What We’re Drinking: Daimaou Imo (sweet potato) Shochu
This was another bottle that I received in the mail. It’s one that I’ve been meaning to pick up for a while as I’ve seen it a few times before at Seiyu, so I was very happy to see the shiny gold label and foil when I popped the box open.
This is another decent imo-jochu from Kagoshima prefecture, but it surprised me a little because it doesn’t smell like an imo-jochu. It’s more refined than the imo-jochus I’m accustomed to drinking while carrying some light fruit on the nose. Before ever putting it in my mouth this shochu was living up to its deceitful name, “Great Devil King.”
Enjoying Daimaou neat, it has a round, medium-bodied mouthfeel. There’s a sweetness to it that is understated to the point of being dry. The yellow mold (essential to the process of breaking the potato starches down into fermentable sugars) used prior to distilling obviously has something to do with this sweetness. The effect is very pleasant. Yellow mold is what is used in the nihonshu brewing process and is somewhat less common in the shochu industry where white mold prevails.
There’s something about this shochu that reminds me of drinking brandy. Try it neat and see for yourself.
I also highly recommend this shochu on the rocks. It’s light, refreshing and easy to drink–definitely one of the better imo-jochus I’ve had that retails in the 1,600-1,800 yen range. And as I alluded above, Daimaou is distributed widely enough by Hamada Shuzo that you can find it in major supermarket chains such as Seiyu.
Recipe: Piman no jakoitame (stir-fried peppers with crispy young anchovies)
Vibrant color, crispy texture.
In many ways, this pepper and anchovy dish is the perfect otsumami (tapas-style dish). For starters there’s its vivid color – bold red, yellow and green. Then there’s the texture – the slightly crispy anchovies balancing the sauteed peppers. Finally, there’s the flavor of the mentsuyu (a dashi-based sauce usually used for soba and udon noodles).
Stir-fried peppers with crispy young anchovies
Ingredients (serves 2 people)
- 200g green pepper (4-5 green peppers)
- 50g red pepper (1/2 a red pepper)
- 50g yellow pepper (1/2 a yellow pepper)
- 20g dried young anchovies
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons of mentsuyu
Method
Pour 2 tablespoons of sesame oil into a frying pan and place on a low heat. Add the dried young anchovies and slowly saute them for 3-4 minutes, so that they become crispy.
Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds, then slice them into strips. When the anchovies become crispy, add the peppers to the pan and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes over a high heat.
Finally, add two tablespoons of mentsuyu and coat the peppers. If you live in Japan, you should be able to find this at any supermarket or convenience store.
If you live overseas and have trouble finding the sauce, however, add the following to the fry pan:
- 2 tablespoons of dashi soup (or water)
- 1 tablespoon of sake
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of mirin
It’s also worth noting that were you to make 2-3 times the sauce, you would have the perfect soup for soba or udon noodles.
Recipe: Aona no norimaki (boiled greens wrapped in seaweed)
Norimaki needn’t always come as sushi.
So you’re looking for that perfect appetizer – something that looks great, is dead simple to make, and can be enjoyed by omnivores and vegetarians alike. Well look no further. This recipe for aona no norimaki (boiled greens wrapped in seaweed) is all of the above. Not only that, but its about as healthy an appetizer as you can get.
Aona is the Japanese word for green leaf vegetables, which includes such things as spinach, komatsuna and canola blossoms. Spinach and komatsuna were once winter vegetables, but are now available in Japan all year round. Canola blossoms are only found during springtime.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 200g spinach or other aona
- 1 sheet toasted nori seaweed
- A handful of bonito flakes (optional)
Method
First wash the spinach, especially the roots, and then drain. Bring 1 liter of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of salt.
Place the spinach into the boiling water, roots first, then boil for 30 seconds so that the leaves turn a bright green. Rinse under cold water. Next, separate the spinach into two equal portions and squeeze well to remove any moisture. Cut off the roots.
Slice a sheet of nori in half, placing it on the maki-su (bamboo mat). Place the first half of the spinach on the nori, leaving 2 cm uncovered at the bottom of the sheet. Now lift the nearest edges of both the maki-su and the nori, and roll away from you. To seal the nori, dip a finger in water and moisten the top edge. Repeat for the second nori roll.
Finally, cut into 2-3 cm portions and serve on a bed of bonito flakes (optional).
What We’re Drinking: Waseda Beer
Waseda, the lauded private university in downtown Tokyo that fields roughly 130,000 applications for admission each year, has a lot going for it–tradition, influence, and most importantly a very good baseball team.
