Summer Surprise: Heirloom Tomatoes and Yamahai

August is the height of tomato season so we've been indulging ourselves at every opportunity. Due to several factors including a wet June and July, there has been much discussion and angst about a blight affecting much of the tomato crop in the Northeast this year. The result has been a surge in price, particularly with heirloom tomatoes. Current prices at the Union Square Greenmarket range from $6 to $8 per pound. Because we look forward to this late summer treat so much and want to support the farmers in their hour of need, we continue to buy them but are more careful about weighing them before we buy.

However, even the high price has not discouraged us from purchasing our beloved summer favorite heirloom tomatoes. This year, we experimented with pairing our tomatoes with different types of sake. Since tomatoes have an abundance of umami, we thought that there would be a natural affinity for an umami-laden Yamahai junmai sake. For our choice of Yamahai, we decided on Kuro Obi Do Do Yamahai Junmai from Fukumitsuya brewery in Ishikawa prefecture. Usually, we like to warm this sake to further awaken its earthy, rich, creamy character. But this particular food pairing, coupled with the August heat and humidity suggested that giving this brew a slight chill in the fridge was the way to go.

We were delighted but not surprised to discover that the Kuro Obi Do Do and tomatoes were a sensuous, palate-pleasing match. The pairing of the sweetness and slight acidity of tomatoes and the earthy flavor of Yamahai danced a seamless tango in our mouths. The mozzarella we had added to the salad also played perfectly off the lactic elements that are the hallmark of Yamahai sake.

So don't wait for the fall or winter to drink Yamahai (or its cousin Kimoto) sake, its umami makes it a wonderful complement to some of summer's best produce, locally grown tomatoes!

(For a complete selection of Yamahai and Kimoto sake please visit SAKAYA.)

Kelly Choi at SAKAYA

We were thrilled to receive a phone call from Kelly Choi, the host of WNYC’s "Eat Out New York" telling us that she wanted to come to SAKAYA to do an interview about “how to navigate a sake shop.”

As agreed, she arrived with her camera crew at 11AM on May 20 and two hours later, we had wrapped the session which was to be distilled down to a two-minute segment. It initially aired the following week (and may still be running…we’re not sure). Please click here to check it out for yourself.

Our hope is that we were able to create some new interest in premium sake and that we offered some advice to help make it a bit easier for viewers to explore and indulge themselves in the pleasures of this intriguingly complex beverage.

Wedding Anniversary

Our biggest question of the month of June is "what do we eat at our wedding anniversary?." Trying to save money due to the bad economy, we decided to stay home and cook for our special night.

We celebrated 4th year anniversary of our wedding on June 10. For this special occasion, Hiroko spent few days preparing the dinner for the night. We started with slices of seared beef tong, followed by two slices of homemade tofu accompanied by nice cold "Victory Prima" beer from Pennsylvania.


Now the dinner starts! Soup de jur was Spanish style Almond soup. Made with almond, cumin, saffron, it has mysterious flavors.

The dinner was followed by beef carapacio. She purchased beef from Japanese butcher on Great Jones Street. They have a machine to slice beef thinly for the sukiyaki beef, so they sliced the less marbled loin butt. She placed the beef on the plate and pour a hot consomme over the meat so that the meat will slowly cook from the liquid. She drizzled the sesame dressing for an additional flavor.

Our main course was two style of marinated tuna. Inspired by Maguro Zuke Don (marinated tuna on the rice) she read in Oishinbo comic book and red wine marinated tuna from a cookbook by Japanese wine sommelier Shinya Tazaki, she prepared the two type of tuna, one is marinated in soy sauce, and the other is marinated in wine and soy sauce mixture. For Japanese version, she made simple sushi rice, and for wine version, she mixed the rice with red wine reduction and red wine vinegar.

Lastly, our dessert was Green Tea Tofu Jelly. Using the soy milk Hiroko made for tofu and green tea powder she bought from Kajitsu, the Japanese vegetarian restaurant on 9th street, she mixed the soy milk, green tea powder, and sugar with kanten (agar agar) and gelatin. The green tea powder is such a good quality that the result of the jelly is very aromatic and intense.

Rick on Japanese TV

We were finally able to get the video of a Japanese news program on sake produced by TV Tokyo Network. It's about an 8-minute segment in Rick appears as a sake specialist in New York. The response to the show from people who saw it air in Japan was terrific. We received emails from several Japanese brewers asking us to carry their sake at our store and were visited by some others whose sake is not yet available in the U.S.

