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00:00Discover Japan and beyond for food experiences with ByFu.com right now
00:04I'm on an oyster boat sitting on top of literally thousands of oysters oysters that you will only find here in Hiroshima, Japan
00:12Today, I'm on a mission to understand what makes Japanese oysters some of the best in the world
00:17What kind of oyster is this from the farm? Check out this genius engineering
00:21I expect nothing less from the Japanese to the finished product the most lethal cooking I've ever done on this show
00:26And I shot a zebra with a gun and by the end of this video
00:30You'll see how Japan's top chefs turn this slimy seafood into something magical
00:35This might be a dish that few people even in Japan recognize. Could you tell me about what we're about to try here?
00:41Welcome to Hiroshima Japan's oyster capital in fact two-thirds of Japan's oysters come from here Hiroshima Bay
00:47This region is famous for its mild climate nutrient-rich seas and centuries-old oyster farming traditions right now
00:53We've just arrived at an oyster farm where we'll see firsthand how these shellfish are raised let's move
00:59I have seen oyster farms in a couple different countries at this point the first one I ever went to was in Vietnam there
01:05They had these big wooden lattices with strings hanging down holding the oysters then I went to Virginia there
01:11They had huge plastic containers of oysters in the water
01:15Here
01:16They have tons of these floating platforms holding oysters underneath we are approaching the boat now the sun has just come up
01:23But these oyster farmers have been working already for hours. We've got like a pile of oysters right here
01:29Unlike anything I've seen before this boat here is designed specifically for this very purpose
01:37Extracting thousands and thousands of oysters from the sea Wow this thing is massive. It's so huge
01:43It seems each rope has kind of a clamp at the bottom
01:49They cut that off and then all the remaining oysters come it down onto the ship a boat like this hauls in
01:5530,000 to 50,000 oysters per day feeding into Hiroshima's massive 30,000 ton yearly export
02:02When they come off the rope, they look fairly unrefined
02:08It's full of goo plant matter. It looks a bit beat up. What kind of oyster is this?
02:12It's called the Magaki oyster
02:15It's called the Magaki oyster and Kaya is here again to bridge the gap between us
02:20It's a specific type of oyster which grows in the cold winter months also known as the Pacific oyster
02:25This little overachiever was later introduced to some regions in the world for its superior quality
02:30How the life cycle of the oyster works?
02:32It starts in around July to August is where the cultivation begins and on this scallop shell
02:39You'll put baby oysters on them. The oysters are attached to a scallop shell
02:44Yeah, but then they grow their own shells
02:46Yeah, of course
02:47One female can crank out up to 200 million eggs in a single go and in just two years they're fully grown and ready to harvest
02:56Soon I'll be sinking my teeth into some of the finest oysters you'll find anywhere prepared in ways you can only find in Japan
03:04Also, there's a real chance one of these might kill me. This could be my last oyster. I hope it's a good one. Cheers
03:10But before this murky mollusk gets to the table
03:14There's still a lot left to do
03:18All right folks now that we've brought our oysters back to the port it is time for processing
03:22Check out this genius engineering
03:24I expect nothing less from the Japanese
03:26We're on a boat that is also a holding vessel and a conveyor belt
03:30So automatically all the oysters are coming off of here and they're heading to a conveyor belt here where they're sent over to the processing plant
03:38Now these oysters definitely will need some processing before this is going to be an actual edible food that I'd be willing to put in my mouth
03:47And I'm somebody who's willing to put just about anything in his mouth
03:50All the oysters have been conveyor belted up here and this is the first step of processing
03:56Inside of this steel drum there's a load of water and it's turning mixing and pounding those big chunks of oysters that we saw
04:05So all the detritus all the different seafood and shellfish are separating
04:09From the steel drum the oysters go on a conveyor belt and they drop here into this giant steel cage
04:15You just hook the cage and the cage is now going to move up and head into the processing facility
04:20Once the oysters are freed from all the gunk and grime they head into a tank inside the factory for a purification process
04:28Here they're soaked with filtered fresh water that was pumped from deep underground
04:32Then they're left to sit for 24 hours until they're ready for the next step
04:36They get a chance to detox and get cleaned up you know
04:40That sounds nice
04:41Yeah
04:42I could use that like me after a night of sake
04:44American joke
04:46In Japan if you say a joke and it lands flat just say American joke and they're like ha ha
04:52After the oysters are purified from the level below they're brought up to this level here
04:57Then these oysters are put into this giant hopper
05:00From the giant hopper they drain down to the floor below where they have a massive team of professional shuckers
05:06Taking out that delicious succulent oyster meat from each shell
05:09But trust me you have never seen shuckers who shuck like this
05:18From that giant oyster hopper on the second floor all the oysters descend down here into the shucking room
05:24And let me tell you these guys here are some bad mother shuckers including
05:28Janie Janie
05:30Yes
05:31Can I see your weapon?
