Ryuji Tries Four Varieties of Aohata's "Spreadable Terrine" and Makes a Banh Mi with the Chicken Liver One

At the start, Ryuji explains what kind of dish a terrine is. Some are made by blending meat and setting it with gelatin, while others are made by neatly arranging vegetables such as asparagus and setting them in jelly; it is a dish served at the start of a French course meal. Recalling his past experience working at a hotel, Ryuji says the appetizer was usually a terrine.

The product in question is made by the jam maker Aohata and costs around 350 yen per jar. It comes in four varieties: "Hiroshima Oyster," "Japanese Beef," "Japanese Chicken Liver," and "Tottori Red Snow Crab." According to Ryuji, only two of these are commonly found in regular stores, while the other two are apparently stocked at relatively upscale shops. After a post from the official account went viral, the products became hard to get. Ryuji said he wanted to try them and had his staff look for them, and in the end a staff member drove out to buy them. The crab, in particular, was apparently hard to find.

Looking at the ingredient list, Ryuji guessed that these would be fairly natural-style pastes, made by blending the main ingredient with vegetables. One staff member said that when they hear "Aohata," they think of jam and anchovies.

The first jar they opened was the Japanese beef. The lid was tight, so Ryuji demonstrated a trick of tapping the rim of the jar to deform the lid and make it easier to open. The contents were softer than expected, and Ryuji was surprised, saying, "I've never seen anything like this." It looked close to jam, and Ryuji speculated that because Aohata is a jam maker, they may have made it with a jam-like approach.

A staff member was about to taste it straight, but Ryuji stopped them, saying, "That's not something you eat on its own," and they decided to spread it on bread sliced and toasted like a baguette. Remarking on how it looked once spread, "That doesn't look very appetizing," he took a bite, and his verdict was, "It's an animal-based jab (jam)." Beef is the first ingredient listed, and he praised it as delicious, with a strong beef flavor.

At the same time, Ryuji pointed out that Japanese people probably aren't used to this kind of thing. He has no problem with it since he eats a lot of Western food, but to people unfamiliar with it, it might seem like a strange food. A staff member said they had never seen anything like it, but after tasting it, they were positive: "This is delicious." They also discussed that it's fine if you don't mind soft textures, and that it has a slightly grainy mouthfeel, like ground-up animal products. The staff member summed it up as "less odd than I expected—'meat jam' is spot on."

However, Ryuji teased that while the beef was delicious, the "real favorite" most likely to suit him was the chicken liver coming up next.

The chicken liver was a bit firmer than the beef and looked exactly like liver pâté. The ingredients included chicken liver and onion, and Ryuji said it was "the same as the liver pâté I make." He found it interesting that it wasn't set with gelatin, and noted its smoothness, holding together through the firmness of the ingredients themselves.

As for the aroma, both Ryuji and the staff said it didn't have much of a liver smell. Ryuji loves liver pâté—he often makes it himself and always orders it at restaurants. From that perspective, he analyzed that while typical recipes often include butter, this product contains none, making it a fairly natural-style chicken liver pâté. His assessment was that it is very light, with strong umami and little fat.

A staff member who isn't particularly fond of liver seemed to prefer the beef. Still, after tasting it, they said it was "properly liver" and that liver lovers would find it irresistible. Ryuji said the very fact that a product like this is sold in a shelf-stable jar was "on the level of being moving," and judging it more polished as a product than the beef, he gave it an "A+," a higher score than the beef.

Regarding the remaining two varieties, a staff member said they "feel like a bit more effort went into them." The red snow crab is made basically from crab and vegetables, and looked the firmest of the four. Ryuji pointed out that this one isn't set in aspic either, saying it spreads more like cream.

Ryuji's first word after tasting it was "delicious." He said it tasted of crab meat and had the most French flavor of the four. When a staff member said, "The crab has been recreated," Ryuji replied, "It's not recreated—it is crab." The staff member described it as "easy-to-eat crab," saying that, honestly, it might be easier to eat than the chicken liver, and the best one so far.