One thing that it still needs to work on, however, is its beer.
Unfortunately, Waseda Beer (5% ABV) is strongly yeasty from the moment you pry the cap off it. Then the yeastiness on the nose is backed up by an immediate and somewhat sour yeast dominance on the palate.
The result is a low-wattage sour middle that is not really all that welcome. This means that the hops are nearly undetectable. It would probably go down better, and feel more balanced, if the yeasty nose translated into a medium-bodied, bready mouthfeel.
I cracked two separate bottles to make sure that this was not an errant representative of the Waseda beer brand, but alas I cannot guarantee that they weren’t from the same batch since the same ‘drink by’ date (October 29, 2010) was stamped on the back of both of them.
Given the possibility that I drank two bottles of the real deal, I’m willing to acknowledge that it’s possible to get used to this beer, but it’s really not for me. The one thing that it has going for it is the somewhat dry finish that makes you nearly think the word “refreshing”. The only other plus I could come up with is the cool beer-pouring sound it makes on its way into a glass due to the stovepipe neck on the bottle.
In short, this beer does not do the proud history of Waseda University justice, and I will not be purchasing another one of them until someone assures me that a different experience is in store.
Waseda’s star pitcher, Yuki Saito, would surely be pissed off if he knew that this stuff was being served on campus.
More info about this beer can be found (in Japanese) here: http://waseda-beer.com/
What We’re Drinking: “Tokyo Beer” by Tama no Megumi
This bottle conditioned beer by Ishikawa Brewery out near Haijima station in Western Tokyo is an easy step up from what one normally consumes by way of Japan’s macro-breweries.
I’m not sure how much my bottle was shaken, but the pour was pretty hazy and could be best described as having a murky straw hue to it. The off-white head was thin and disappeared quickly on my pour from a 500 ml bottle into a pint glass.
The bottle was dated October, 2009. Not ideal, but within the realm of acceptability. Also of importance, it’s labeled as being 5.5% ABV.
Fresh out of the fridge, the mouthfeel on this beer was neither harsh nor special. It’s a medium-bodied brew that is perhaps a bit too shy on hoppiness, but at the same time balanced in terms of the light barley sweetness that highlights the start of the short trek from the front to the back of the palate. A few gulps later, once room temperature has started to assert its influence, a bit of breadiness starts to creep in and a bit of astringency (not unpleasant) colors the aftertaste.
This beer would benefit from a stronger hop backbone in my opinion, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. I suspect that, if you can get past the price tag, this beer will be popular with the Tokyo masses that wouldn’t mind something a little more complex than what is commonly found in the supermarket or convenience store cooler. Expect to pay around 400 yen for a half-liter bottle.
What We’re Drinking: Nakanaka Mugi (barley) Shochu
This bottle was a birthday present from my friend Karen who knows that I’m studiously perusing the range of barley shochu offerings available in Tokyo. It was a very welcome addition to my home bar!
This bottle, Nakanaka, is a good place to start one’s exploration of honkaku mugi shochu. When drinking it straight, Nakanaka starts with a slight, honey sweetness on the tip of the tongue before giving way to an assertive barley-alcohol twinge at the back.
With an ice cube or two thrown in this shochu loses a bit of the sweetness up front and experiences a slight drop in alcoholic bite as well. Taking a good drag of air to mix with a mouthful of Nakanaka will help revive the sweetness that is easier to find when enjoying this drink neat.
Most industry folks recommend that this drink be enjoyed either on the rocks or with a bit of warm water (oyuwari in Japanese). The latter is advised especially if you want to get more out of the nose. Cold water (mizuwari) is also an option.
Drinking Nakanaka straight is not to be discouraged, even though I seem to be the only only openly recommending that it be consumed that way.
At around 1,050 yen for a 720 ml bottle the regular stuff (it’s usually found in a brown glass bottle), you can’t go wrong with a bottle of Nakanaka.
Recipe: Hiyashi soumen
With the arrival of summer, Japanese are increasingly looking towards light meals at lunchtime. A bowl of soumen (cold noodles) is one of the most popular ways to relieve the summer heat.
Soumen is traditionally served with a large variety of yakumi, or condiments. While it may be tempting to cut back on the number of different garnishes, it’s worth trying all of the yakumi listed below at least once so that you can better judge which you prefer.
Serve the noodles on ice in a wooden bowl. Pour a little soup into each guest’s bowl and allow them to choose their own condiments, which they mix into the soup. Finally, guests add noodles which they should mix together with the yakumi.
