A noodle dish with an Asian touch having medium fried, marinated beef strips and various vegetables, all seasoned in a spicy manner, is always a culinary delight.

Regarding a suitable Sake for pairing a choice is recommended that can handle the Umami as well as the spiciness of the dish.

The choice made here was the Amabuki Banana Junmai Daiginjō with a polishing rate of 50%. It’s an unpasteurised Sake that has a wonderful freshness and pronounced banana notes.

Its fruitiness, paired paired with a pleasant sweetness, harmonises very well with the spicy notes of the dish. The top spiciness is broken by this Sake and rounded off harmoniously.

The dish’s Umami is in balance with the Sake’s Umami so that the overall experience is a very appealing culinary pleasure.

A wonderful veal chop with a hearty potato gratin is just what you need in this cooler season when it comes to soul food.

As an accompanying drink I’ve chosen the Ranman Daiginjō genshu from Akita Prefecture in the far north of Honshū.

This sake made with Yamada Nishiki (35% polishing rate) and an undiluted alcohol volume between 17-18% is a real powerhouse.
Despite the higher alcohol content it is wonderfully balanced. In the nose and on the palate it presents itself with a complex, very appealing mixture of different fruity notes, paired with a pleasant acid structure and a medium body.

Together with the chops and the potato gratin it creates a culinary experience that is just pure fun.

Normally you pair a Spaghetti Carbonara with a nice red wine; preferably with an Italian one in this case.
But whom of you has ever paired it with a Sake?

If you think at a first glance that this might seem a bit strange, just remind yourself that a Spaghetti Carbonara offers a wonderful Umami experience.

In order to highlight this taste sensation it is, therefore, very suitable to drink a thoroughly selected Sake along with it.

My choice was a Tatsuriki Black Dragon Junmai Ginjō from Hyōgo prefecture that is brewed with the new rice variety called Hyōgo Nishiki.

This Sake is characterised by an elegant profile that is, however, combined with a certain power and a nicely pronounced Umami.

Together with the spaghetti this ignited an enhanced Umami feeling that invited to ask for more than one second helping of food and Sake.

Japanese Blossom!

A new and unique creation by “Nala – The Chocolate Queen” inspired by Master Sake Sommelier Charly Iten: Ganache with Amabuki Apollon Blood Orange Sake liqueur covered with Ruby chocolate.

Nala – The Chocolate Queen

Drunken Yuzu Truffes!

A new, extraordinary delicate creation by “Nala – The Chocolate Queen” inspired by Master Sake Sommelier Charly Iten.
Enjoy the fresh and fruity flavours of Yuzu Sake inside a creamy filling of high-quality chocolate.

Nala – The Chocolate Queen

A delicious, juicy flank steak calls of course for a suitable beverage.

The possibilities are highly versatile but this time my choice was in favour of a really special drop of Sake: A Tombo Kimoto Junmai Daiginjō by the Izumibashi Brewery from Ebina in Kanagawa prefecture.

For this savoury Premium Sake, made with the traditional, time consuming Kimoto method, a local Sake rice variety called Rakufūmai is used and polished to a rate of 35%.

The result is a highly aromatic, complex Sake with wonderful notes of fruits, a balanced acidity and a rather full body.

Along with the flank steak and a selection of vegetables you get a very harmonious combination that delights the palate with a pronounced Umami experience.

Thai curries and wine is not that simple and the reason why people very often tend to choose a beer.

Have you ever thought to accompany a Thai curry with a Premium Sake?

For a spicy, hot red Thai curry with chicken and basmati rice I selected the Enter.Sake Sekiya Gold, a Junmai Daiginjō with a polishing rate of 50%.

This Sake with flavours of tropical fruits pairs very well with the curry. Its fruity notes cut a little bit the curry’s spiciness, while its savouriness gets emphasised by the meal’s  umami.
The result is a culinary delight that makes you have one sip after the other of this wonderful.

Blood Orange Special by Charly Iten

Suitable for this festive season I created an appealing long drink.

You just need the following: three parts of Amabuki Apollon Blood Orange Sake liqueur, one part of Gin, according to your personal taste two or three parts of tonic water as well as some ice cubes.

Enjoy it!

An autumnal creation by my customer Chris Kaderli:

For this simple, but captivatingly tasteful salad you just start with a dressing consisting of equal amounts of an extra vergine olive oil and Fukuju Yuzu Sake liqueur and season it according to your personal taste with some sea salt and pepper.
After that prepare a mixed seasonal salad, over which you pour the dressing. Finally you decorate your salad with some olives, grapes, sunflower and pumpkin seeds as well as some feta cheese.