05:32Okay
05:33Right here she has a blade it's like kind of a piece of wood with a steel spike coming out of it
05:37This is amazing because when you go online and buy a shucking tool it looks nothing like this
05:41Here you can have it back
05:42Janie can I ask you how many oysters can you shuck in like one hour?
05:47Two buckets
05:48How many oysters do you think that is?
05:4980
05:50That's 80?
05:518 kilos
05:52I think that is at least 250 oysters and she's doing two of those buckets every hour
05:58This lady is a machine
06:00Do you ever sometimes just sneak one oyster? Do you ever just eat one?
06:04No because there's a camera
06:05There's a camera?
06:06Pre-shucked oysters are a big deal in Japan
06:11Many recipes here skip the shell entirely which makes shipping massive quantities much more efficient
06:17But that doesn't mean they don't enjoy them the classic way too
06:21Here a portion of oysters are still shipped out with the shell intact
06:25How do you choose which ones to shuck and which ones to keep in the shell?
06:29He divides them based on appearance
06:31He wants to make sure that it looks nice
06:33It's going to be relatively similar in size
06:36For the ones that we're just shucking appearance really doesn't matter much
06:39At one point in the process is somebody looking at which ones are big and which ones are small
06:43I've not seen that yet
06:44After the purification process usually the staff members will separate the large ones from the small ones
06:50They have a circular like basket net that they put them in
06:54For one like this how much longer would this have to stay in the ocean?
06:57Oh! One month!
07:01Now that we've seen it all from the farm to the factory there's only one thing left to do
07:05Sorry about the way I'm sitting
07:06No problem
07:07Some would call it man-spreading
07:08Yeah
07:09I would call it my chair is the same height as the table
07:12You just keep it to the side
07:13There we go
07:16Welcome to Shimada Oyster Hut
07:18If that name rings a bell it's because this restaurant is directly connected to the factory
07:23Once the oysters are processed they take a short walk to where patrons can enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet of oysters that were just chilling in the ocean water earlier this morning
07:33Basically what they've done here is they brought charcoal
07:35They brought this tool for shucking and they're like well good luck
07:38You don't actually have to shuck these
07:40I don't
07:41They'll open on their own because of the heat
07:43Should we just fill up the grill then?
07:44Yeah
07:45You know it is a good amount of work but it's kind of fun
07:47It kind of reminds me of Korean barbecue
07:49Yeah true
07:53Oh it just blew up
07:54One of these just exploded on me
07:56I have the result right here
07:58I'm not lying
07:59Oh yeah they're starting to open
08:01I didn't know they explode when they open though
08:03Oh this is dangerous
08:05I think we need goggles
08:06Oh there we go
08:07Oh
08:09This is a
08:10Oh Jesus
08:1125% of them will explode onto you
08:13You do have to watch out for that
08:14I'm shocked
08:15Are you okay?
08:18Yeah I'm okay
08:19That one was already opened and exploded
08:21Are you okay?
08:22Yeah just emotionally scarred
08:24We have a lot of flavoring agents over here
08:27But before we put any of that on there I think we should try it just plain
08:30So I think I've got all
08:31Ah!
08:33Why does that keep happening?
08:35I think the barnacles?
