Take Out Menu
Fukuno has pack all the goodness of Kappo into a bento box at an affordable price for you to enjoy at home.
Call (310) 719-1640 to place your order now!
What's In the Box
The mountains, the ocean current, the fertile soil, and the expressive seasons of Japan have offered a countless flavorful ingredients unique to each season. Over the centuries, Japanese people have learnt to take the most out of the gifts from the nature. Instead of depending on heavily seasoning the ingredients, Kappo cooking extracts the original flavor of the ingredients through cooking, known as "umami," and uses the combination and harmony of umami to enhance the flavor of the entire dish.
Fukuno's Kappo bento has packed variety of such dishes in a box, because not only the individual dish is enhanced, but the combination of a course of meal can be a whole new experience.
Daily Specials Entrée
The proteins will change daily due to the best ingredients of the day. Fukuno has a numerous variety of protein dishes so we're not able to list everything here, but here are some examples.
From the Sea
Kenchin-Yaki
Stir fried veggie wrapped in salmon and steamed.
Scallion Isobe-Yaki
Baked (yaki) scallion dipped in soy sauce and wrapped in seaweed (isobe). Enjoy the pure aroma of the sea.
From the Mountain
Kamo-Aburi
Seared duck meat.
Hambagu Steak
One of the western foods evolved into beloved into Japanese food. Unlike meat patty in a hamburger, Japanese hambagu steak mixes sautéed onions, salt, and bread crumbs in the grounded meat. The steak is so juicy and soft that you can easily cut it with chopsticks. Enjoy the odd harmony of hambagu and rice.
Sides
Nimono
literally translated into simmered things (food). Fukuno’s nimono consists of various kinds of gift of mountains such as carrots, bamboo shoots, taro, shiitake mushroom, pumpkin, lotus root, and konnyaku, a processed konjac potato, or a kind of yam.
Kimpira
Kimpira of lotus root and burdock (gobo). Kimpira means to stir fry veggies with sugar and soy sauce. The sweet and salty flavor brings out the best of crunchy lotus root and burdock.
Simmered Hijiki
A kind of processed seaweed. It contains plenty of fiber to help your bowel.
String Beans Miso-Ae
Cooked string beans dressed (ae) with miso and sesame. The balance of the three flavor makes an incredible harmony.
Tamago (Egg)
Japanese style beautifully wrapped scrambled egg. Taste the umani of bonito.
Shibazuke
Cucumber pickled in red Shiso, a Japanese herb, which is the cause of its bright purple color. Eating too much of any pickles can lead to excess salt intake, but a right amount of shibazuke will improve your intestinal environment and add accent to your entire meal experience.
What is Oshi Sushi
Oshi sushi, or pressed sushi, is a breed of sushi where briefly fermented fish (in salt and vinegar) and sushi rice is put in a box and firmly pressed together. It is a type of sushi not as well know to the world as beloved nigiri sushi, but in fact, nigiri is just a rookie in the sushi world, and oshi sushi's history goes way back. But first, did you know why sushi comes with a piece of fresh sashimi over sourly flavored rice? Here's a brief history of sushi.
The Origin
The very origin of sushi is said to start in southeast Asia in around 4th century B.C., where fish and other animal proteins were made into preserved food by fermenting them in salt and cooked rice. The method was brought to Japan through China by, at least, the 8th century, together with rice harvesting culture. The process of fermentation usually took over a year, and the rice that was used to ferment the fish would become too pasty to consume.
An ancient style sushi still being made in Japan.
*Fukuno does not serve the above dish
The lactic acid fermentation causes a quite strong odor, and the fish becomes sour, but the protein in fish becomes a unique umami during the process. This ancient form of sushi is still made in some parts of Japan today. But for the next several centuries, sushi will slowly evolve into what we know.
Evolution to Oshi Sushi
Around 14th centuries, the length of fermentation becomes as short as two weeks to one month by using weighing stone in the process. This method ferments the fish only half way but the rice does not become paste. As a result, the rice that is used to ferment the fish is now eaten as a part of the sushi dish. Although the fish is left half raw, the combination of that and the sourly fermented rice brings out as much umami as the original sushi, and this trait can still be seen in today's sushi as sushi rice.
An ancient style sushi still being made in Japan.
*Fukuno does not serve the above dish
The fermentation process became even shorter in 1700s as vinegar becomes widely available. Instead of waiting the lactic acid fermentation to happen in rice, vinegar is added to trigger the fermentation. Vinegared fish and rice are then put into a box together, and is pressed with a weighing stone for only over night or even several hours before serving. The weighing process, then, become even simplified by firmly hand pressing the fish and rice in a box with hands. This type of sushi, which is known today as oshi sushi, becomes so popular throughout Japan that it was made in general households. In eastern Japan (areas around Osaka and Kyoto), oshi sushi is still one of the most common types of sushi today.
Sushi, throughout the history, has always been sourly fermented food. In fact, the word "sushi" itself means "sour" in ancient Japanese (which transformed into current Japanese "suppai"). The fish and rice in oshi sushi is also processed in salt and vinegar. When you order oshi sushi at Fukuno, you may enjoy it with soy sauce just like nigiri, or without any additional seasoning to taste its natural umani.
Birth of Nigiri Sushi
On the other hand, in the city of Edo (today's Tokyo), a new type of sushi was introduced around early 19th century. Thanks to its thriving fishing industry, the city enjoyed plenty of fresh fish supply. And because of hasty personalities of residents of Edo (edokko), people wanted to eat sushi even faster. That is when nigiri was invented. Although because of lack of refrigerating system, the fish was still somehow processed (cooked, or vinegared) at the beginning of its history, the weighing stone is replaced by clenching (nigi-ru, verb of nigiri) fish and rice in hands, which tremendously expedited the process of making sushi. Nigiri became so popular that each district or town in Edo had one or two nigiri-sushi stands of its own, where sushi sellers would make nigiri right in front of customers. It quickly becomes the soul food, as well as everyone's favorite fast food in Edo.
The city of Edo (left) and sushi served in Edo era (right)
*Fukuno does not serve the above dish
Yes. Fast food. People would stop by their favorite sushi stand after work and grab some sushi and go. However, as some of those stands becomes restaurants and as fresh sashimi replaced processed fish, making of nigiri becomes more sophisticated. Sushi sellers are required some craftsmanship, and the dish itself has become a form of art. As a result, nigiri slowly became luxurious food over the time. This culture was exported to the world and is being loved everywhere on earth today.
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+1 (310) 719-1640