It is exciting to be recognized as ardent supporters of nihonshu by those whom we revere for creating and producing beautiful beverage!

Duck Dumpling Nabe

Our friend Harris Salat is working on nabe cookbook with Tadashi Ono of Matsuri. We volunteered to be recipe testers. What could be better work? Test the recipe and then eat what we've made!

We had already tested the recipes for Chicken Nabe and Lamb Nabe. Our assignment this time was to make Duck Dumpling Nabe. The recipe called for duck legs for making duck dumplings. When we went to our local butcher, who informed us that they don't sell that particular part of duck by itself. We had to buy a whole duck. Since we didn't want to buy an entire duck, we decided to make the dumplings using duck breast. We bought a piece of duck breast for the dumplings and a duck breast for slicing to cook in the nabe.

Hiroko put the chopped duck breast and seasonings in the blender to chop the meat. She then added buckwheat flour and eggs to the meat and then pulsed the meat into a gooey mixture.

When slicing meat thinly, we've found that freezing the meat beforehand is a great trick and we use it often. After freezing a duck breast she cut it in half, removed the fat, and left the fat on the other half. She then thinly sliced the both.

Next, she boiled the water, konbu, shoyu, and mirin in the nabe pot, scooped up handfuls of the blended seasoned duck mixture and dropped into the boiling liquid. Once these "duck dumplings" floated to surface, she added tofu, negi, hakusai, shirataki, and enoki mushrooms. It was then time to cover the pot with its lid and wait while everything cooked.

The last step was to add Shungiku on the top and the nabe was done.

Once we were at the table, we cooked the thinly sliced duck in the hot nabe and "chowed down." It was delicious! We tried two dramatically different sake with the dish: Denshu Tokubetsu Junmai and Narutotai Ginjo Nama Genshu. With the vegetables and duck dumplings, the Denshu was great match. With thin sliced duck with fat, Narutotai Ginjo Nama Genshu was the perfect match. While we were fortunate to be able to have both to enjoy with each portion of the meal, it isn't necessary to have two sake with this dish!

For shime (the carb of our choice in the end of nabe), we threw in soba and slurped it after it had cooked in the delicious duck-flavored broth. You couldn't find a better dish to have on a chilly winter evening! We can't wait to see this book on the market so that more people can experience the pleasure of eating nabe in their own homes.

Our Happy New Year Tradition

When we awoke on New Year's Day, the weather was sunny, clear, and brisk. We decided that it was perfect for our traditional annual walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Although we knew it was cold outside, we didn't know HOW cold it was until we saw the thermometer on the Watchtower billboard adjacent to the bridge which informed us that it was 22 F degrees/ -6 C degrees. Crazy to be walking across the BB in those frigid temperatures you say? If so,we were by no means alone in our insanity! In fact, the bridge was crowded mostly it seemed with tourists eager not to miss this quintessential NYC attraction. Our cheeks were frozen and it became difficult to smile but we managed to muster our best grins for a snapshot taken by one of those friendly tourists.

It wasn't our original plan to continue on to Chinatown, but Hiroko insisted on going to our favorite 5 for $1 Fried Dumpling on Mosco Street. When we got there, the place wasn't crowded and the usual Chinese ladies were efficiently cranking out the dumplings. We purchased two steaming portions, found two stools and joyfully savored our first taste of the New Year.

Toshikoshi Soba (Year End Soba)

Japanese people have custom eating soba (buckwheat noodles) in the end of year. It called Toshikoshi Soba, and eating long noodles will bring a long life. It is a bad luck to not to finish the soba before the New Year. In NY, some Japanese restaurants serve special Toshikoshi Soba and the restaurants are busy accommodating Japanese customers who want to finish eating soba before midnight.

In previous years, we bought dried soba noodle from the Japanese grocery store and cooked it 30 minutes before midnight, slurping the noodles while keeping one eye on the TV as we waited for the ball to drop in Times Square. This year, Hiroko decided to make the soba noodles herself. She studied a soba-making website to learn the ratio of soba flour to water, and how to kneed the dough into the proper consistency for noodles.

Around 11pm, she measured the soba flour and white wheat flour, mixed them together and then sifted the combination. After adding the water to the flour mixture, she quickly formed it into a ball, and began to knead. She wasn't sure how much kneading was needed, but as she looked at the clock, the time was reaching 11:45pm so she started to roll out the dough and cut it into noodle-width slices.