08:36Oh
08:37Because it's the barnacle pieces that are like
08:39Yeah you're right
08:40The little barnacles attached to the oysters get hot and highly pressurized
08:44And just when you're trying to enjoy your next bite
08:47They even share a warning on their website
08:49So dine at your own risk
08:51Cheers
08:56That
08:57Is delicious
08:58Mmhmm
08:59Smooth
09:00Almost creamy
09:01Slightly briny
09:02It's got like a natural sweetness to it
09:03Yeah yeah yeah yeah
09:04I don't know what it is
09:05But I think the two year
09:06Mmhmm
09:07Period of it waiting really gets it that nice creaminess
09:10Oh it's so good
09:11It's just like it doesn't need anything
09:12I think it's great on its own
09:14But it also makes me curious what it tastes like with the other stuff
09:17For Japan in general all of seafood it's definitely gonna be butter and soy sauce
09:23There's like a word for it it's
09:25Bata shoyu
09:26Mmm
09:27Mmm
09:28Mmm
09:29Oh it's so good
09:30It tastes like caramel at first for a second
09:32Yeah
09:33Because of the sweet oyster super rich butter and then some salt from that soy sauce that's
09:37a delicious combination
09:38It brings out the umami flavor of the oysters itself
09:41I also love the idea that Japanese folks are taking something super healthy and turning
09:45it into something just full of butter
09:47I mean that's what we as Americans usually are doing
09:49We're getting good at it
09:50But there's one flavor remaining
09:51It is the garlic butter and cheese on top
09:54This actually looks amazing
09:55And it smells so so good
10:00Oh that's a winner
10:02Even just the garlic butter is amazing
10:04It's eaten like with the garlic butter and cheese is like a way that everyone can enjoy it
10:09Except for lactose intolerant people
10:10Okay not them
10:11How about watch out for our marginalized communities
10:13But can't they take like the medicine to
10:15A nine millimeter?
10:17No
10:18They could just end it all I guess
10:19No
10:20Soon we'll see these Hiroshima oysters turned into more complex Japanese dishes
10:25Is this a recipe that you still see commonly today or is this really kind of a relic of the past?
10:31But first I want to understand why Hiroshima of all places is such a renowned region for growing oysters
10:37Shimada Shunsuke is the man behind it all
10:40Owner and representative director of Shimada Fisheries
10:43Because of the river that flows through here
10:45And kind of mixes with the sea water here
10:47That makes it the best habitat to grow these oysters
10:50And he says notably the oysters here are creamier
10:53I have to ask you one question
10:55Are you sick of oysters by now?
10:57Oh yeah he's sick of it
11:00We are going to try some of your more peculiar oyster recipes
11:05Starting with this
11:06A fried oyster
11:07To make this dish start with a coat of flour
11:10Dip it in an egg wash
11:11Then one last roll in Japanese panko
11:14Japan's signature bread crumbs
11:16Compared to the other countries you know other countries eat them raw typically
11:22But here in Hiroshima he says there's going to be so many different recipes that you can discover
11:26Mmm
11:30Oh that's good
11:31All the liquid is basically out of it
11:33It's got like a nice bite to it
11:35Still tender and creamy of course
11:36But it really firms up once it's cooked all the way through like this
11:39Is this mayonnaise?
11:40It's tartar sauce and mayonnaise basically
11:42Ooh
11:43I'm going to give this a little bit of a squirt
11:46Oh
11:47It's creamy
11:48It's tangy
11:49It's crunchy
11:50This is like 10 out of 10
11:51Very nice stuff
11:52You have a very humble kitchen
11:53A lot's getting done in there
11:54I thought McDonald's is just across the road
11:56They could start selling this
11:58American joke
11:59American joke
12:00Thank you
12:01This company is not just you
12:02You come from a long lineage of oyster farmers
12:05How far back does your family go in this industry?
12:07Since the 1600s
12:10Your family?
12:11That's wild
12:16When did the farming begin and what did that look like?
12:18There's a lot of fish
12:19There's a lot of fish
12:21Back then they didn't use the strings that we use now
12:23But rather they kept them close to shore
12:25And they would put the oysters onto the wooden poles
12:28So it would be easier to gather
12:30Until recently
12:31They developed now the current method
12:33Which is so much easier
12:34Yields much more oysters
12:36It made Hiroshima more famous for the oysters
12:39And also provide a lot of oysters to all of Japan
12:42To China and Hong Kong as well
12:45Mmm
12:46But who gets the best ones?
12:47Japan?
