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Rice, water, yeast and koji are the four main ingredients that the sake is comprised of.
The koji is rice that is steamed that also has cultivated koji mold spores. The official scientific name for this healthy mold is Aspergillus Oryzae. This mold creates enzymes that separate the rice starch into sugars that will be fermented by the yeast. This product then emits both alcohol and carbon dioxide. Sake can only happen with koji.
Mr. Kosuke Kuji is the Fifth Generation brewer of Nanbu Bijin Brewery and a special guest professor at Tokyo Agricultural University will be joining us at the event. Recently he has been involved in creating an animation called “MOYASHIMON” which is one of the most popular television programs in Japan about microbes in our life. He will teach us about these magical mold spores/microbes of sake by using animation.
He will bring special sake and local otsumami (tidbits) from his home prefecture of Iwate Prefecture.
We hope you will have a fun time with sake, food, and animation!!!
“To see more on “MOYASHIMON” click here“
Nanbu Bijin (Southern Beauty) Tasting Sake:
Nanbu Bijin Daiginjo
Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai
All Koji
Plum
Clearly one of the most versatile Sakes in the market right now, Asahi Shuzo (Brewers of Dassai) makes learning about sake easy and fun.
 With their flagship Dassai 23, 39, and 50, you can easily pick out the difference. I highly recommend trying a Dassai flight if you are a beginner and curious to learn the nuances in aromatic floralness.
Let’s begin with a Sparkling Dassai 39 Nigori. I like to start with this sake and highlight the bright effervescence with a bit of body from the Nigori. Simple crudités or appetizers do make for good eats with this sake. In a recent dinner pairing, I paired this sake with a seafood arancini. Shellfish goes extremely well with sakes and so this flashed fried creamy seafood croquette with a sliver of gorgonzola cheese in the middle was a perfect match.
Moving onto Dassai 23. The flagship Sake of Asahi Brewery. Highly aromatic and floral, this is rather hard to pair with heavy foods, so I prepared classic scrambled eggs topped with caviar. Served warm, this was well received. The creaminess of the eggs and the slight savory tones from the caviar made for a nice harmonious balance.
 And now finally to Dassai 50. This is where the adventure goes to overdrive and pairing possibilities are infinite. Dassai sake is known to have a slight fennel/anise like flavor. So when I introduce these sakes to Western chefs and sommeliers alike, I can literally see the creative juices flowing. On this same night, I paired Dassai 50 with Swedish Meatballs. My meatballs had a slight twist though. Instead of making a rich creamy sauce with sweat lingonberry jam, I whipped up a Mustard Demi-Glace Sauce and challenged guests to enjoy this beverage with sour and savory tones.
(It’s a known fact mustard is a very hard ingredient to pair with wines. But there does not seem to be a problem with Sake. Another perfect match. )
George Kao – NY Mutual Trading Sake Educator
Easy, Convenient, and Healthy!
Do you want to have California Rolls at home? Are you concerned with what your children eat? This Sushi Maki-Roll Kit is the perfect solution to bringing healthy food and fun times into your home.
The California Roll has become very popular across the entire United States. It is believed to have been discovered around 1963. The Tokyo Kaikan Restaurant was one of the first to feature an actual Sushi Bar on restaurant premises. Ichiro Mashita, a Sushi Chef at Tokyo Kaikan, began experimenting based upon what he had come to learn about the American palette.
With this Sushi-Maki Roll kit, you can make a variety of rolls whenever and wherever you want (included components listed below. Any additional desired ingredients not included). All rolls can be fully customized to your exact wants including spicy tuna, cucumbers, mayonnaise, or even fried chicken.
Eat healthy and have fun with this Sushi Maki-Roll Kit!
Retail Price: $34.20
The set includes:
Premium Matsuri Premium Short Grain Rice
Measuring Cup (for rice)
Roasted Nori (Seaweed)
Japanese Soy Sauce
Sushi Vinegar
Wasabi Powder
Pickled Ginger
Rice Paddle (Shamoji)
Sushi Rolling Mat
Instruction Manual
** We offer wholesale pricing for businesses in the industry.**
It takes just a matter of minutes to brew!
Do you know how sake is brewed? Have you ever visited a sake house?
We will welcome Asahi Brewery, who manufactures only exclusive Junmai Daiginjo class sakes with Yamada Nishiki Rice (it is considered as the best Shuzo-Kotekimai 酒造好適米). Mr. Kazuhiro Sakurai of Asahi Brewery will teach us how to brew Dassai sake utilizing the necessary tools.
Asahi Brewery is located in Yamaguchi prefecture where oysters and fugu
(blowfish) are very popular. The Dassai perfectly matches with the local cuisine
as well as western dishes. In this class, you will have some truly delicious pairing experiences.
