time. Takuan said, “It is because you had not been hungry, Your Majesty. I recommend that the next time you eat, you should wait until you are hungry.” Thus, the yellow picked daikon – fermented by rice bran – had become known as "takuan."*

*Well, at least, this is one theory in explaining how the common pickles became known as “takuan.” By the way, the store-bought brightly colored takuan here in the United States is certainly not the genuine takuan as it has been artificially colored and most likely further enhanced by food additives.

If several hours of waiting had made a shogun appreciate such humble fare as picked daikon, then what would three hours of waiting in the dead of winter make the food at The Spotted Pig taste like – ambrosia?