sake kasu and kasuzuke

[melonpan]

recently ate for the first time some kasuzuke from the local market (got a three pack combo: sake, tara and tai). i adored it, but my husband found the alcohol a bit overwhelming (frankly it was exactly the alcoholy flavour that i liked so much!).

decided that id try it on my own... i wanted to make it just like what i had at the market, but online, i found a recipe that included a bit of shiro miso. i decided to try the miso version bc maybe the alcohol flavour would be muted and my husband might like it a bit more that way and because the recipe suggested it be tried with miso first (recipe posted by nona myers. the recipe also has a pickle recipe which can take 1-3 years to finish!).

the sake kasu. it came in a package as a sheet. i was surprised to see it as a flattened sheet (actually 3 sheets, each ~1.5 cm thick stuck next to each other. all together roughly 5 cm thick). somehow, i had expected something more like miso, nukamiso or okara. looking online i had also found sake kasu in tub form... are both forms (sheets and tub) widely available in japan? to the right of the kasu is shiro miso which was just what was available at the market.

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for the fish, i bought about two pounds of tara. it was already cut up at the market. i cleaned the filets, salted them for about 5 hours in the fridge. here they are just about ready to be salted:

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while the filets were salting, i mixed up the sake kasu (500 mgs) with about 3/4 of the miso (which came in a 500 mg package), 1/3 of a cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of sake, and 1/4 of water. to the right is the mixture mashed up:

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it was actually quite difficult, since the kasu so dried up and hard. how do other people incorporate the kasu? is it easier when it comes in a tub? if you get the sheets, do you pound it? i mashed it with a pestle and a fork, but it was really really tough going. i was going for a miso like state, but eventually just gave up. in the right photo above, you can see humongous lumps of sake kasu in the mixture.

after salting the filets, i risned the filets again with water, patted them dry with paper towels then planted them in a bowl for marinading. (a layer of the kasumiso, fish, more kasumiso, fish, etc ending with kasumiso on top. layer of saran wrap on top)

that got kept in the fridge for the next 4 days.

this next shot is of a filet being pulled out of the kasumiso bed. the photo to the right of that is of four filets rougly wiped and plated, ready to be fried:

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(left) just being grilled and (right) finished:

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note, because of the sugar, you have to kind of watch the heat. i used a medium-low heat. i think i might consider broiling it the next time (i have quite a lot of filets left. im also going to test freezing two filets and seeing how they do when i defrost them).

i dont know if it was because the store bought stuff uses more cheap sake or if it was because my recipe used lots of miso, but the alcohol flavour was much more muted. hubby appreciated this and said he would eat this again (he did not care at all for the other store stuff). always a good thing. however, i really liked the liquored up stuff and im going to go for the miso free stuff (i guess ill have to eat that alone) next time. i will also up the sake content. maybe go to 3/4 of a cup? maybe a cup? see how the mixture holds up. but the sake kasu is going to be problematic. are lumps normal?

anyone have any tips? anyone out there make any other kasuzuke? does anyone have a rough recipe for kasuzuke without miso? how about kasuzuke with veggies?

thank you for reading!

[helenjp]

I also like a combination of sake lees and miso - I think the higher alcoholic content makes the fish hard somehow, but maybe that was some other factor.

As for the hard kasu-zuke sheets, in colder weather, you can buy it in softer form...or you can cheat and use the packs of amazake (not the ready to drink ones, which are too watery, but the pulpy amazake base which is ready to dissolve in hot water).

[Hiroyuki]

You can get dozens of such recipes by doing a Google search with 粕漬け.

Let me post one example:

http://www.ajiwai.com/otoko/make/kasuduke.htm

Ingredients:

4 slices of fish such as salmon, gin-mutsu, or sawara

Salt (2% of the fish (probably by weight))

300 g sake kasu (sheet)

50 cc mirin

50 cc sake

***

Sorry, I made some corrections.

Edited September 11, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[torakris]

great pictures!

I am with your husband on this one, I just can't eat kasuzuke. I don't really like the taste of alcohol, I can't eat it in sweets either.....

I do on occasion eat the ones with a mix of kasu and white miso, but I really prefer an all miso version.

[melonpan]

You can get dozens of such recipes by doing a Google search with 粕漬け.

Let me post one example:

http://www.ajiwai.com/otoko/make/kasuduke.htm

Ingredients:

4 slices of fish such as salmon, gin-mutsu, or sawara

Salt (2% of the fish (probably by weight))

300 g sake kasu (sheet)

50 cc mirin

50 cc sake

***

Sorry, I made some corrections.

←

thank you so much for your help! i cant wait!

[Hiroyuki]

For no particular reasons, I always thought you were male...

If you happen to be familiar with soju, why not contribute to this thread?

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...1&st=&p=entry

Sorry for getting off topic.

Edit to add:

And okususu-cha

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...30entry651375

Edited September 11, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[helenjp]

It's that kasu time of year again...I don't much like kasu-jiru (soup thickened and flavored with sake lees), but maybe there's something I'm just not getting right.

Recipes I've seen vary from 60g to over 200g of sake lees for 4 cups of dashi...plus a dash of soy sauce, often some sake and mirin, and sometimes white miso, ginger etc. as well.

Older recipes seem to be pretty much like thisone from Tsuji cooking academy, which works out at:

1 liter dashi (5 cups, but the instructions are to simmer it "for a while", so probably somewhat less than that in the end).

200 g sake lees

20 g light brown miso

salt, light (Kansai-style) soy sauce, sake

"Housewife" style recipes seem to use MUCH smaller amounts of sake lees than this, and 1 part white miso to 1 or 2 parts of sake lees. I plan to experiment...meanwhile, does anybody else *like* kasu-jiru?

[torakris]

meanwhile, does anybody else *like* kasu-jiru?

I can't eat "kasu" flavored anything...

[helenjp]

I think quite a few Japanese people feel that way too...I can't quite see the need to add MORE sake to finish!

After some experimenting, I think that a little white miso helps round the flavor out, and I'm beginning to think that the key is to simmer the whole kaboodle long enough to mellow it.

[cookman]

Does anyone know of an online source for sake kasu? My local Asian markets do not carry it.

[helenjp]

What country are you in? Sake kasu is normally refrigerated...hope somebody can point you to a source not too far away.

[cookman]

Sorry. In the USA.

[dr girlfriend]

We just got sake kasu in at the market I work at, I was wondering what they were but kept forgetting to google it when i got home. I think I might have to pick up a package tomorrow and see what I can make with it.

[racerken]

I can ship it to you if you are still interested. There are two local stores in SE Michigan that carry Sake Kasu.

My father sent me a batch of Sake Kasu which withstood 3 days of USPS and it was fine. If you think about it, Sake Kasu is just fermented junk that is left over from the primary fermentation Sake to by definition, it is rotten.

[percival]

I also like a combination of sake lees and miso - I think the higher alcoholic content makes the fish hard someho

w, but maybe that was some other factor.

Both salt and alcohol dry out meat. The longer you marinate, the more jerky-like the texture.