At the event, Asahi Brewery will bring some special sake that you have never seen in the U.S.!
Please bring your friends and have a great time with us!
Pairing Menu:
Dassai 23 Junmai Daiginjo
pairing with Seafood Arancini
Dassai 39 Sparkling Nigori Junmai Daiginjo
pairing with Scrambled Eggs with Caviar
Dassai 50 Junmai Daiginjo
pairing with Swedish Meatballs
Dassai Special Nama Sake
  
Imagine drinking delicious craft beers and tasty dumplings under some sunshine… this event will be perfect for the summer!!!
Come sign up and enjoy 3 types of Dumplings with 3 types of Japanese Craft Beers (Echigo Beer from Niigata Prefecture). You will have the opportunity to cook with and learn from one of the best in the business, Marja Samsom. Ms. Samsom is the Chef/Owner of the “Kitchen Club”. She will be showing us some of her famous dumplings that she has been serving for over 20 years in Manhattan. She is a true pioneer in bringing flavors from Asia into the kitchens of NYC. This is an event you do not want to miss.
Appetizers
Chicken Karaage
Shioyude Kuro-Edamame
Dumplings by Dumpling Diva Marja Samsom
Shrimp and Spinach
Mushroom (Shiitake and Champignon)
Duck and Ginger
Japanese Craft Beers
Echigo Koshihikari Beer
Echigo Red Ale Beer
Echigo Stout Beer
Marja Samsom:
Arriving in New York City as a Dutch performance/artist, she found refuge in the East Village by Creating $40 ‘prixfixe’ dinners for friends. “The Kitchen Club” was born. Diners came intrigued to taste her European-Japanese fusion cuisine. She has received reviews in the NY Times, the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and the Village Voice, just to name a few. Ms. Samsom developed cooking classes on “how to create the best dumpling ever”. After celebrating her 20th anniversary the Kitchen Club closed and Ms. Samson sought after her latest conquest.
Cook a variety of dishes using this magical pot in the microwave!!!
The Cook-Zen microwave pot will change your life! The Cook-Zen creates healthy, delicious meals in just minutes. The Cook-Zen’s patented design locks in moisture, bringing out the food’s natural flavors and vibrant colors. Extremely short cooking times ensure that the nutrients in your food are better preserved. There is no need for constant stirring as the Cook-Zen heats food evenly without drying out ingredients. Whether you’re cooking breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the Cook-Zen does it all.
Michiko Chiba who is the inventor of the Cook-Zen, will be coming to the JCC! She is a bestselling author and famous television personality in Japan. At this event, she will introduce five different recipes from the hundreds that she has created. Come see and try this huge hit product (it has sold 500,000 units worldwide). We bet you will want to keep the pot in your kitchen!
**Reservations are on a first come first served basis. There will be a 30 person limit per class. **
Machiko Chiba, A proponent of ‘good food and good health,’
Ms. Chiba is a leading business consultant for restaurants and major company
cafeterias in Japan.
She teaches aspiring professional chefs from all over the world, introducing
them to the original microwave cooking techniques made possible by the
Cook-Zen. For her invention, the Cook-Zen, Ms. Chiba received the Plastic
Material Everyday Use Award 2003 and the Grand Prize at the 2003 Ministry of
Economy, Trade, and Industry Awards. She is the author of over 14 cookbooks,
including The Cook-Zen Cookbook (Lake Isle Press) and Japanese Dishes for Wine
Lovers (Kodansha International Publications). She divides her time between Tokyo and New York City.
One of the most important things to remember when speaking about Japanese Sake is, there are always exceptions to every tenet in Sake.
Just last month, I basically said that most Daiginjo Sakes you drink should be enjoyed “on its own”, and you would find it difficult to pair with foods because of its strong floral aromatics.
As that is the general mantra in the world of Sake, certain Daiginjo sakes do have special qualities and characteristics that may lend well to pairings. What makes for a great pairing is when both the food and the drink are elevated because they are complimenting one another. This amazing phenomenon is what drives makers and chefs from all corners of the world, do what they do day in and day out. And when we are fortunate enough to discover a truly remarkable pairing, you will never forget it.
Take for instance, Tamano Hikari Junmai Daiginjo. Although classified as a Daiginjo sake because of the significant rice polishing ratio; this sake pairs exceptionally well with a vast array of dishes. For me, Raw Oysters, Clam Pasta (e.g. Vongole Bianco), juicy Burgers, BBQ Ribs and even Semi-Hard Cheeses are some of my favorite things to have with Tamano Hikari Junmai Daiginjo.
The particular type of yeast used in fermentation, and also the generally higher acidity level of this sake, give it considerable strength to pair with foods.
