For goodness sake

Those of you who know me well will be aware of my interest in all things Japanese, from the short stories and novels of Murakami to the woodblock prints of Hokusai and the range of tasty sushi, noodle and tofu dishes that are increasingly easy to find in the UK. It had been our intention to spend a month in Japan in 2020, but, as blog followers will be aware, this trip was curtailed after five days. This taster has only served to whet my appetite further – pun intended! One of the most pleasant surprises in Kyoto was the high quality of the sake we tasted, especially the warm one we had on our last night in a street bar. It wasn’t the highest quality drink I’ve ever had, but it seemed to resonate and reflect the warmth both of the welcome we received and also our own feelings towards the country.

So, in the latest of the tasting flights with my friends here, I was excited to be hosting the ‘sake and sushi’ evening. Preparations began by thinking about a three course meal that would work. Having never attempted to make sushi, this was first on my starter list. I quickly added a chilled tofu dish, as I have only used silken tofu once before and was keen to try a different recipe. Edamame beans became the third part of the starter trio as I love them, quite apart from somehow feeling healthy when eating them. Next I considered desserts and quickly settled on macha green tea ice cream, as we had some in Japan that was delicious. I decided to pair this with fresh fruit and macha green tea and white chocolate chip cookies. Finally, I decided to do a ramen dish for mains, as one of our number is obsessed with noodles, so it seemed like a quick win. Having prepared ramen dishes before, I also felt that it would add a sharing element, as I intended to prepare everything in the kitchen and then allow people to build their bowls at the table.

Next began the research into sake. We like to share information about the processes that go into making the spirit/chosen alcohol, a steep learning curve with regards to the polishing, soaking, steaming etc of the rice grains, as well as the three different qualities of sake – Junmai (robust rice flavour and light and refreshing), Ginjo (fruitier and more floral but still relatively light) and Daiginjo (richer, more complex, finessed flavour and aroma profiles). I was looking to find sakes that paired well with my chosen menu. I still had some brought back from Japan, but, with all the writing on all the labels in japanese, I was none the wiser. This one I decided to serve both warmed and at room temperature with the main. I sourced a sparkling sake for dessert, to be served chilled and a different bottle for starters, to be served below room temperature but not overly chilled.

So, the meal was as follows:

Starters: Sushi nori rolls with a variety of fillings including: tuna, salmon, red pepper, cucumber, toasted sesame – served with soy sauce and japanese mayo. Hiyayakko – chilled silken tofu served with spring onion, chilli, seared sweetcorn and soy. – pictured above. Spicy glazed edamame beans. Served with Akashi-tai sake, a daiginjo quality sake. – pictured above.

Mains: Spicy garlic ramen bowl, based around a spiced chicken broth and served with egg, seared chicken, coriander, sesame, spring onion, seared beansprouts and noodles. Served with warmed and room temperature sake (picture below).

Desserts: Macha green tea ice cream served with raspberries and green tea cookies with white chocolate chip (picture already posted on instagram). Served with chilled Keigetsu sparkling sake John.

Eating: Cauliflower and potato curry, recipe from BBC goodfood. Having got int a slight rut for an easy midweek spicy dish, I needed to branch out and try another one. Cauliflower really lends itself to taking on flavours whilst retaining texture, so this seemed like a good one to try. Recipe will be added to the recipe page.

Drinking: An Argentinian reserve Malbec, sourced from Naked wines – a nice hearty red for the cold days and evenings.

Listening to: In a previous life, the writer her indoors used to teach a girl called Hannah, who is now the singer with London Grammar. We had tickets to see them on the last gig of their current tour, in London. Much time listening to the new album Californian Soil prior to hearing much of it live (which was astonishingly good!), favourite tracks currently: Californian Soil, America and How does it feel.