Sake Lees & Sake Kasu: Fermented Flavor in Daily Cooking

Kuriyama’s recommended saké lees recipes

Recipe for saké lees soup with tofu and nameko mushrooms

Ingredients (two-person serving)

Saké lees……30grams

Tofu……Quarter of a block

Nameko mushrooms……One package

Daikon radish sprouts……Quarter of a package

Dashi stock……Two cups

Miso……One tablespoon

Directions

1.Cut the tofu into one-centimeter cubes. Pour boiling hot water over the nameko mushrooms in advance. Cut off the roots of the daikon radish sprouts and then cut in half.

2.Bring the dashi stock to a boil in a small pot, then add the tofu and nameko mushrooms and simmer for two to three minutes.

3.Turn off the heat from Step 2, dissolve the saké lees and miso in the cooking stock, and add it back to the pot. Simmer again for one to two minutes over a medium heat. Add the daikon radish sprouts and serve in bowls.

Recipe for creamy saké lees gratin

Ingredients (two-person serving)

Saké lees……30grams

Fresh salmon……Two fillets

Hard-boiled eggs……Two

Broccoli……1/2 a head

Onion……1/4

Butter……One tablespoon

Flour……One tablespoon

Grated cheese and breadcrumbs……As needed

Salt and pepper……To taste

Directions

1.Remove the skin and bones from the salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Separate the broccoli into small florets and boil in advance. Cut the onion into thin slices. Dissolve the saké lees in a third of a cup of hot water (not listed in the ingredients).

2.Oil the inside of a gratin dish with a thin layer of butter and arrange the salmon and broccoli from Step 1 in the dish.

3.Melt the butter in a small frypan and sauté the onion over a low heat. When the onion has softened, turn the heat off and mix in the flour. Turn the heat on again and sauté the mixture over a low heat. When it has cooked, add the saké lees. Mix to keep an even consistency until it thickens, and then stir in half a teaspoon of salt and a little pepper. Once it comes to a boil, pour the mixture over the ingredients in the gratin dish in Step 2. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in a preheated toaster for eight to nine minutes.

A word of caution about saké lees

Saké lees does contain alcohol. The alcohol will evaporate when heated, but caution should be used when preparing saké lees meals for pregnant women, children, and others sensitive to alcohol.

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