| For your own sake |
Ask anyone you know and they might count Japanese amongst their three favourite cuisines, but sake never makes it to the top three tipples. It’s a rather queer phenomenon, considering how Japanese imports are well-received by the locals — think Honda, Casio and Hello Kitty.
Accurately called nihonshu, the alcoholic beverage is rendered as “Japanese rice wine” in English. But the translation is a bit of a misnomer: sake is brewed from wheat, not fruit, making it more similar to a beer. Yet, unlike beer, the production of sake involves a double fermentation process.
To make sake, specific types of rice grains are harvested and polished. In certain cases, up to 70 per cent of the grain is lost through polishing, which means more grains are needed, and therefore costing more to produce. The polished rice is left to rest before it is soaked and cooked. At this stage, brewers are cautious not to overcook the rice as it might ferment too quickly before flavours start to develop. A mixture of koji (a kind of mould), pure, pristine water and yeast is then mixed into the rice and allowed to ferment. The simultaneous multiple fermentation process then takes place: the koji converts starch into sugar, which is eaten by the yeast to produce alcohol.Once fermentation is complete, the sake is pressed – sometimes a “brewer’s alcohol” is added – and the finished product is filtered and pasteurised. Finally, the sake goes through a period of resting and maturation before it is diluted with water and bottled.
Some of the best sakes come from Niigata, a prefecture that stretches along the Sea of Japan, famed for producing what is considered the highest-quality rice in the whole country. Your safest bet, then, might be a famed producer from this area.
Local sake distributor Inter Rice Asia recently organised a seven-course sake and food pairing session at Xi Yan, a private dining venue. The dinner demonstrated how sake might perform alongside a variety of Chinese food. Not every pairing was equally successful, but it showed that when appropriately matched, sake could be your versatile beverage of choice to serve with any type of food.
Manotsuru Daiginjo (Niigata), served with stewed beef shin with preserved tangerine peel
The sake’s creamy texture helped it to stand up to the stewed beef shin. The citrus characters in both the food and the sake married quite well.
Manotsuru Junmai Nigorizake Nama (Niigata), served with greenhouse tomatoes in wasabi sesame sauce
Rather heavy on the palate with a long sweet finish, the unfiltered and unpastuerised sake matched the blend of nutty, spicy and sweet flavours of the dish.
Ryokan Junmai Ginjo (Niigata), served with roast chicken with kaffir lime
Though both delicious, the sake’s concentrated flavours of tropical fruits underlined by earth undertones competed with the savoury and fragrant dish
Kirinzan Futsushu (Niigata), served with fresh peppercorn prawns
The light-bodied sake with hints of banana and barley on the palate matched well with the prawns, though the peppercorns overshadowed subtler flavours of the sake.
Manotsuru Karakuchi Ginjo (Niigata)
Fruity in aroma and citrusy on the palate, the sake was almost of daiginjo quality. Although it was not matched with a particular dish, this delicious and versatile sake was as good a match with the prawns as it was with the next dish of braised pork.
Kasugayama Ten To Chi Junmai Ginjo (Niigata), served with braised Dong Bo pork slices with stewed mushrooms. A creamy sake with delicate flavours and a slight savoury edge, this was a brilliant pairing with the luscious dongbo pork slices. The sake also acted to cut through the richness of the dish.
Fukumimi Junmai Ginjo (Nagano), served with the steamed fish with pickled chillies and black bean paste on rice noodle. The creamy sake was a little too heavy for the fish; the rice noodle matched far better with the Manotsuru Karakuchi Ginjo.
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