Ryuji analyzed that it has a strong broth-like flavor and is well seasoned. He praised it as very carefully made, using egg yolk and sautéed onion, and repeatedly lauded Aohata's skill. He also emphasized that it is made to be easy for Japanese people to eat. He rated it the highest of the four, saying, "This is the best one" and "It's already perfected." He even suggested ways to use it: since it's a bit bisque-like, it would probably be delicious tossed with pasta or thinned with milk to make a sauce. Ryuji's conclusion was that it's an interesting product even for foodies and worth buying.

The last one, the oyster, uses onion and spinach as its vegetables and is also seasoned. When a staff member was puzzled by its yellow color, Ryuji explained that it's because it includes parts like the dark portion of the oyster.

As for the taste, one comment was that it was easy to eat and felt like eating high-end French food. On the other hand, someone also said that if you eat it expecting oyster, the oyster flavor is surprisingly not that strong. Ryuji acknowledged that while it is oyster, it doesn't have a strong, assertive oyster character, but above all he praised the seasoning as very good. Saying that he can appreciate its high quality precisely because he eats a lot of paste-style dishes, he recommended trying it once as an "experience" you can have for 350 yen.

A staff member who dislikes oysters felt that although it was made easy to eat, "it's still oyster," and said that since even they, who dislike oysters, went "ugh," the oyster flavor must come through clearly. They added that if you don't dislike shellfish, you should go ahead and eat it.

Here, Ryuji explained to viewers how to read ingredient labels. Ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity. Oyster is listed first in this oyster terrine, and since it's rare for the star ingredient to come first, Ryuji's take was that it is a "sincere product." He said they must have put a lot of effort into product development, and gave it an "A+." Across all four, the crab was the most delicious, and ironically, it was also the hardest to find in stores and the one they struggled most to track down.

In the second half, Ryuji makes a banh mi using the chicken liver terrine. When a staff member answered, "A hard sandwich, something made with crusty bread," Ryuji replied, "That's not wrong," and when asked where the dish is from, "Thailand" and "Vietnam" were suggested. The correct answer is Vietnam.

As Ryuji explains, Vietnam was once a French colony, so its cuisine has the best of Asia while also incorporating French food culture. There are many ways to make banh mi, but the ones Ryuji has eaten have included liver pâté. Making that liver pâté yourself is a real hassle, so the aim of this segment is that by buying this product, you can make it easily. Ryuji has created a banh mi recipe before, and he said he wanted to recreate it with this product.

The bread is French bread, but rather than the hard, crunchy kind, he uses a soft bâtard. Ryuji started to say, "Japanese people don't really like hard French bread," then corrected himself: "Sorry, I'm the one who doesn't like it." He used a Topvalu bâtard, which he says is soft and delicious.

For the onion, he uses Early Red. When asked how it differs from regular onion, a staff member answered, "It's not pungent," and Ryuji agreed, explaining that Early Red isn't sharp even without soaking it in water. But when he actually cut and tasted it, it was intensely pungent. It made Ryuji squeeze his eyes shut, and he decided to soak it, saying, "Can't eat this without soaking it." Noting that individual onions vary, he said "this kind of thing happens," and that in that case, regular onion would be fine too. He explained that if you use regular onion, you should soak it in water, and that the pungent compounds are water-soluble, so soaking draws them out. The amount is about 50 g per loaf of French bread; in practice, the sharpness went away quickly after about 3 minutes of soaking, and he squeezed it lightly to drain off the water.

He julienned about 50 g of carrot. The thinner the better, but since it's hard to cut it thin with a knife, he recommends using a shirishiri grater.

