Japanese new wave - Soup Curry

Curries are mainly represented by Indian and Thai cuisine here in the U.S., but "Curry" is a big deal in Japan and it's part of the main stream of Japanese comfort food.

You might have seen this type of curry at Japanese restaurants in Seattle (below is "Katsu Curry"). A typical curry sauce rather has thick consistency and often times some dairy products such as butter, milk, yogurt and cream can be used to enhance the richness of the sauce.

Now there's a new wave of Japanese curry called "Soup Curry" . It's not quite the same as a curry soup, which refers to a soup with curry flavor. The difference is that in the soup curry, "soup (or soupy)" is used as a qualifier for the curry. So it's still a curry dish.

The curry sauce is very light but presents a strong statement of the variety of different herbs and spices, so the taste is not bland at all as it might look. You can't stop eating rice with the sauce(Warning: It could be very dangerous if you are on a low carb diet).

I made this curry using the curry paste that one of my Japanese friends gave me. You can pick any vegetables of your choice. Eggplants must be excellent for this type of curry.

Ray's season is here

Well, I am talking about Ray's Boathouse.

When I start driving over to Ray's Boathouse cafe, that's a sign of the beginning of summer in Seattle to me. I love the view of the Olympics over the Puget Sound from the deck off the Ray's cafe, which is definitely the picture of the Summer Seattle.

I have heard that "Black Cod Sake Kasu" was first introduced by Ray's to Seattlites, but to me its signature dish is the Fish'n Chips. There are not many places that serve "breaded" fish(using "panko"), instead of battered fish, which is more popular in the U.S. I believe.

Panko is a Japanese name for bread crumbs. Yes, Amerians now say "Panko" in Enlish :-)


On another note, the french fries served with the fish and chips were super crispy. Definitely "Passed the test".

My favorite nigiri - Kohada

There are different translations for "Kohada", and I don't know which one is officially used, but here is one of the names I found on the internet.

Kohada
Gizzard shad. This fish, categorised as shining tane, is related to herring and mackerel. Seasoned with salt, soaked in vinegar, then allowed to drain for half a day before serving.
(http://www.asiafood.org/glossary_1.cfm?alpha=K&wordid=3004&startno=1&endno=25)

Anyway, this is Kohada Nigiri (and Ume Maki - pickled plum roll) I made last night.



There are not many sushi restaurants in Seattle that serve Kohada. I recommend Chiso in Fremont. They do not always have kohada but when they do, the quality is excellent. You can try Kisaku in Greenlake too.

Saito in Belltown also serves Kohada, but I had a bad experience there recently and have been boycotting the place since then. Warning - VERY expensive. The sushi quality is great though. I am just emotionally reay to go back...