Archives for December 2016

New Year’s Eve in Japan: Oji Fox Parade

December 27, 2016 by 3 Comments

Last year in December 2015, we spent Christmas and New Year’s in Japan. I’ve already covered previously some of the amazing Winter Illuminations that you can see during the winter season and that they have the lights not just for the December timed holidays. I also recommended that the winter season is a great time to visit the snow monkeys in the hot springs, and since winter is more clear a perfect time to stay at an onsen with a view of Mt Fuji. If you are there specifically during New Year’s time, I want to now add the recommendation of checking out a unique New Year’s Eve in Japan event of the Oji Fox Parade.

Unlike in the United States and many other countries, New Year’s Eve in Japan is not celebrated with big parties and fireworks and midnight kisses. You can find some parties at establishments that cater more to foreigners – for instance we stopped by a beer bar seemed to have a lot of expats and English speakers. Goodbeer Faucets, located only a few blocks away from Shibuya station in Tokyo, usually is already a fun visit with their 40 taps of beer. For New Year’s Eve, they were hosting a Drink It All Party where as their taps started to kick (aka become empty of that beer) the cost of all beer overall that evening would decrease. Pretty fun idea for a bar party.
On New Year's Eve 2015, we walked to Goodbeer Faucets in Shibuya with 40 kinds of draught beer. They were having a special event where as they blew their taps the price of the beer would be discounted until we drank all their beer and they closed for the New Year's weekend On New Year's Eve 2015, we walked to Goodbeer Faucets in Shibuya with 40 kinds of draught beer. They were having a special event where as they blew their taps the price of the beer would be discounted until we drank all their beer and they closed for the New Year's weekend

New Year’s time in Japan is one of the most important holidays of the year. It’s seen as a time to prepare a fresh clean start, and time to be with family. On New Year’s Day itself, millions visit the shrines to pray for luck and a good new year. For some that may include lining up on New Year’s Eve not to party, but to just stand in line to await visiting the shrine as soon as it turns midnight.

In Tokyo, there is an area called Oji (serviced by a conveniently named Oji Station). According to a local folk tale, foxes gather in this Oji area from all over Japan on New Year’s Eve, disguised in human costume, to visit a shrine located here called Oji Inari-jinja Shrine. There is a famous piece of art by Utagawa Hiroshige during the 1797–1858 Edo period depicting this event. It shows the foxes (kitsune) gathering at a tree on New Year’s Eve to pay homage to Inari, Shinto god of the rice field, for whom the fox serves as messenger. On the way, the foxes have set a number of kitsunebi (foxfires), which farmers count to predict the upcoming rice harvest. You may see versions of the art around the area like we did.
There is a famous piece of art by Utagawa Hiroshige during the 1797–1858 Edo period depicting this event showing the foxes (kitsune) gathering at a tree on New Year's Eve to pay homage at the Ōji Inari shrine, the headquarters of the Inari cult that centers on the god of the rice field, for whom the fox serves as messenger. On the way to Ōji, the foxes have set a number of kitsunebi (foxfires), which farmers count to predict the upcoming rice harvest. You may see versions of the art around the area like we did. There is a famous piece of art by Utagawa Hiroshige during the 1797–1858 Edo period depicting this event showing the foxes (kitsune) gathering at a tree on New Year's Eve to pay homage at the Ōji Inari shrine, the headquarters of the Inari cult that centers on the god of the rice field, for whom the fox serves as messenger. On the way to Ōji, the foxes have set a number of kitsunebi (foxfires), which farmers count to predict the upcoming rice harvest. You may see versions of the art around the area like we did.
New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji by artist Utagawa Hiroshige

Every year on New Year’s Eve, a Oji Kitsune-no-gyorestu Fox Parade is held that goes from Shozoku Inari-Jinja Shrine and Oji Inari-Jinja Shrine.
Doll version of the parade. According to a local folk tale, foxes gathered the Oji area from all over Japan on New Year's Eve, disguised in human costume, to visit Oji Inari-jinja Shrine. Oji Kitsune-no-gyorestu Fox Parade is held every year since 1993 in an effort to integrate old culture into the new community. Shrine-goers parade the streets holding chochin lanterns representing the light of life and the light of hope, and wishing for the sound growth and happiness of the children. Doll version of the parade. According to a local folk tale, foxes gathered the Oji area from all over Japan on New Year's Eve, disguised in human costume, to visit Oji Inari-jinja Shrine. Oji Kitsune-no-gyorestu Fox Parade is held every year since 1993 in an effort to integrate old culture into the new community. Shrine-goers parade the streets holding chochin lanterns representing the light of life and the light of hope, and wishing for the sound growth and happiness of the children.
Doll version of the Oji Kitsune-no-gyorestu Fox Parade displayed by Oji Station

