#4 Sake

The most important aspect of our Japanese meal was, of course, the drink. Growing up, my family always tried different drinks as well as food; it was important for my parents that we learned about drinking as well as eating culture so my family got a mix of beverages at the dinner table at an age US standards would not be happy with. Nevertheless, my parents’ knowledge and interaction with Asian foods was/is limited, and I’d never tried sake before. Furthermore, sake is not readily available or drunk in America; it does not seem to have crossed cultures to be served with meals in the way other drinks have. I had not thought much about having not tried the alcohol, as it is neither popular nor exoticized, and thus flies under the radar of exotic eaters.

A few things I did not know about sake which our waiter explained:

-sake is served hot when with fish, vegetables, or generally lighter meals, and cold with heavier rice-based meals

-like vodka, you can have sake infused with everything from lemon to hazelnut to pomegranate

-there are sets of containers and cups that go with sake; they usually are simple in appearance but often have beautifully minimalist depictions of rural landscapes or mythical creatures drawn on them

Sake is a rice wine and was first made in Japan over 2,000 years ago, around the time that wet rice cultivation first began around 300 BC. It used to be made by whole villages who would, often during a Shinto religious ceremony, chew rice kernels, spit them into a vat, cook the mixture, and let the enzymes introduced through the spit induce fermentation. This ended when it was discovered that a mold called Koji could also ferment the kernels. Mass production of the drink became viable at the discovery of the ability to refine its cloudy particles: apparently, a disgruntled employee of a local brewer put ash into the mix to ruin it and thus jumpstarted the discovery and industrialization of the refining process.

Sake held an important role in Japanese culture, and was drunk in order to celebrate life – at marriages, religious ceremonies, and funerals particularly. This still holds true today, though it is now more often drunk with dinner nationally and abroad.

Our sake came in a jar with a landscape scene painted on it and small glass cups shaped like big thimbles to drink from. Our waiter told us the brand name was Geikkakan and showed us how to pour smaller amounts into the cups so as to retain the heat of the drink. It's hard to complain about the taste as both my dining partner and I found sake to be kind of bland. It had a nutty taste that lasted after you finished, but otherwise was very base for an alcohol. You did not feel the sharp bite or sting that alcohol usually provides. Instead, it was a very soothing drink for the winter: warm and nutty, giving us a little courage for the walk home.

Sources:

http://www.asianartmall.com/historyofsake.htm

http://steamykitchen.com/3994-00-japanese-sake.html