Below is a Label Image of – Tamano Hikari Junmai Daiginjo Sake. More times than not, if you don’t read Japanese, you are out of luck trying to decipher what’s in the bottle. The brewers are not malicious and/or tricksters by any means, but simply traditionalists who are just set in their ways. So if there are questions, comments or frustrations with labeling, I’m ready to field your queries.
George Kao – NY Mutual Trading Sake Educator
Lacquer ware manufactured in Echizen (currently Fukui prefecture) is one of the most traditional industries in Japan. Its history dates back over 1,500 years. Echizen Lacquer ware is well known to be painted with the Urushi, which can create a beautifully elegant and glossy texture. It is simply beautiful and traditional art that you can enjoy to use for Kaiseki cuisine or even for decoration. It is great as a gift as well.
How to create Echizen Lacquer ware
1. Carving wooden base
There are both wooden and plastic base lacquer ware. Creating a round shaped lacquer ware made of wood involves holding blades and carving shapes into blocks of wood revolving on a wood lathe. If the base is made of a piece of natural wood, it needs to be dried for at least 6 months. Box and tray lacquer ware made of natural wood or plywood must be dried for approximately 1 year before cutting and carving into any shapes. On the contrary, plastic base lacquer ware is created by compressing wood or plastic powder using a heat process.
2. Applying Urushi lacquer
Two layers of Urushi compose the lacquer ware surface. The base coat is applied repeatedly through the coating, drying, and filing processes. The base will be covered by a topcoat that works as an essential part in reinforcing the base. Creating the topcoat requires great skill, as the Urushi must be applied with equal thickness. At the drying stage of the topcoat, the temperature and humidity controls need to be set to very precise values. Both topcoat and base coat will take 3 months to complete. There are several ways to apply the topcoat. The Shokunins use a brush or spray depending on the shape of the lacquer ware.
3. Decorations
Lacquer ware complete with beautiful decorations. One of the traditional painting techniques is makie, and it is applied using gold and silver powders sifted over wet patterns painted with urushi. The parts are filed and polished to straighten the patterns. Chinkin is another technique that adhere applications, such as powder or gilt made from gold or silver, or colorant which is applied on carved patterns. Besides these traditional works, nowadays a screen processing print is used as an efficient decorating.
Retail Prices (from left):
Spoon & Folk set (2pairs) $28.00
Kaiseki set (1 bowl, 1 soup bowl, 2 dishware and 1 tray) $120.00
Wine Cooler $168.00
Wine Cup set (2pcs) $84.00
Art Deco Plate (L) $100.80
Art Deco Round Plate $38.00
** We offer wholesale pricing for businesses in the industry.
越前 Echizen is the name of one of the former areas in Japan, now referred to as Fukui prefecture, is located on the northern side of Japan. Urushi (lacquer) can create beautifully elegant and glossy dishware. Echizen-Shikki (lacquer ware) is well known to be painted with the Urushi since the Kofun Era (600 A.D.) and it is simply beautiful and traditional art.
At this event we are very excited to have Chef Hirohisa Hayashi, who is the owner and chef of Hibino in Brooklyn. He is from the Fukui prefecture where Echizen-Shikki was
born. He will prepare Kaiseki cuisine while displaying local Fukui dishes. He has been planning to open his new restaurant in Manhattan. At this time, he is going to focus on the products from his birthplace with everything from rice to sake. It is expected to open Spring 2011.
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Kaiseki Menu
1. Takiawase (Kindled vegetables)
Fried eggplant、A white gourd-melon、Burdock skin, Kinome (a leaf bud)
2. Suimonowan (Soup bowls)
Ebi Shinjo(deep-fried shrimp fritters), Junsai (a water shield), Mizutama cucumber, Grind Yuzu skin
3. Yakimono (Grilled fish)
Guji (Japanese tilefish), Hitori yuba, Grilled Okura ohitashi (steeped in broth)
4. Sushi
Grilled Saba Bozushi (a type of pressed sushi), Shiso leaves, Sesame seeds, Iso no Yuki Kombu, Oroshi ponzu sauce
5. Dessert
Hibino original Tonyu (soy milk) pudding
Special Sake
Born Tokusen Junmai Daiginjo
from Katou Kichibee Shouten in Fukui Prefecture
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 Taisho Roman Glass is handcrafted art. You will find traditional designs on the glass containing 骨灰Kokkai. The Kokkai has a natural luminescence that comes out when a sudden temperature change is introduced. This was the most popular casting method in the Meiji and Taisho Eras.
Taisho Roman Glass is made in perfect harmony combining Western modernism and Japanese elegance. It makes for a great gift. Continue reading Taisho Roman Glass
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