Matching & Cooking for the New Chilled Sakes (2/4)

6. Since the taste of ultra-premium sake entails a very subtle, harmonious balance of taste elements (as opposed to the more obvious acids, tannins and fruit sugars of table wines), a good rule of thumb is to avoid extremes of flavor when cooking for it. Think of it as similar to everyday, steamed white rice. While plainer in flavor than, say, garlicky noodles, cheesy polenta or buttery potatoes, it is that same plainness that makes steamed white rice very conducive to intensely flavorful, Asian influenced dishes. The quiet qualities of chilled sakes harmonize with food in very much the same way plain white rice harmonizes with many dishes. 7. Many Japanese avoid eating plain rice or sushi with sake, thinking it rather redundant (like drinking wine with grapes). However, sake is an easy match with starches of all sorts, including all the variations of pasta, beans, tofu, wild rice, Asian noodles (rice, bean thread, buckwheat, etc.), rice paper, potatoes, polenta, and even spatzle, crepes, dumplings and couscous (including Israeli couscous). The appropriate method of cooking with these starches is to apply a restrained use of oils, butters, creams and reductions that echo the round (rather than sharp), subtle taste and silky, creamy textures of chilled sakes, while maintaining a contrast and/or balance with each element in the dish. 8. Finally, you can identify foodstuffs that act as flavor “bridges” for sake by thinking of the originally Japanese concept of umami, the often overlooked “fifth taste” sensation perceived by the taste buds. The most obvious taste sensations are always sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Umami is essentially an overall sensation of “deliciousness” resulting from complex food interactions – particularly within the presence of foods with high amino acid content -- whether naturally occurring or activated through cooking processes. MSG, for instance, is essentially a manufactured umami enhancer; but the sensation of umami is naturally found in, say, vine ripened tomatoes, well aged cheeses (like Parmigiano), and especially fungus (chanterelles, porcini, shiitakes and the rare matsutake from Japan, and especially truffles or in truffle oil). Seaweeds of all sorts are also high in umami; as are seasonings such as schichimi and Chinese five spice. Complex, slowly evolved stocks based upon chicken, veal and shellfish, as well as the reductive aspects of braising, pot a feu, dashi, nages, and natural essences all achieve certain degrees of umami. The important thing to remember is that since the highest quality sake is perceived by the palate as subtle, harmonious, and ultimately delicious, judicious use of ingredients rich in umami can lead to easy food and sake matches. THE IDEAL CHILLED SAKE FOOD MATCHES Sake Meter Value (Sweetness/Dryness) The level of sweetness or dryness in commercial sake, often indicated on labels, is called Nihonshu-do, or Sake Meter Value (“SMV”). But Sake Meter Value is not actually a measure of residual sugar, but rather of the specific gravity of a sake, ranging from -10 to +10. Generally speaking, the lower the level of specific gravity (below 0), the sweeter the sake. 0 SMV is pretty much the middle ground for sakes somewhere between slightly sweet and fairly dry. Sweeter sakes measure somewhere below -5, and the driest sakes measure somewhere between +4 and +10 SMV. That said, here are some guidelines to preparing or selecting food with fine chilled sakes: Foods for Very Dry Sakes (Sake Meter Values of +4 or more) Smoked or grilled white meats and seafoods (smoked salmon, wood oven roasted oysters, wood grilled chicken, pork, rabbit, etc.) that match the stony, flinty dryness of dry sake. White fish with either flaky, mild flavors (mahimahi, snapper, ono, etc.); or slightly oily fish (cod, sea bass, monkfish, tuna, salmon, hamachi, etc.) to match the fluid, silken texture of dry sakes.