Friday, March 27, 2009

Old Sake (>_<)

I'm talking about that bottle of sake that you opened about a month ago, you know, the one sitting in the back of your fridge.  The one you can't drink any more, but don't want to pour down the drain because "It's such a waste of good sake!"

Well do not fear, because I present to you:

10 things to do with old sake!
A Few fun uses you may not be aware of.
  1. Cooking sake-  Like a good bottle of wine a good bottle of sake can be used as an accent in many kinds of food.  In fact in my household we use sake in place of white, and sometimes red, wine, for all kinds of dishes ranging from pasta to stew and other meat dishes.  So don't be shy; throw in a splash of sake, and experiment to your hearts content!  Also very tasty in miso soup.
  2. Chocolate-  Sake (even old sake) is really good mixed in with dark, or milk, chocolate.  A little late for Saint V day, but next time you feel like making chocolate throw in a splash of sake!  Good for chocolate sauce for ice cream and the likes too!
  3. Put it on your face-  In our shop we sell a product called "Suppin," which is in essence old Junmai sake.  Slather a little bit on your face before bed, and it's guaranteed "baby butt smooth" skin.
  4. Put it in the bath-  Pour about a cup to a cup and a half of sake into the bath water, and enjoy a bath that will warm you up better and leave your skin smooth and beautiful. 
  5. Dried out cheese-  "Dried out cheese?!" That's exactly what I said too, but if you brush a little sake on that old dried out piece of cheese in your fridge, it will miraculously come back to life!
  6. Rice-  Pour a little sake in the water before cooking, for some killer white rice.  Also, spray a little sake on refrigerated or frozen rice before microwaving for that "just cooked" taste.
  7. Fishy fish-  Soak raw fish in a little bit of sake before cooking to get rid of that persistent fishy smell.
  8. Seafood-  Besides making really delicious seafood dishes, sake can also play an important role in saving seafood for later.  Steam shellfish with a mix of water and sake, then keep them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.  Make a mix of sake and salt, then soak raw fish in it.  Drain and dry, then freeze for up to 2 weeks.  Unfreeze and eat any time with very little loss of flavor.
  9. Instant Ramen, cup noodle, Yakisoba-  Thats right, put a little sake in your noodles.  For ramen, add a splash right before turning off the heat. For cup noodle a little before you eat.  For yakisoba, a little sake before you sauce it goes a long way.
  10. Meat tenderizer-  That cheap cut of meat you bought at the supermarket, the one you were planning on stewing for hours to make edible.  Marinate it in a bit of sake for a couple of hours, and you'll have tender delicious meat.
This is not to mixed up with "koushu," or aged sake,  which will last a lot longer after opening, and is not good for a lot of the uses above.
Of course there are hundreds of uses for sake that has been open too long, so if you have some uses that are not on my list, feel free to post your own tips, recipes, suggestions, or questions as comments to this post or to your own sake blogs!

That's it for this time folks,
Until next time,

Cheers,

Meishu no Yutaka staff
Carlin

4 comments:

  1. Wow, thanks for all that information!

    I was wondering if one could do the same with an unopened, 5-year old bottle... (´■`;)

    Maya

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wouldn't say no.
    Chances are you are going to have a much sweeter sake than what I am referring to here, and I would say it depends on the sake too as not every sake is good for aging, but really you don't know unless you try.
    So go ahead and open that sucker up and give it a try!

    Meishu no Yutaka Staff
    Carlin

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can you make rice vinegar from sake?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi!
      Sorry for the late reply, but yes you can!
      not all, but most premium rice vinegar, made in japan, is produced first by making a tank of sake, and then using a secondary acetic acid fermentation.
      Hope this helps!

      Delete