Kusa Pote Sara - A Deluxe Potato Salad for Sake
This month we are featuring Female Frontrunners of Sake. These are women who either own or act as the toji (head brewmaster) of their brewery. One of our favorite toji is Miho Imada of Imada Shuzo. She makes the staff favorite sake Moon on the Water, which is also featured in Sake Gumi, our monthly sake club this month.
We checked in with Imada-san recently to see what's she's been up to lately and she mentioned a collaboration she was involved in where she made a sake called Kusa Kusa that would go well with vegetable dishes. To complement this sake, chef Fukatsu (who is also a woman) at Gem by Moto in Tokyo created a potato salad recipe.
The recipe was posted for the public so anyone can make it at home. It was named Kusa Pote Sara, after the sake, while pote sara ポテサラ is short for potato salad in kana.
Although we can't get Kusa Kusa in the U.S., we tried this Kusa Pote Sara out with another one of Imada-san's sakes Forgotten Fortune. It was a match! But don't take our word for it – make it and try it out yourself.
We encourage you to make this salad and join us for a special Zoom party with Imada-san herself on June 3, 2020 at 5:30pm. We'll be tasting through two of her sakes and this potato salad! Find out more details here.
INGREDIENTS (6 servings)
6-8 Large Yukon Gold potatoes (approximately 2 lb)
15 Green shiso leaves, finely chopped
6 peels or 0.5 tsp from a lemon
6 oz of canned corn
2 tbsp butter
0.5 tbsp usukuchi soy sauce (I only had regular soy sauce so I used 1 tbsp)
Cream Cheese Mixture Ingredients
- 6 tbsp cream cheese
- 3 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
- 1 tsp kosher salt (not sea salt)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil (I used EVOO)
- 1 tsp ground sansho pepper (less if you are sensitive to spice)
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black sesame seeds (I didn't have any, but the original recipe call for it - if you can find some!)
METHOD
1. In a frying pan, add the butter and corn on low heat.
When the corn is slightly browned, add the soy sauce. Take off heat and set aside.
2. In a pot, immerse unpeeled potatoes in water.
Boil until tender (about 20 minutes).
3. While the potatoes are boiling, cut the lemon peels in fine strips.
Make sure not to include the white pith. Put them in a bowl with a pinch of salt and massage the peels lightly.
4. Finely chop shiso.
4. Add the Cream Cheese Mixture Ingredients in a bowl. Mix well with a spatula.
5. Once the potatoes have boiled, peel the skins.
Crush the potatoes into the bowl with the cream cheese mixture, into bite sized pieces.
6. Add the shiso and lemon to the bowl and mix.
7. Mix in the corn.
We hope everyone makes this summer the summer of Kusa Pote Sara!
Don't forget to pair with the mineral-forward Fukucho Forgotten Fortune Junmai sake!
Remember to join us for the Zoom party with Imada-san on June 3, 2020 at 5:30pm. More info here!
