The rice you eat every day, and the rice for making sake

While I usually work with sake brewers and people in the restaurant industry, I had a wonderful, unexpected opportunity to collaborate with farmers from Ishikawa Prefecture.

Most people, even if they aren't particularly interested in sake, probably know that sake is made from rice. But did you know that the rice you eat every day and the rice used to make sake are actually completely different? The rice that appears on our tables is high in vitamins, fats, and nutrients; it's translucent, and becomes plump and moist when cooked. Sake rice, or "sakamai" (Shuzo Kotekimai), has less of the savory components that make table rice delicious, but is large-grained. The larger the white, opaque core called "shinpaku" inside, the better it is said to be, producing a sake with a clean flavor, free from harsh notes.

Then, with a "Hold on a minute!" attitude, Akira Imura, 68, an organic farmer with over 50 years of experience from Kanazawa Daichi in Ishikawa Prefecture, introduced his sake brewed with "Mitsuhikari," an organic table rice he meticulously cultivated. The sake is aptly named "Akira."

Japanese people, who possess the fifth taste: "Umami"

Honestly, the flavor wasn't exactly what you'd call "smooth and easy to drink." But somehow, it felt wonderfully warm. Was this the power of organic rice? In any case, the inherent flavor of the rice was robust. "This definitely calls for warming," I decided, and after tasting it chilled and at room temperature, I immediately moved to tasting it warm. Wow, to be honest, my friend Timothy Sullivan, who holds the title of Sake Samurai, and I were ecstatic, exclaiming, "Whoa! Delicious!!" The tasting session turned into a full-blown sake party before we knew it...

Therefore, to convey the spirit of Japanese farmers to the people of New York, we held a grand party at Kaiseki restaurant "Hakubai," located within the prestigious, long-established hotel "THE KITANO" in New York. Chef Sato of Hakubai prepared dishes using Kanazawa Daichi's ingredients, such as miso and soy sauce made from organic soybeans, udon noodles from organic wheat, and barley tea from organic barley.


Tokyo has many people from various regions of Japan, but New York is a city of people from regions all over the world. Living in this city makes you think about your roots, the meaning of being Japanese, and how you connect with the world, all in your daily life. We often talk about "national character," but here you can truly feel the personalities of various races, side-by-side and intertwined. What I've realized living in this city as a Japanese person is that Japanese people tend to have a serious, craftsman-like dedication, and are adept at living without conflict with other nations.

Perhaps it's because Japanese people, with their fifth taste "umami" in addition to the four basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, are good at balancing flavors? When it comes to sake and Japanese ingredients, sake, made from rice, actually pairs well with cuisines from all over the world. And starting with soy sauce and miso, the umami from dashi made with kombu and shiitake, the accents of yuzu and wasabi – chefs around the world who have discovered the appeal of Japanese food culture are increasingly incorporating these elements.

And what we must not forget, what we must realize, is that behind these everyday, 자랑스러운 (pride-worthy) ingredients, there are farmers who battle the sun and pests from morning till night, every single day. It was a night that reminded me anew of the "gratitude for food" that we must never forget, thanks to everyone at Kanazawa Daichi!


Kanazawa Daichi
http://www.k-daichi.com/

THE KITANO
http://kitano.com/

SAKE DISCOVERIES
http://www.sakediscoveries.com/