Here and There - Japanese Flavors Meet Peruvian Cuisine

by Andrea Rademan

Japanese Flavors Meet Peruvian Cuisine
We all love “Nobu Style” cooking, and we readers of Sushi and Sake know that Peru is where Matsuhisa got his inspiration. He wasn’t the first person from Japan to seek out this Latin American country. To escape periods of turmoil, Japanese settlers have periodically moved eastward, first to Hawaii and the U.S., then on to South America. They arrived in Peru in 1899, hoping to earn money and return home but several thousands stayed on until 1923, when Japanese migration contracts were abolished. By 1990 the Japanese economy was booming and the country was in need of laborers so the government revised immigration control laws to grant Peruvians of Japanese descent (Nikkei Peruvians) and their families “formal status of residence” in Japan. Anyone with at least one Japanese ancestor within three generations was automatically eligible for a visa. Second generation Nikkei were entitled to three year visas and third-generations to one year visas. These were renewable and there were no numerical caps. By the 1950s, Japanese cooks had recreated ceviche and tiradito, and Limeños (people from Lima) no longer rejected fish and seafood.

There are a few Peruvian-Japanese in Los Angeles but none probably beats a recent entry from chef Ricardo Zarate, a young Peruvian native who recently opened ZU ROBATA (12217 Wilshire Blvd.; 310-571-1920) is a Japanese Robatayaki, where much of the food is grilled on binchotan charcoal. Robatas (“ro” means hearth, or fireplace) originated with the ancient fishermen who cooked their day’s catch on an oar over an open fire. Today, some robata chefs pass their cooked food to customers on a wooden paddle. The technique is having a revival because health-minded diners appreciate that the high heat releases the food’s natural juices and oils, which intensifies the natural flavors without added fats. Zarate uses fresh fruit juice, soy, miso, vinegar, imported salts and herbs in his marinades, dips and sauces. He was executive chef at Sai Sai at the Biltmore before moving to London to cook for Gordon Ramsey’s company. Despite his success there, he wanted to return to L.A.. Enter Anthony Cedicci, a Chicago restaurateur and owner of Pane Caldo, who had been traveling the world looking for a chef who could combine traditional Japanese cuisine with contemporary global influences. Zarate does just that, using local organic produce, meat and wild fish in his pan fried oysters with yuzu salsa; yellowtail stuffed ceviche; blue fin tuna with spicy garlic sauce; black tiger prawn tempura; homemade tofu with condiments; filet of salmon marinated in orange teriyaki dressing; black cod marinated in saikyo miso and baked in cedar paper; prime steak marinated in spicy pear miso; grilled quail marinated in plum wine; grilled shishito peppers, and much more. Soju cocktails are the pride of the house. Forty jumbo glass jars parade across one lighted wall. The fresh fruit, green tea, or other ingredients soaking in them will wind up in concoctions such as pom tea, lemon drop (pineapple-infused), and blueberry mojito.

TALENTED WOMEN MASTERMIND SUCCESS
METROMINT (www.metromint.com) is a new mint water that doesn’t just taste fresh, it feels fresh. Each flavor has a numerical chill factor: Spearmint (-6) is sophisticated and subtle; Lemonmint (-4) is tangy and brisk with a bright and invigorating taste that awakens your senses; Orangemint (-3) is pleasantly aromatic, citrusy and mild. Drinking it evokes an orange grove in full bloom; Peppermint (-9) is super cool, with a bold taste and the most intense chill factor. Real mint stimulates the brain to open your senses and send cooling sensations throughout your body so long after your first taste, the mint continues to invigorate. The drink is made with pure water and absolutely no sweeteners, preservatives, or calories, making it a great alternative to the heavy sweets and chemicals found in regular and diet sodas. The natural menthol freshens the breath and can clear congestion related to colds and allergies. Enjoyed before a meal, mint increases the flow of digestive juices. After dinner, it soothes the lining of the digestive tract. Pregnant women with upset stomachs and morning sickness report Metromint’s calming, all-natural benefits. available in 500 ml PET bottles for $1.39-$1.69 at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and other markets. For more information, visit www.metromint.com.

With a chop stick, a breath mint, and a glass of water, RIO MIURA created this entirely new beverage category (business has grown by over 400% each year) and she did it in the male-dominated beverage industry. This thoroughly modern woman was born in Japan and started designing her own jewelry as a young girl. She worked in her mother’s high-end boutique in Miyazaki, Japan, known for its tropical climate and luxury resort lifestyle. By eighteen she was running the store and selling her designs to affluent, well-traveled women accustomed to shopping in Tokyo, London, Paris and New York. When she met her now husband and business partner, Scott Lowe, both were traveling on business to and from Japan. Rio wanted to introduce the teas she loved from Japan to the U.S. and they launched David Rio Coffee & Tea in the kitchen of their San Francisco apartment in 1996, followed in 2004 by the Soma Beverage Company, LLC., located in the South of Market (SOMA) area of San Francisco. Aside from being a wife and mother, Rio personally oversees the company, even making custom jewelry, wigs and original costumes for trade shows. Inspired by beverages unique to Asian markets, Miura has developed cross cultural retail products such as matcha, arashi, and Thai tea and, she promises, “I have many more ideas to come.”