12:48Yeah, Japan
12:49Good
12:50And I say good because right here
12:51We have one more oyster dish
12:52That we're going to be trying right now
12:54First the oysters get boiled with carrots
12:56In a pot of broth
12:57Made from kombu kelp and bonito flakes
12:59Once they've had their moment
13:00Rice joins the other ingredients
13:02Then it's all topped off with Japanese mustard greens
13:07Its direct translation will be rice soup
13:10With oysters in them
13:11I love it
13:12There's kind of a thick cloudy broth
13:13And some rice
13:14I'm going to try that before even going to the oyster
13:18Oh
13:19Wow
13:20It's interesting because it's not quite a congee or porridge
13:22You know it's not overcooked to that amount
13:24But the rice is very soft
13:25It's insanely savory
13:26I can't believe how savory it is without MSG
13:28The oysters let out its natural flavors into the broth
13:31Mmm
13:32Of course the oyster itself
13:33Very tender
13:34Very soft
13:35A very different experience from the fried oyster
13:36This is a good like palate cleanser
13:38After everything
13:39True
13:40We've eaten oysters in a few different variations since we've been here
13:42But we haven't had them raw
13:44And actually we were explicitly told that we can't eat the oysters here raw
13:48And I have to ask you why is that
13:50I don't know
13:51Hiroshima is the strictest place to raise oysters
13:54They have so many regulations
13:56Which means that there are areas you can eat raw
13:58You cannot eat raw
14:00Eating raw oysters can lead to Vibrio infections
14:03Bringing on serious illness or in some cases worse
14:07Have you known people who have gotten sick
14:09So not really nice
14:10I don't know that many people who got food poisoning
14:12And that I asked
14:13There are people you know who got food poisoning
14:15He's like
14:16They're just unlucky
14:17Can I sign a waiver and eat one raw?
14:19Okay, okay
14:20Listen he said other people have gotten food poisoning
14:22But not because they were bad people
14:23Because they were unlucky
14:26Kaya?
14:27I'm good
14:28Really? Yeah
14:29Are you afraid?
14:30A little bit
14:31That's alright
14:32Cheers
14:34Mmm
14:35It's so yummy when it's raw
14:36Mmm
14:37That's when you get that real creaminess
14:39Just a touch of brininess
14:40It's so meaty
14:41That was amazing
14:42Maybe even life changing
14:43And it tasted even better
14:44Because it was an exclusive taste of something that is forbidden
14:47You will never get to experience what I just experienced
14:50And it might be my last one ever
14:51But I want to say
14:52Absolutely worth it
14:53Sir?
14:54Thank you
14:55These are Japan's everyday oyster dishes enjoyed by all
14:59But from here we're heading to an exclusive kitchen
15:01A place where money is no object
15:03But where creating a top tier oyster experience is everything
15:06Sir?
15:07Put her there
15:08Amazing to meet you
15:09Thank you
15:10This might be a dish that few people even in Japan recognize
15:13Miyajimayaki
15:14It's called the Miyajimayaki
15:16Nowadays no one knows where the origin of this recipe is
15:20So he minced together oysters, green onions and miso all together to make kind of like a paste
15:27These oysters have been minced?
15:28Yes
15:29I don't think I've ever seen minced oysters before
15:31That's very cool
15:32This is baked on top of the typical rice spatula that is used across Japan
15:39Right
15:40Because Miyajima Island invented this 200 years ago
15:43That's why not only does it show the cuisine of this area but also kind of the history behind it
15:52What must be done before I eat this?
15:54You must rinse your mouth with sake to cleanse the palate
15:57Oh, I don't know it's only 10.08 am
16:00Okay
16:01Oh, morning sake
16:04Okay
16:07So this will be my first time using a spoon to eat from an even bigger spoon
16:12Take some of this miso paste, green onion and diced up oysters
16:20Mmm
16:21Oh wow
16:22Oh yeah
16:23Of course you taste the miso, it's that fermented soy bean is full of flavor as a deep umami
16:27And then you're getting those chunks of oyster in there which contribute even more flavor, even more umami
16:32It's just like a pure flavor of paste
16:34This would do really good with rice
16:35You could smear this on anything
16:36Yeah
16:37I'm so tempted just to eat from the big spoon but I'll be polite
16:41Mmm-hmm
16:42I have a little bit left
16:45I didn't know I was supposed to leave some, I thought that would have been rude
16:50Coming up next, a French inspired dish called Atsu Atsu
16:53It's built around a ball of rice, a single oyster, lily pulps, plantain lilies and ostrich fern
17:00All tucked into a piping hot ceramic bowl
17:03Then comes the sauce, made with starch, salt, mirin, soy sauce and kombu dashi
17:09Then it's tossed in an oven until it's cooked all the way through
17:12This is not an onsen, not a hotel, it's a ryokan
17:17A hotel is more for like staying overnight, it's not really an experience
17:22But a ryokan is definitely an immersive experience in my opinion
17:26Once you enter, it's like you're going back in time
17:29And something really notable is you take your shoes off when you enter
17:32True
17:33Yeah
17:35Moments ago we were eating fried oysters, like something you would find at a state fair in the USA
17:40And then this, something decadent, very premium looking, it's a single oyster
17:44Are you ready?
