What to do with your left over sake?
If you happened have left over sake, don't worry it takes about a month, while in a regular fridge, to significantly degrade in quality. But if it does happen to degrade in quality or produce astringent characteristics, please don't throw it out, it's actually liquid gold in disguise!
Many people who cook or love food as much as we do will know that wine especially white wine can be used for cooking, either to deglaze a pan, to add acidity to a dish or to help in marinades. The same concept applies to sake, but we believe that sake as an extra edge over grape wine, this edge is the inclusion of Umami!
Umami adds flavor, and depth to the simplest of dishes, so we urge you to not throw out your opened bottle of sake but use it in cooking to help you create some spectacular tasting dishes.
Here are some recipes that will definitely benefit from the addition of sake.
Chicken Kaarage
This is a slightly healthier version of the typical kaarage you'd find in Japan and uses sake for marination purposes.
Ingredients:
- 1 Large Chicken Breast (skinless or remove the skin)
- Fresh Ginger (about an inch)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp cooking sake/leftover sake
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp Potato Starch (or corn starch)
For Negishio topping:
- Around ½ Green onion
- Sesame Oil (just a drizzle)
- Pinch of salt
How to prepare:
1. Start by removing any skin or fatty bits from your chicken breast, then cut your chicken into bite size pieces, maybe an inch thick and try to make them all roughly the same size.
2. Then in a large bowl grate 1 clove of garlic and the same amount of ginger add in 1tbsp of your sake and 2 tbsp of soy sauce and mix, then add the chicken, and let marinate for at least 30 mins.
3. While your chicken is marinating, make the negishio topping by cutting half a green onion twice down the length of the stalk. This will allow you to finely cut the onion into small pieces. Add the chopped onion into a bowl with a drizzle of sesame oil and a pinch of salt, and you’re done!
4. Now your chicken is done marinating, drain any of the excess marinade with a sieve or colander. Add 2 tbsp of flour and 2 tbsp of potato (or corn) starch and mix well. Make sure to coat all the chicken
5. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add your chicken.
6. Turn down the heat and cover the pan with a lid, after 2-3 minutes your chicken should turn a nice golden brown. Flip the chicken over, and repeat the above process of 2-3 minutes cooking with the lid.
7. Drain off your chicken with a paper towel and enjoy your healthy and juicy chicken karaage!
Fondue
This recipe is good to share with friends and family at home. A twist on the classic swiss fondue, we suggest to use sake instead of white wine, this helps to blend (emulsify) and enhance the flavor the cheese.
Ingredients:
- 450g desired cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup sake (substituted for white wine)
- 1 baguette (or whichever bread you prefer)
- Nutmeg, grated (optional)
- 1 tbsp kirsch (optional)
How to prepare:
1. Start by grating 450g of desired cheese on the large hole side of a grater. Add to a medium bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Toss together.
2. Bruise 1 clove of garlic by pressing down using the palm of your hand or flat side of a knife. Generously rub every inch of a fondue pot with the garlic.
3. Add 1 cup of sake to the pot and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, lower the heat to low and slowly add in a handful of corn starch covered cheese at a time, mixing constantly. Make sure each handful has melted before adding the next handful of cheese. **If heated too aggressively, the sauce could break.. If this happens, whisk together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with ¼ cup of wine. Add to the pot and whisk until the fats re-emulsify.
4. Optional: add in a grating of fresh nutmeg and/or 1 tablespoon of kirsch.
5. Once all the cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth, take it off the heat. If too thin, it will thicken once it cools.
6. Place on an electric fondue pot or over a flame. Serve with your desired toasted chunky bread.
Sake-Boiled Clams
Ingredients:
- green onion/scallion
- 1 knob ginger (julienned)
- 1 dried red chili pepper (optional)
- 680g clams (cleaned)
- ¾ cup sake
- freshly ground black pepper (optional)
How to prepare:
1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Slice the green onion thinly and set it aside.
3. Peel the ginger skin, cut into thin slabs, and julienne into thin strips.
4. Remove the seeds from the dried red chili and cut the chili into small rounds.
5. In a large frying pan, place the clams in a single layer and add sake.
6. Add julienned ginger and dried red chili. Cover with the tight-fitting lid and bring the sake to a boil over medium-high heat.
7. Once it's bubbling nicely, lower the heat to medium and continue to steam for 3-5 minutes (2-3 minutes for smaller shells) until all the clams open their shells. Shake the pan once in a while to make sure the clams are not over-lapping each other. Remove and discard any clams that have not opened after you're done cooking.
8. Remove the lid and add green onion and freshly ground black pepper.
9. Transfer the clams to a serving bowl with the remaining sauce and serve immediately.
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