For the meat, he used pork loin cut for steak. According to Ryuji, authentic banh mi often features something like oven-roasted pork, but at home, pan-frying is good enough. He seasons it with salt and pepper and cooks both sides. Since it's a nicely shaped cut, there's little need to score the sinew, and he added that it doesn't matter much anyway since it will be sliced. When done, it was slightly pink inside, which he said is the most tender way to cook it. He said more meat makes it tastier, so with this amount you could cook two pieces, and in fact, partway through he felt it wasn't enough and cooked one more.

The vegetables are made into do chua-style pickles. He combines the Early Red and carrot, then adds 1½ teaspoons of Tiparos fish sauce, his go-to brand, about the same amount of grain vinegar, and about 3 g of grated garlic. He initially added about ½ teaspoon of sugar, but after tasting, decided it needed a little more and increased it to ⅔ teaspoon. These pickles are the key to the flavor, and since it isn't banh mi without fish sauce, he stressed that anyone who doesn't have it should "definitely buy some."

He cuts the bâtard in half and makes a slit in it before toasting. Since it's a sandwich, it's hard to eat if it's too hard. As for how much to toast it, he said it doesn't need to be all that crispy.

On the cut surface of the toasted bread, he first spreads butter melted in the microwave. Ryuji says you should definitely include butter. When a staff member asked if lemon was needed, he said no. On top of that, he spreads a generous layer of about 1½ tablespoons of the chicken liver terrine. Ryuji called this "the key to the flavor" and explained that the liver pâté is what makes this sandwich great. For those who want to make it themselves, he added that he has his own liver pâté recipe too.

Next, he adds the pickles and sliced pork, then tears cilantro and places it on top. Ryuji himself wasn't very fond of cilantro, but says he's finally gotten used to it recently, and people who like it can add as much as they want. Finally, a light drizzle of fish sauce, and it's done. When making the second one, he adjusted the arrangement, saying it looks nicer with the meat on the bottom. The final drizzle of fish sauce is for adjusting the intensity of the flavor, and is optional. He also stated clearly that no umami seasoning was used.

When a staff member said, "You just sandwiched meat and vegetables," Ryuji emphasized that the most important thing not to forget is the liver pâté, saying this turns your home into a Vietnamese restaurant. Ryuji also said he wants to cook freely, making food that isn't bound by convention.

After eating, a staff member said they liked the seasoning of the pickles, and Ryuji seemed satisfied too: "Banh mi is so good." Ryuji explained that some people might wonder why liver pâté is included, but it's the liver pâté that brings everything into harmony. He also flatly stated that it's no good without the liver pâté. Whenever he made banh mi, the liver pâté was always the one hassle, but buying Aohata's makes it authentic—that was the conclusion of this segment. He also said the seasoning was salty, to his own taste, but that this level was just right.

When a staff member asked whether pork is the most common filling, Ryuji answered that pork is common, but chicken is delicious too. However, rather than stir-frying thinly sliced meat, it tastes better to cook it as a block and then slice it thin to sandwich, and slightly thicker meat is more satisfying. Salt and pepper is enough to season the meat, since the flavor is balanced by the pickles and the fish sauce added at the end. He said people concerned about salt can add just as much fish sauce as they like.

As he kept eating, Ryuji said he had planned to eat only half but could finish the whole thing. Reflecting on the bread, he said a softer bâtard is good, and a hard one might be tiring to eat given its bulk. His final takeaway was that the cilantro is surprisingly optional, and what matters is the pickles, the liver pâté, and some kind of meat.

To wrap up, Ryuji said this video "definitely won't take off," and that lately he would rather do what he wants than chase views. He said he is in his 10th year as a culinary researcher and wants to train a protégé he can hand things over to, mentioning that he's counting on "Moko." As for the other one, "Ebisu," he said "that didn't quite work out," and called on him to get back in touch if he's watching.

Finally, Ryuji recommended viewers try the spreadable terrines, describing them as a product for everyday use, and ended the video by stating clearly that this was not a PR feature but something he did on his own.