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Hat Yai Review

December 23, 2016 by 2 Comments

Hat Yai offers a southern style Thai fried chicken. Hat Yai specifically is named after another Hat Yai – a Southern Thai city of that same name near the Malaysian border. Foods from the South of Thailand have influences from Malaysia in the, as well as India – and this will be clearly apparent in the food at Hat Yai PDX.

Hat Yai restaurant is a sibling to Paa Dee (which I highly recommend) and ticketed “back of the house” LaangBaan (which has many months of reservations booked out already). Fortunately, Paa Dee and Hat Yai are easily accessible to everyone, particularly Hat Yai which is a counter style service restaurant and the most casual of the three. Plus, if like me, you’re a little paranoid about eating this messily outside with the public, you can totally get this delivered via Postmates (if you haven’t joined yet, sign up here and you get free delivery up to $10 and so will I if you enter my invite code 1I24N). I’ve done this on rainy nights or cold days and its ultra convenient instead of me trekking to the opposite side of town from where I live!
Hat Yai steak skewer Golae style with coconut milk and chili paste for tenderness and spiciness, Vegan Curry, and Hat Yai Fried chicken with Malayu style curry and pan fried roti combos [Read more…]

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Visiting Gekkeikan Sake

December 20, 2016 by 4 Comments

Last week I highlighted in Folsom checking out the Folsom Prison Museum. This time I’m highlighting another local sight – and it’s free! This stop is to do a self-guided tour of the sake brewery and enjoy free limited sampling of the sake at Gekkeikan Sake. Located at 1136 Sibley Street in Folsom, they are open 9 AM – 4:30 PM Monday through Friday and 11 AM – 3 PM on the second Saturday of the month. A visit will probably take about an hour or less.
Gekkeikan Sake USA was founded in Folsom in 1989, its first brewing facility outside of Japan and you can do a free self guided tour of the brewery and try sake samples here. This is located at 1136 Sibley Street in Folsom

Gekkeikan was founded in 1637 in Japan, though the name Gekkeikan was not established until 1905. Gekkeikan USA was founded in Folsom in 1989, its first brewing facility outside of Japan. Folsom was selected because of its access to quality air and water from the American River and rice from the rice fields in the Central Valley and nearby Sacramento Valley.

To do the self guided brewery tour, you will have to walk through the first building because the door to the brewery is in the second building in the back. You will turn around to retrace your steps and walk back this way to visit the sake tasting room on the way out back to the parking lot. Restrooms are also located only in this first building. In this hallway, you can get a quick overview of the brewing process – both the traditional way in a display case with figures and on the wall a summary of the high level manufacturing process.
Figures showing the multiple steps in the process of brewing sake, in a display case when visiting Gekkeikan USA in Folsom Figures showing the multiple steps in the process of brewing sake, in a display case when visiting Gekkeikan USA in Folsom Gekkeikan SakeUSA was founded in Folsom in 1989, its first brewing facility outside of Japan and you can do a free self guided tour of the brewery and try sake samples here. This is located at 1136 Sibley Street in Folsom

Between the two buildings outside, you can enjoy some of the atmosphere of the landscaping with reflecting pond and koi pond before entering the brewery building.
A look at the peaceful setting at Gekkeikan Sake USA in Folsom with the landscape and koi pond A look at the peaceful setting at Gekkeikan Sake USA in Folsom with the landscape and koi pond A look at the peaceful setting at Gekkeikan Sake USA in Folsom with the landscape and koi pond

