A JAPANESE DISH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1538, 21 August 1905, Page 2

A JAPANESE DISH.

JTo the Edit or Gisborne Times.) Sir, .Kindly give .your Maori readers this from the London Times of June , 2nd Baron Sayematsu on Tuesday afternoon received a party of journalists and others at the Japanese club in King-street; Covent-garden, and, invited' them to taste the Japanese dish '“Warabi,” or, to give it its Chinese name,_ “ Wei,” which he thinks might with advantage become an article of diet in this country (England). “ Warabi ” is brakea, or the branched fern, which if plucked in the ! early spring (September with us) at its curling stage, and properly cooked makes an excellent vegetable. In the East it has been eaten jfor centuries, and is a favorite dish there among all classes, from tho Emperor downwards. Noticing how plentifuljit is in England and that-it was allowed to go to waste, Baron Suyematsu desired that its Qualities; z& a vegetable' should be brOugh't to the public notice. If [ plucked at the right time and properly prepared it can be eaten as asparagus, which vegetable it to some extent resembles; in another form - (mashed, I suppose,) it makes a good substitute for .spinach. Sir, I hope' that' our public instructors in cookery will see this and take 'the Japanese Ambassador's kindness at what it is worth, by introducing the dish at their public functions to their pupils and patrons. •—I am, etc. •' » r •