In the end, we found that the noodles were not cut thin enough in that when the noodle was cooked, it looked like a dark brown fettuccine. Nonetheless, we grated some fresh wasabi, and enjoyed theToshikoshi Soba just before the midnight deadline.

Merry and Busy Christmas Day

As one might expect, we closed SAKAYA and took the day off on Christmas Day. Expecting a leisurely start to the day, we were surprised to receive a 10 AM phone call from Rick's mother and brother saying that they were heading across the Verazzano Narrows Bridge and would be at our home in Brooklyn shortly. The plan had been for them to arrive around noon, but the holiday traffic from Pennsylvania had been so light that they had made record time. We jumped out of bed, showered, and hastily made coffee to kick us into gear.

Rick took them to the East Village to show them our store since they had not seen it before. Meanwhile, Hiroko cleaned the house and prepare for the Christmas meal. We had planned to make a roast pork recipe we found on the Food & Wine website. After inserting slivers of garlic into the meat, Hiroko wrapped the pork loin and sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme with slices of bacon; a simple and easy recipe.

Hiroko first baked the dessert, an apple pie, followed by some-lighter- than-air gougeres (parmesan and gruyere cheese puffs) for hors d'oeurves. It was then time to put the meat in the oven. Once that had been accomplished, we were able to have a sake toast and relax for a while.

Cooked to perfection, the pork was moist and succulent.

Along with a wild rice and mushroom pilaf and fennel and celery salad, Hiroko also made a quick and easy side dish of sauteed tomatoes with a touch of garlic. We were then ready to sit down to the first course, a celery root soup with a "surprise" of vinegar and maple syrup to be stirred up from its hiding place at the bottom of the cup.

The result of Hiroko's daylong efforts was a delectable, healthy, and comforting feast that made for a tasty conclusion to a memorable and enjoyable Christmas Day.

Roast Bacon Wrapped Pork

One 3-pound boneless pork loin
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced bacon or pancetta
6 long rosemary springs
6 long thyme springs

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Using a small knife, make 1-inch-deep slits all over the pork. Stuff each slit with a slice of garlic. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and wrap with the bacon. Top with the herbs, tucking them under the bacon in several spots. Tie the roast at 1-inch intervals with kitchen string.
2. Transfer the pork to a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the loin registers 130°. Transfer the pork to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Discard the string and herb sprigs. Carve the loin into thick slices and serve.

An Interesting Cab Ride

We usually write about our food and drink experiences but thought that this would be fun to share with you....

A few weeks ago we hailed a cab to take us to the fine Japanese restaurant Megu in Tribeca. No sooner had we told the driver our destination than without warning, we found ourselves surrounded by a frenzy of swirling, flashing lights....suddenly, we had become unwitting contestants in the Discovery Channel's urban game show on wheels, Cash Cab. Although the program has been on the air for three years, we had never heard of it. (Coincidentally, shortly after our experience, it was featured on The Today Show). After the introductory light show, our driver and host Ben Bailey explained the rules to us and off we went... Instead of paying the usual fare for our trip, we had a chance to win some cash. Our appearance aired about two weeks ago. How did we do? Take a look at the video!

SAKAYA Opens!

It has been nearly two years since we returned from our first trip to Japan together with the commitment to our dream of opening NYC's first shop dedicated exclusively to sake. On Saturday, December 8, we finally opened the store! It was hard to believe that the day had finally arrived...the time had come for our dream to be realized. Since that day, we have experienced an enthusiasm for sake that has exceeded all that we had ever imagined. The days have flown by and have been filled with eager-to-learn visitors, not only from NYC, but from all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Italy, Russia, and yes, Japan. We've even been honored by a visit from the Japanese Ambassador to the UN!

For more information about SAKAYA, upcoming events, and media coverage of the store opening, please visit www.sakayanyc.com and click on "visit our blog."

Sake Day with Friends

October 1st is Sake Day or Nihonshu no Hi in Japanese. Sake Day originated in 1978 when the Japan Sake Brewers Association declared it as a day to celebrate and promote the enjoyment of sake. The Chinese character for Sake is 酒, which is very similar to the Chinese zodiac sign for the Rooster, 酉. This Rooster sign is the 10th sign. Hence, as the beginning of the tenth month, October 1st became Sake Day.