After working three jobs till she could open her own restaurant, Chef Kimmy Tang has hit the big time, not only at her Vietnamese bistro, MICHELIA (8738 W. Third St, LA, 310-276-8288) but in China, where she’s revered for her stylish cooking. She’s fielding offers to open in Beijing, has been lauded in Hong Kong, and is launching a franchise here. Her restaurant is a labor of love, from the intimate covered patio with its candlelit fountain to the soft colors and soft lighting. Tang cooks her heart out using the best ingredients she can get her hands on. We like the BYOB policy, the Vietnamese-style sandwiches on French baguettes served at lunch, especially the Royal, and the special spring rolls, stuffed with fresh crab and shrimp or black mushrooms and bean curd at dinner. Kang’s specialty is a whole pound of Alaskan king crabs covered with shallots and scallions. She adds crunchy water chestnuts and taro root to her crab cakes and marinates her salmon in star anise and lemongrass. On her new small plates menu $3 or $4 gets you onion pancake with Vietnamese curry sauce; fish dumplings; Lucky Pocket- mock chicken in seaweed wrapper; Crunchy Roll - Hanoi style seafood and taro spring roll in crispy rice paper; Shanghai Dumpling - minced chicken dumpling with Chinese vinegar; Beef Kabob - marinated hanger beef with bell pepper, onion and pineapple; or Chicken Sate - grilled chicken breast with cucumber and peanut sauce. Bargain beverages include chardonnay, pinot grigio, merlot, or cabernet sauvignon house wine at $2 glass or Vietnamese 33, Chinese Zhu Jiane, or Japanese Kirin Light beer at $3 bottle. Between visits, you can try to replicate some of these dishes using her own line of bottled sauces, available at Surfas (8777 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City; 310-558-1458).

August 31 - September 23 CALLING APHRODITE, Produced and directed by Shashin Desai. In 1955, 25 young women who had been disfigured by the nuclear blast at Hiroshima were invited to the United States to undergo reconstructive surgery. Many of these “hibakusha” (bomb-affected people) had facial keloid scars and hands bent into claw-like positions.  In all, 138 surgeries were performed and the women became known as the “Hiroshima Maidens.” Calling Aphrodite deals with two of them, sisters (played by Vivian Bang, Kym Hoy) who discover that the lead American plastic surgeon also suffered a critical loss during the war, and the resistance of former enemies collides with humanity. Presiding over all is a statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the embodiment of maternal love through the ages that illuminates the possibility of peace.

VELINA HASU HOUSTON, Ph.D., has been recognized as a Japan Foundation Fellow, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow (twice), a Sidney F. Brody Fellow, a California Arts Council grantee and a James Zumberge Fellow (thrice).  She was appointed a commissioner to the US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange, an advisory panel to the governments of both nations.  Her play, TEA, and other works have been produced at Old Globe Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, NHK Nippon Hoso Kai (Japan, nationwide), Negro Ensemble Company, and others. She has written for Columbia Pictures, Sidney Poitier, PBS, and independent producers. Her plays appear in anthologies and she is a published poet and essayist. Japan filmmakers have produced documentary films about her. A Phi Beta Kappa, she is Professor of Theater, Resident Playwright, and Director of Dramatic Writing, USC School of Theatre; and a member of the Writers Guild of America, Dramatists Guild, and the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. Her papers are archived in The Velina Hasu Houston Collection, Huntington Library. Tickets $32.00 - $42.00.  International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach 562 436-4610 or www.ictlongbeach.org <http://www.ictlongbeach.org/> .

A NEW KIND OF MOVIE HITS THE BIG SCREEN AND YOUR COMPUTER
LAST STOP FOR PAUL, an Internet web series and feature film, chronicles the adventures of two buddies who travel around the world to scatter the ashes of their recently deceased friend. As they go from country to country they meet a myriad of interesting characters and have the adventure of a lifetime. Writer, producer, director and star of the film, Neil Mandt, says, “All of the stories are based on real events and use real people with no acting experience as the stars.” To boot, Mandt and Cinematographer Marc Carter shot in more than 20 countries during one month, without a crew, location scout, professional actors or even permits. The internet version (www.laststopforpaul.com), 13 free-standing “webisodes”that run three to six minutes, including a recap, account for about 25% of the film version and will be included when the film feature is released in October. “This project, which has picked up wins from over a dozen film festivals to date, was designed as an Internet series that would have a box office payday,”says Mandt. He and his business partner and brother, Michael, who have won four Emmy® Awards between them, Executive Produce ESPN’s daily talk show, Jim Rome is Burning, did ESPN’s first reality show Beg, Borrow and Deal, E! Entertainment’s My Crazy Life, and the new Sci Fi Channel series, Destination Truth.


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