Et tu, WANN?

Despite those negative reviews (well at least among the Japanese customers) in town, WANN has been one of my favorite IZAKAYA (Japanese tapas bars) for years, especially because of certain tapas dishes they have that you can't find anywhere else, and of course generous Happy Hour deals.

Happy Hour is still available. But it's time for me to say Adieu to my little felow WANN, sad but people have to move on sometimes.

I immediately noticed the changes when I opened the menu. It used to have Japanese translation to each item; now only in English. It wouldn't be that big of a big deal IF the selection had not changed that drastically. No baby squid sashimi, broiled hokke, fried yamaimo (Japanese yam), or pork belly stew....they are all gone from the menu. That hurt.
Trying to hang on to a small piece of hope, I ordered some "remaining" Izakaya items only to face more of the disaster.

Sukui tofu - should be a homemade soft tofu but it tasted just like a store-bought tofu with loads of okaka (bonito flakes)
Chamame - it's supposed to have the "Chamame" flavor but it was just regular edamame.
Gyoza - Thoughtlessly deep fried. It's a Korean style, not Japanese, unless the menu says "deep fried gyoza".

And I was speechless when I saw the Kurobuta sausage (it's a weiner style Japanese sausage with super crispy casing skin. The sausage is so juicy that when you have a bite you should feel a splash of melted grease). Look at the photo. Is it a testicle or something? Please...

The last but not the least, the sushi rice on spicy tuna rolls was squished so hard that rice looked almost like paste.That was the last straw.


It's depressing to see another good authentic Japanese bar turn into a fake, abused Japanese food source. This post might offend some WANN fans, but as a true fan of this once-very-attractive place to enjoy the Japanese tapas experience and proud Japanese foodie, I couldn't help sharing my thoughts with a desperate hope that this tough economy will not deteriorate the joy of the Japanese food pop culure in Seattle any more.

Issian, please do not change. I love you.

East meets West in BLT Rolls

"Bacon" is a universal language. In Japan, among all those non-traditional cooking ingredients, bacon has taken its place as one of the most common items in modern Japanese cooking for decades, although not as yet dominating as butter and heavy cream. People love bacon(no need to mention how much we love pork belly). I suspect that there are even a lot of adapted vegetarians that secretly admire bacon (have you not seen products like soy bacon strips??)

Anyway, I'll save to experss my passion for bacon for another time. Last year, I received a very tempting catering order for someone's birthday party; the theme for the party was BACON. I was requested to serve some creative bacon dishes. I can't rememeber any other time of period in my life that I was constantly thinking of bacon, bacon, bacon....after much deliberate planning and practices, I came up with the lineup: bacon greased popcorn, bacon gyoza, bacon & shrimp toast, and BLT rolls and bacon nigiri.

BTL Rolls:
1. Cook sushi rice (let me know if anyone wants to know how to make sushi rice)

2. What to roll: crispy bacon strips, avocados, lettuce, and mayo.

Tips: make sure to pat dry all the filling ingredients, specifically tomatoes. You should seed them.

Nigiri is rather simple. Just fry bacon strips with teriyaki sauce (any bottled sauce should be fine).

If California rolls are so broadly accepted as genuine American sushi rolls, I don't see why not BTL rolls as well!

Believe me - this is good stuff.

Reborn with "Street food of Thailand" - Iyara

I like Thai food, as many others do. And I am one of those who can be super excited with so-called "fusion" Thai(i.e. Americanized Thai) as long as it tastes good. I am starting with this statement because I have never been to Thailand. Speaking of being "authentic", I am not credible to make any judgement of authenticity of Thai cuisine served in the US.


However, when I saw the banner "Now serving Street Food of Thailand" outside the Thai restaurant called "Iyara" near the Redmond Town Center, my taste buds all of a sudden got awaken by the copy and started craving authentic Thai food. Funny, huh?


This restaurant is owne by my former co-worker, Sootha. He has been successful in the current location as well as the original place in Kirland but come up with this idea of introducing "real" Thai food, the kind of dishes the local Thai people would get from the street vendors, only produced in a lot more sanitary environment, he says.