There are a number of sake tasting events taking place in NYC around Sake Day. Some are solely for the restaurant and retail trade but there are also several open to consumers. The largest and most comprehensive sake tasting opportunity for sake professionals, devotees, and neophytes was the annual Joy of Sake on 9/27. Created by Chris Pearce, the founder of World Sake International Imports based in Hawaii, the New York version of the event was held for the fourth year at The Puck Building in the East Village. This year, an amazing total of 302 sake from 142 breweries was presented. Of this total, about 100 were not yet available in the US. Confronted with this "surfeit of riches", we decided to first focus on the floor featuring the non-available sake. Even though this reduced our tasting universe by 67% we were still faced with a serious sake sampling challenge....how to strategically approach this and gain the learning that we were seeking? We paced ourselves by segmenting our efforts to first taste the "gold award" winners (judged by a panel of experts prior to the event) and intermittently chatting with friends and new acquaintances who share our enthusiasm for nihonshu. We were delighted to see them and be in the company of so many other New Yorkers tasting and embracing sake for over three hours on a beautiful fall evening.


Coincidentally, our friend Melinda from Tokyo Through the Drinking Glass was visiting New York during the same week and we were fortunate enough to spend time with her. Along with recently annointed Sake Samurai Tim Sullivan from Urban Sake, we headed to Sake Bar Decibel for a midnight drink after dinner one evening. Even with full stomachs and a well fueled buzz, we still had the thirst to drink sake like salarymen in Tokyo. The fact that he had to work the next morning didn't dissuade Tim from joining us in the late evening hours for some of his favorite brews! Otsukare, Tim!

On the last evening of Melinda's visit, we had a dinner party for her at our favorite Greek restaurant, Snack Taverna in the West Village. Along with several of Melinda's other New York friends including Tim, we enjoyed the restaurant's gracious hospitality and an abundant feast of food and drink. Our most grateful thanks go out to our friend Adam Greene, the owner of Snack Taverna, who generously arranged the delicious assortment of mezedes, Greek salad, saganaki, and country sausage, followed by the restaurant's uniquely Greek style preparations of branzino, roast chicken, leg of lamb, stuffed peppers, baklava, sheep's milk yogurt, and rice pudding. As you might imagine, no one left hungry!

With or without sake, sharing drinks with friends is the spirit of Sake Day. We were fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds in celebration of Sake Day 2007!

Corpse Flower

This is the infamous Corpse Flower, which is known to produce a stinky odor similar to that of decaying flesh (now you know where the "corpse" appellation comes from). First discovered in 1878 by a scientist Odoardo Beccari in Sumatra, and formally know as Amorphophallus titanum, it was thought by the local people to be carnivorous because of the powerfully pungent smell. In fact, the odor exuded by the plant was intended to attract carrion beetles and small bees that would spread its pollen. The Corpse flower last bloomed in NY in 1939. It's anticipated blooming has received extensive coverage in the New York press this week.

This particular flower, housed at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, bloomed on Friday, August 11. When we saw it on Saturday at around 11am, the noxious smell had (mercifully) dissipated. Although we arrived a little too late to experience the infamous odor, we were able to see the unusual looking flower, which blooms so infrequently and for such short duration (and has provoked so much controversy over time....women weren't allowed to view it in the Victorian era).

A Big Beautiful Brooklyn Box...Fairway Opens in Red Hook

After months of anticipation, we went to the new Fairway that opened in Red Hook, Brooklyn today. Yes, it is huge (52,000 sq. feet) and filled with a multitudinous variety of fresh and prepared foods, including produce, meats (they even have an aging locker for steaks), seafood, cheeses, coffees, beverages of every sort (with an alcohol level below 6%), a bakery with everything from baguettes to bagels, a staff friendlier than Japanese airline flight attendants (impossible?!), and low, make that LOW prices!

We compared and found that many of our staples, e.g. Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, Haagen Daz ice cream, Farmland Skim Plus, and Sauders Organic extra large eggs were all anywhere from 50 cents to $1 less than Key Food or Met Food.

Last night at a sake tasting at The Good Fork we heard that the Grand Opening will be Monday, May 22. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to preside at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Yes, this SUPERmarket is literally a BIG deal! It brings more jobs to what was until recently an underdeveloped area. A few years ago, unless you lived there, Sunny's (or Johnny's as this quirky bar is sometimes known) was the only reason outsiders ventured into this former warehouse-fraught area on the southern Brooklyn waterfront. Now, with the new Cruise Line Terminal and the impending opening of an IKEA, the once modest local economy will get a welcome boost and consumers are winners too.

Getting to the new Fairway might be a bit of a trek for all but those who live in Red Hook. But, with parking for 300, the variety, prices, and quality are sure to draw many more shoppers from a wider area....us included!