Strategies for Selling Sake

These days there doesn’t seem to be a lot of chefs who go to farmers markets and local fish markets. I believe good ideas emerge when we wake up a little early to take the opportunity to get a look at the foods that are in season. Certainly this is an age where the sense of the seasons is fading, but to mention some of the special characteristics of Japanese food, one would still be that it has a sense of the seasons. In particular, fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, become a level more delicious in autumn, and indeed we are entering a season about which the Japanese say, “... people have good appetites.” As we return to the origins of Japanese food and as we value the flavors of fresh ingredients, let’s consider some side dishes for sake.

Fruits and Vegetables
No matter what, mushrooms are indispensable ingredients during this time period. One thing to be aware of however, especially when cooking mushrooms in the fall, is to avoid overheating and too much washing. In order to preserve the fragrance and taste sensation cooking time should be short. Of course, even if mushrooms are, say, grilled or sautéed by themselves, they are also delicious. But the flavor is enhanced exponentially when shiitake mushrooms - which contain guanylic acid, one of the three big ingredients that work well with sake - are mixed with konbu (a type of kelp), which contains glutaminic acid. Thus I would like to see shiitake used in soups and dobinmushi (steamed mushrooms in a tea pot). Mushrooms can also be used in rolled sushi and nigiri sushi. For example, lightly add butter, soy sauce, or sesame oil to enoki mushrooms that have been cooked in aluminum foil and they will be delicious even if used in nigiri sushi. For this occasion I recommend an aromatic junmaiginjo sake.
Other fall vegetables are Chinese cabbage, lotus root, pumpkin, and tomatoes. Fruits include persimmons and Japanese chestnuts, and it would be interesting to devise a means to use a variety of these.

Fish
In the fall, almost all of the migratory species of fish have a lot of fat, which then becomes quite tasty. Tuna, bonito, salmon, barracuda, mackerel, horse mackerel, Pacific saury, Japanese Spanish mackerel, yellowtail, and sea bream are the most notable fish and all are delicious.
Of course, sashimi is the natural number one choice, but I want you to also consider fatty fish that are appropriate for light grilling and tempura using white-meat fish, which locks in the deliciousness of the ingredients (it’s unfortunate that many restaurants only serve shrimp and vegetable tempura). Also, in the case of nigiri sushi, when a number of broiled items are added, the full flavor of the fish comes out and becomes quite tasty. Just before preparing the sushi, broil the fish with a burner, and when served as nigiri sushi it will go well with sake. Other than that, there are the seasonings. When you devise a way for ginger, onion, garlic, yuzu (citron), sanshou (Japanese pepper), grated daikon and so forth to match up with the ingredients, the flavors are increased even more and the food tastes even more delicious.

For white-meat fish, I would recommend junmai daiginjo or ginjo. For fatty fish, I would suggest junmai sake made from either the kimoto or yamahai brewing methods. Also, it would be good to try to match foods such as simmered dishes with some junmai sake that has a slightly sweet taste.


For seminars on Japanese sake or shochu, contact Yuji Matsumoto at 310-936-4649 or ymatsumoto001@gmail.com.



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