The self guided tour of the brewery is essentially just one long hallway, with windows and signs next to them looking into different parts of their equipment and process sequentially, from first starting with the uncooked rice all the way down to the bottling and packing for shipment. Here are a few photos from that tour.
Hallway for the free self guided tour with windows and signs next to them looking into different parts of their equipment and process sequentially, from first starting with the uncooked rice all the way down to the bottling and packing for shipment at the Gekkkeikan Sake Brewery in Folsom While self touring the brewery facility at Gekkeikan, you learn about the koji making process. Part of the steamed rice is used to make koji by cooling the steamed rice to 80 degrees, then spreading aspergillus oryzae which is fed into a state of the art computer controlled koji making machine to adjust temperature and humidity to optimal conditions. Within 2 days, the koji will be produced. In order to make sake, two highly effective micro-organisms are utilized- aspergillus oryzae and yeast. The former is used to produce a saccharifying enzyme which converts rice starch to dextrose.

There are certainly a lot of similarities to beer brewing. Like beer, sake is fermented multiple times (for instance, wine is fermented only once) to convert sugar to alcohol. Both are grain based (rice for sake obviously vs barley and other grains like rye, etc. for beer) and yeast is needed to convert dextrose into alcohol. However, to get dextrose, for sake brewing koji is used to produce a saccharifying enzyme which converts rice starch to dextrose.
Free self tour of the sake brewing process at Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom - this portion is the seed mash process, where a large quantity of yeast is needed to convert dextrose into alcohol. Seed mash is made by adding water, steamed rice, and koji to a small amount of yeast Free self tour of the sake brewing process at Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom - this portion is the lab where they are testing and doing quality control

I was mesmerized by the bottling – lining up and riding along to where they get filled, capped, and then labeled to then be put in boxes.
Bottling process for the sake that can be seen during the free self guided brewery tour at Gekkkeikan Sake in Folsom, California Bottling process for the sake that can be seen during the free self guided brewery tour at Gekkkeikan Sake in Folsom, California Bottling process for the sake that can be seen during the free self guided brewery tour at Gekkkeikan Sake in Folsom, California Bottling process for the sake that can be seen during the free self guided brewery tour at Gekkkeikan Sake in Folsom, California

This short video is the first part of the line with the empty bottles in the front but in the back you can see the line loops back around in a U and the sake workers are preparing to package them

Here’s a video where I zoom in a bit and you can see the empty bottles lining up then being filled with sake, and then as it goes into the second circle it gets capped!

Then return to the tasting room where you can see choose 5 of their sake portfolio to sample and look at other Japanese decor.
After the free self tour of the sake brewing process at Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom return to the tasting room where you can see choose 5 of their sake portfolio to sample and look at other Japanese decor. After the free self tour of the sake brewing process at Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom return to the tasting room where you can see choose 5 of their sake portfolio to sample and look at other Japanese decor. After the free self tour of the sake brewing process at Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom return to the tasting room where you can see choose 5 of their sake portfolio to sample and look at other Japanese decor. After the free self tour of the sake brewing process at Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom return to the tasting room where you can see choose 5 of their sake portfolio to sample and look at other Japanese decor. Tasting room at Gekkeikan Sake USA in Folsom. Kagami-biraki is a ceremony performed at celebratory events in which the lid of the sake barrel is broken open by a wooden mallet and the sake is served to everyone present. Kagami refers to the lid of the sake barrel and biraki means to open. Because of the round shape, the kagami is a symbol of harmony and kagami-biraki represents an opening to harmony and good fortune

Gekkkeikan Sake is one of I think a dozen US locations of sake brewing in the US. If you are a fellow Oregon citizen like me right now, you can also tour and taste at Sake One in Forest Grove, but otherwise you might be able to visit a couple others in California. Not all sake breweries are open for tours or tastings. For another way to try tasting a lot of sakes, I also want to encourage you to look into Sake Fest PDX– I wrote a post about last year’s Sake Fest earlier this year, and expect another post next year about how the 2016 Sake Fest experience was a bit closer to its date for 2017, June 11, 2017 5:30-9 PM at the Oregon Convention Center!

Finally, one of my favorite things I learned while sampling sake is that their website has a free Gekkkeikan sake cookbook with recipes! During Thanksgiving a Japanese guest brought rice cooked with sake and mushrooms and we loved it, and I can’t wait to do a little more cooking with sake soon.

