By Yuki HD

When we were little we used to watch my oba-chan (grandmother) make this seasonal treat from Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan. We were too little to enjoy it at first, but as we grew older the dish became more and more delicious.

Oba-chan’s preparation differed from the original recipe in that she substituted shochu for water. She did this to preserve the kinkan (kumquats), and the flavor was an unexpected gift.

Read More →

Amazake literally translates to “sweet sake” which is deceiving considering it’s non-alcoholic. It’s sweet, milky and easy to digest, making it perfect for kids or adults with an upset stomach.

Amazake is made by combining koji with cooked rice, which allows the rice to break down into simple sugars. This is the first step to sake-making. After this step, making sake involves fermentation, pasteurization and filteration and achieves an ABV of around 15%.

Read More →

Complimentary amazake (sweet hot sake) at Anko-dou, a manju/ gift shop in Gunma prefecture.

Read More →

Infusions are pretty common at PDT, since they’re a great way to add a particular flavor to a cocktail without having to add more volume to a drink, which is what would happen if you added the flavor by way of say, a flavored syrup. This is because the particular flavor that you’re trying to impart is added to the spirit, and because alcohol functions as an extractant, it pulls out the flavor of whatever herb or spice you’ve added, and retains that flavor after you’ve strained out the solids.

Read More →

Throughout the years, we’ve been asked to present more events highlighting shochu. Well, here’s the event that you’ve all been waiting for! Generously sponsored by Takara, we’ll be tasting four different kinds of shochu: imo (sweet potato), mugi (barley), kome (rice) and soba (buckwheat).

WHEN: Thursday 9/20 from 6-8pm

WHERE: Umami Mart
815 Broadway
Oakland, Pop-Up Hood
BART: 12th Street
Google Map

RSVP to hello@umamimart.com 

And guess what?

Read More →

That’s right, we’re hosting a FREE sake tasting at the shop this Thursday. If you’ve ever wanted to learn the differences between a nama, junmai, and ginjo, now is your chance!

WHAT: We’ll be serving various types of sake at different temperatures to compare the differences in taste and structure of the sake.

WHEN: Thursday 8/30 from 6-8pm

TIX PRICE: Free // Please RSVP to hello@umamimart.com

WHERE: Umami Mart
815 Broadway
Oakland, Pop-Up Hood
BART: 12th Street
Google Map

As a refresher courses, make sure to read Yoko’s comprehensive guide to regular vs.

Read More →

Shio koji, or 塩麹 (salted koji) is a going through a major boom in Japan right now. What is it?  It is a mix of salt and koji mold. Wiki says, “Koji (Aspergillus oryzae) is a mold used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine to ferment soybeans. It is also used in the making of alcoholic beverages such as sake, and shochu.”

Basically koji is used to make miso and sake, to get its distinctive flavors.

Read More →

Did you know sake officially became Japan’s national booze? It was announced in April I didn’t know there was such a thing as a “national liquor”, but I guess it’s similar to vodka for Russia, and whisky in the UK?, what’s for America? Budweiser?

Anyhow, Japan Society’s annual sake tasting event is coming back next Tuesday evening. I don’t know if you remember last year, but the topic was the most basic stuff — hot vs cold, daiginjo vs ginjo, etc.

Read More →

By Shizuka Wakashita

One day I had to run errands near a local wine shop and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe this shop has some jizake (sake produced by smaller breweries, or as with beer, “micro breweries”). If they are passionate about wines they must be for sake as well, at least to some extent, right? So I stepped in to find out that I was right.

Read More →

I want Washio’s Awamori Wasabi-wari to be world famous, so I’ve gone ahead and named it “The World Famous Awamori Wasabi-wari.” It’s been out there on the WORLD wide web for over three years now, so I think it has earned its title.

I caught the making of the world famous Awamori Wasabi-wari on tape last year during my visit to this tiny little bar in western Tokyo.

Read More →