17:45I'm so ready
17:46Let's go for it
17:49Mmm-hmm
17:51The oyster itself is delicious
17:52The seasonal ingredients that he used has more of a peppery flavor to it
17:56So it adds like a different dimension
17:58The rice is cooked perfectly too
18:00Thank god the owner is down here right now, he won't see me scraping to the bottom of this
18:05Oh that's good
18:06So that is kind of our appetizer
18:08But right here we have the oyster nabe, or hot pot
18:12Into a pot of boiling kelp, the chef drops in white cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, Japanese mustard greens
18:19And finally, the star of Hiroshima, the oysters
18:22When I heard oyster hot pot, maybe I was expecting more something like I would see in Vietnam
18:26Like a bunch of stuff just thrown in one pot
18:28This is so organized, and it feels so Japanese
18:31They're like, what? We're not gonna just mix all these ingredients together
18:34You can take the ingredients and put it into your own dish
18:37These are some real plump oysters here
18:40They're really fat
18:41Yeah
18:45Okay, very simple
18:46Very light
18:47Almost just watery and it's just taking on some of the flavor of the ingredients in there
18:50Especially the cabbage
18:52I'm gonna take some of this cabbage
18:53Hit it with a little bit of sauce
18:54Soy sauce
18:55Kombudashi
18:58There's also ponzu in here
18:59Right, like a little bit of citrus?
19:00Yes
19:01Then there's these local greens
19:05Wow, this is such a bright sauce
19:06Yes
19:07Slightly sour, a little savory
19:08I think we should jump right here to the oyster
19:10This is gonna be incredible
19:11Mmm
19:16Mmm
19:17God, it's a tremendous mix between being kind of meaty, hearty
19:19It's got a bite to it, but it's still a bit creamy
19:21It's still tender
19:22And it's got some of that brininess has washed out a bit
19:24And then it just soaks up this citrusy ponzu sauce
19:26It's a perfect pairing, these two
19:28My journey with oysters started in Japan
19:31On my first trip here, I thought bigger is better
19:33And I put it in my mouth and it was so big I almost choked on it
19:35Woah
19:39It was delicious
19:40It was too much, I did not enjoy that experience at all
19:42And I thought, why does everyone love this?
19:44Like what's wrong with me?
19:45And over time I've come to appreciate oysters
19:48Which is easier to do with more moderately sized oysters like these
19:51How old are you when you first tried an oyster?
19:53I think I was eight or seven years old
19:55First time I ate it was raw
19:56A couple years ago
19:57A couple
19:58I had it raw and I loved it actually
20:00Then I became an oyster fanatic to the point where I eat too much
20:04And my parents are genuinely concerned for me
20:06Since you're so well versed in oysters, how does this compare?
20:09Oh this is completely different from how I typically eat oysters
20:13And I love to taste the different ways that it could be eaten
20:16And I realized that oyster has so much depth to it in a way
20:20Because it could taste completely different based on how you try to eat it
20:24And I loved all the ways we've eaten it so far
20:26I think the best move from here is to head out and talk about which oyster dishes were our absolute favorite from today
20:31I'm ready to go
20:32Boom! Today we ate a bunch of different oysters
20:34I gotta ask you, Kaya, which was your favorite oyster dish of the day?
20:36For me, it would be the Miyagi-Yaki
20:39Which is what we had here with the spoon
20:41Very good choice
20:42I enjoyed that as well
20:43But for me, considering I still have this little, like, slice of white trash in me
20:47I liked the fried one
20:49Fried oysters
20:50With mayo or tartar sauce on top
20:52That you could squeeze from plastic
20:54She doesn't like the
20:56Sound
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