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Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe

December 19, 2016 by 6 Comments

My sister mentioned a show called My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to me, and I ended up binging on the entire first season in one weekend when I found it on Netflix (it’s also available on Hulu). If you haven’t heard of this show, it’s about a girl who runs into her childhood first love and moves to California to follow him. The episodes tend to center around her schemes how to get together with him, believing he is her destiny. You can see where the “crazy” part of this comes in, but the show did a good job in the first season of balancing the realistic fact a woman can be smart yet a bit unsound about love at the same time, fed by unrealistic messages about how true love can rationalize lots of wackiness. There are also lots of humorous musical numbers in each episode with fun lyrics. In a recent episode in the current season, the main character Rebecca makes kugel, and suddenly I wanted it.
Crazy Ex Girlfriend playing Fridays on CW and also available to stream on the CW App, Netflix, and Hulu

Kugel is a Jewish egg noodle casserole dish with a custard of eggs, milk, and cheese. It may be sweet by adding sugar and cinnamon and perhaps vanilla and fruit, but there are also versions that are savory which is what I think the character Rebecca made. They are baked in rectangular pans that are then served in squares.
This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions

This dish is my twist on this version by Farm to Table LA who followed her grandmother’s worn, faded, and well loved recipe card. It used a lot more butter, eggs, and cheese than others, but trust a recipe card that looks like that straight from any grandma. The butter helps create the crispy edges that are 40% part of the highlights of this dish, and the egg and cheese once cooled makes this hold together well.
This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions

I did add additional vegetables with sauteed onions and I had some leftover peas, but you could add any vegetable: if I had it I would have loved sauteed spinach and mushrooms too.

This recipe makes 9 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces of wide egg noodles, cooked al dente
  • 1 stick butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 32 ounces small curd cottage cheese
  • 5 tablespoons of sour cream
  • 1 cup diced sautéed onions (optional)
  • 1 cup frozen peas, or you can use sauteed spinach, mushrooms, etc.  (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt and more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper and more to taste
  • Grated Parmesan (optional) to serve
  • Chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Cook the egg noodles until al dente, drain the water and set aside. If you want, you can put in a teaspoon of butter and mix it so the noodles don’t stick to each other while you complete the other steps if not doing them simultaneously.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Put a stick of butter in a 13 x 9 pan and let it melt in the oven as it preheats.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the 5 eggs, 1 cup milk,  32 ounces of cottage cheese, and 5 tablespoons of sour cream. Season generously with the 1/2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Optionally also combine in the 1 cup of sautéed diced onions or peas. Instead of peas you could also add other savory ingredients like mushrooms and or sautéed spinach.
  4. Add the cooked egg noodles into the egg and cheese mixture and stir.
  5. Pour the noodles with eggs and cheese mixture directly over the melted butter: no need to further stir.
    This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions
  6. Cover and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes
  7. Uncover and bake for approx another 15-30 more minutes –  keep checking until you see the sides and top of the dish are golden brown and there are lots of browned edges and top, but not so dark brown it is burning.
    This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions
  8. Garnish with the chopped parsley (optional). You can serve the dish warm, but I think it’s best after an hour when the Kugel has set and is firmer. Otherwise when you cut it into the squarish pieces it will not hold together.
    This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions

Serve with salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan to top per each individual’s taste. The best pieces are the corner pieces of course since they offer more crunchy parts. It tastes fine without the grated Parmesan, but I love making it snow cheese.
This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions This Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onionsThis Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe is my take on the Jewish casserole with egg noodles, butter, eggs, and cheese, with other optional add ins like here, peas and sauteed onions

Have you ever heard of or had kugel before, or any other Jewish dish? Do you watch My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend?

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Dinner at Verdigris

December 16, 2016 by 5 Comments

Verdigris, located at 1315 NE Fremont St, is the epitome of a neighborhood gem. It’s an intimate bistro with less then 40 seats, and inside in the candlelight in the evening you dine seated in comfy and solid chairs at wooden tables with an open feel that you could imagine also inside a home next to a super well stocked and efficient home kitchen.The decor is simple, functional but elegant while still being warm, and the food is classic but with little touches of something new to keep it interesting.