Itadakimasu!!
Soumen
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 3 bunches of dried soumen
- 1-1.5l water
Yakumi (condiments)
- 1-2 mioga (mioga ginger)
- 10 asatsuki chives
- 4-5 green shiso (green perilla) leaves
- 1 package of kaiware daikon (radish sprouts)
- 1 deep-fried tofu pouch
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sake
- 1 teaspoon of shichimi togarashi (a mixture of red pepper and six other spices)
- 1 clove of ginger
Tsuyu soup
- 2 cups of dashi soup
- 1/2 a cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 a cup of mirin
Method
First prepare the tsuyu soup. Pour the mirin into a pan, place it onto the gas table and bring it to the boil. Add the dashi soup together with the soy sauce and bring it to the boil again. Once boiling, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.
Now for the yakumi (garnishes). Cut the mioga in half lengthwise and then again into thin strips. Rise in a bowl of cold water for a minute then drain.
Cut the asatsuki chives into thin round slices.
Slice the green shiso leaves into julienne strips, rinse them in a bowl of cold water and drain.
Peel the skin of the ginger grate it.
Cut off the root of the kaiware daikon, then cut into halves.
Toast one deep-fried tofu pouch for about one minute. Mix a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of sake and a teaspoon of shichimi togarashi and spread onto one side of the tofu pouch. Toast it again for about one minute until it becomes crispy. Finally, cut the pouch into bite-sized rectangles (12-16).
Bring a bowl of water to the boil and cook the soumen noodles for roughly two minutes (refer to the cooking instructions on the package). If the water rolls up to the edge of the pot, add a half cup of cold water. Once the noodles are ready, rinse them in running fresh water.
Place water and ice in a wooden bowl and arrange the noodles so that they don’t stick together.
Serve the noodles with the tsuyu (soup) and condiments in individual plates or bowls.
World Cup Sake, Match 1
Hasegawa, purveyors of fine sake and savvy marketers of products such as the Tokyo Swallows baseball beer, have outdone themselves for the 2010 World Cup.
Rather than produce new libations, Hasegawa has repackaged some popular sake, shochu, and umeshu in fancy 2010 World Cup South Africa-themed bottles. While there were 13 different sake, two shochu, an umeshu, and a lemon liqueur thus bottled, we here were able to get our hands on six nice sake selections. Read more
What We’re Drinking: England vs. Germany
Yes, the 2010 World Cup is infecting Japan Eats, too. While we have a little Japan-centered FIFA-related tippling on the way, tonight England, home to a good chunk of our friends out there, take on Germany, also a quite Japan Eats-friendly country.
So, what’s on tap tonight is not only what’s on tap, but what’s in bottles: the least scientific head-to-head imaginable. Battle of the beers! Read more
Recipe: Suage yasai no okaka itame (deep fried vegetables)
Eggplant, peppers, pumpkin and string beans: a light vegetable dish fit for summer
Summer time is (almost) upon us. In Tokyo, the rainy season (June/July) gives way to days which are long, hot and humid – the perfect time for salads and light vegetable dishes.
Here is an extremely easy deep fried vegetable dish which would suit any summer menu. It only requires a handful of ingredients, and these can be adjusted according to taste. Vegetarians take note: simply skip the bonito flakes and add a little more flavor with a fresh sesame seed garnish.
Deep fried vegetables
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1/4 pumpkin
- 1 red pepper
- 100 g string beans
- 300 – 400 g eggplant
- 600 ml vegetable oil for deep frying
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 – 10 g bonito flakes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- fresh sesame seeds
Method
First remove the pumpkin seeds and cut the pumpkin into wedges 5 – 6 mm thick.
Cut away both ends of each string bean. Next, slice each pepper in half and remove the seeds together with the stems. Slice the peppers lengthways into wedges 1 cm thick.
Now remove the stems from the eggplant and cut into wedges 1 cm thick.
Heat the vegetable oil to 170 degrees centigrade. Deep fry all of the ingredients (without adding butter) until they have turned golden brown.
Remove the cooked ingredients from the deep fryer and drain away any remaining oil.
Now for the sauce. Pour the sesame oil and thinly chopped garlic into a fry pan. Place the pan on a very low heat. Once the garlic has become light brown, add the bonito flakes and soy sauce to the oil and garlic. Mix rapidly and turn off the heat.
Finally, place the deep fried vegetables into the pan and coat them with sauce. Serve with a garnish of fresh sesame seeds.