For instance, it may seem like a modest restaurant, but you’ll be greeted with an amuse bouche and they make their own homemade mini bread rolls, really exemplifying of the attention to detail and extra care they put into your supper experience.
Verdigris creates homemade bread for its dinner and they are not only adorable but pretty tasty Verdigris creates homemade bread for its dinner and they are not only adorable but pretty tasty

I know for me, coming in on the Wednesday night before December 8 Snowpocalypse part 1 and being a bit frozen on my fingers and nose, that creamy decadent sip of that creamy mushroom soup amuse bouche was the perfect way to warm me and welcome me to start my dinner at Verdigris.
Verdigris may seem like a modest restaurant, but you'll be greeted with an amuse bouche and this creamy decadent sip of creamy mushroom soup amuse bouche was the perfect thing to warm me and welcome me in from the cold and put me at ease.

It wasn’t not a surprise that since that amuse bouche sip of soup made me feel welcomed that an order of the Butternut Squash-Fuji Apple Soup with Amish Blue Cheese, Red Wine Gastrique, and Parsley would be an exponential dose of comfort. It combines the classic idea of a butternut squash soup you could imagine like the thick creamy potage in a snow dusted French cottage, but modernizes the presentation and adds more complexity of flavor with the Amish Blue Cheese and Red Wine Gastrique.
Verdigris may seem like a modest restaurant, but you'll be greeted with an amuse bouche and this creamy decadent sip of creamy mushroom soup amuse bouche was the perfect thing to warm me and welcome me in from the cold and put me at ease.

Another first course dish  if you want a more substantial belly warmer is the Smithfield Ham & White Bean Cassoulet with 60 Minute Egg, Country Sausage, and Persillade. Seriously if I lived nearby I would walk through some snow and ice just to have this cassoulet because it would fortify me for the rest of a winterstorm weather warning day and the freezing temperatures.
Verdigris Restaurant in Portland, First of Smithfield Ham & White Bean Cassoulet with 60 Minute Egg, Country Sausage, Persillade

In terms of Second options or the main entree dishes, the winter menu that I saw in December was full of more options that are hard not to love when the weather is frightful, including Potato Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Sage, Hazelnuts, Orange, Parmesan; Braised Beef Bourguignon with Garlic Smashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, House Bacon; and finally a meat to crispy skin ratio I can get behind serving of Smoked Tails & Trotters Pork Confit with Yukon Potatoes, Fuji Apples, Chestnuts, Mustard Jus.
Dinner at Verdigris main course of Potato Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Sage, Hazelnuts, Orange, Parmesan Verdigris' Braised Beef Bourguignon with Garlic Smashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, House Bacon Verdigris Dinner in December entree of Smoked Tails & Trotters Pork Confit with Yukon Potatoes, Fuji Apples, Chestnuts, Mustard Jus

Not pictured are other classic hearty entree options like Braised Pork & Beef Meatballs with Creamy Semolina and Broccolini, or Madeira Braised Lamb, or a Saffron Shellfish Stew, with lots of Mussels, Manila Clams, and Shrimp served with naturally, a French baguette.

One suggestion when ordering: if getting of the big beef or lamb dishes, consider ordering an additional First to come along with the dish of the Pommes Frites with Black Truffle Aioli to accompany that big protein. The dish is enough to share for four.

Also leave room for dessert: on my winter evening in December it was Fallen Chocolat Souffle Cake with homemade coffee ice cream and housemade chocolate sauce, Pumpkin Pie with chantily cream and nut streusel, and my surprise favorite of the three, Banana Bread Pudding with housemade caramel sauce and housemade caramel ice cream.
Dinner at Verdigris Fallen Chocolat Souffle Cake with homemade coffee ice cream and housemade chocolate sauce Dinner at Verdigris dessert of Pumpkin Pie with chantily cream and nut streusel Verdigris Dinner, dessert of Banana Bread Pudding with housemade caramel sauce and housemade caramel ice cream.

They also offer an option every night of having the Chef’s choice but you get three courses for just $35, your choice of meat or veggie, and the choices change daily.

Verdigris just celebrated their two year anniversary since opening, and may be doing some throwbacks in January to some of their initial opening menu in which they explored more modern touches to the dishes. They continue to offer dinner daily 5 – 9 PM and also serve a brunch (and you can make reservations!) Tues – Sun 9 AM – 2 PM.

Have you been to Verdigris? What is your favorite neighborhood gem by where you live?

Disclosure: I was invited with others to a complimentary dinner sampling, but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.

Verdigris Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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