I had been to his restaurant a few times before and noticed that the menu content has been completel renewed this time. Being all excited, I started with my favorite green papaya salad (som tum $7), which has been always on the menu. I love the typical Thai dressing - sweet, sour and spicy. And the addition of the peanut sauce perfects this refreshing dish.

Then following Sootha's recommendation as being the most popular item at Iyara, the next dish was yum muu kham waan $ 9 - grilled pork with spicy chili garlic sauce. The green vegetables in the back are the stems of Chinese broccoli. Both meat and sauce are so flavorful and addictive! I'd go with extra spicy next time...

The last dish this day is khao soi kai $10 - Northern Thai spicy curry noodle soup with chicken on the bone, coconut-milk, pickled green mustard, shallots, crispy egg noodles and roasted chili paste. I am in heaven. The broth is so rich and creamy, and OMG, the chicken is just as tender as it could get. If you are a fan of Panang curry, you'd love this dish.

Friday afternoon I was very satisfied and happy (and went for a 3-mile run afterwards :-)) After all I was too excited to find out which dshes represent street food, but now I'v got a reason to go back!

Iyara Restaurant

16421 Cleveland Street

Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 885-3043

Yummy Green Soy Bean Snack

Where you can get dried green soybeans is another question (well, I bought them in Tsukiji in Japan), but if you are lucky to find some here in Seattle (my best bet is Uwajimaya or Maruta), then this is the perfect snack. If you like edamame, you'd LOVE this snack.

Ingredients:
2 cups dried green soybeans
Water
Salt
*Dashi (Japanese broth made of kombu and bonito flake)
1 - 2 tablespoons of soy sauce (preferably light colored)
1 - 2 tablespoons of  mirin
1 teaspoon of salt


*How to make dashi: in a deep pot, put in 2 cups of water, and 2 strips of dried kelp (kombu). Turn on heat over medium heat. Once the water starts boiling add a handful of dried bonito flakes (katsuo bushi) in the pot. After 30 seconds, turn of the heat. Remove the kombu and katsuo bushi. The dashi broth can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month. You can use it in almost EVERY Japanese dish, including miso soup.


1. Soak dried soybeans in clean water overnight and discard the water.
2. In a deep sauce pan add enough water to cover the soaked soybeans and a pinch of salt. Cook the soybeans for 10 - 15 minutes until the texture of the soybeans becomes similar to edamame (al dente).
3. Strain the soybeans and transfer to a glass bowl. Add in dashi, soy sauce, mirin and salt to your taste. Personally I would skip mirin as I do not like sweetness in the beans.
4. Soak the soybeans in the liquid for half a day. That's it!


You can store the soybeans in a glass jar and I assume it should last for a few weeks or even longer in the fridge. Enjoy this savory & healthy snack as is or with ice cold beer, which might not be as healthy but oh well, I can't help it.

Razor clams in season!

I got fresh razor clams that my friend Terry and his wife caught a few weekends ago. I had been thinking of the best recipe to enjoy these reasonal delicacy. My original plans were either fried clams or clam chowder but this is what I ended up making, and it was DELICIOUS!

The recipe is super simple and quick!
Ingredients:
1/2 lb Fresh Razor clams
5 - 6 Asparagus
1 stalk celery
1 stalk leek chopped
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 cup Chicken broth or water
2 tablespoon sake
salt & pepper as desired
2 tablespoons potato starch (plus 1 tablespoon)

1. Cut the razor clams into 2 inch pieces and pat dry them. Sprinkle salt and pepper and coat the clams with 2 tablespoons of potato starch.
2. Heat a shallow pan or wok over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil.
3. Add in the clams and sautee them until they are about 80% cooked. Take them out of the pan. Set aside.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil in the pan and add ginger and leek. Once you start smelling the aroma of ginger, add in asparagus and celery. Cook for a minute. Add in the clams.
5. Add the pre-mixed liquid seasoning (chicken broth, sake, and salt&pepper).
6. Mix 1 tablespoon of potato starch and 2 tablespoon of water well, add the mixture in the pan. Toss the veggies and clams well and turn off the heat.

I think this is the best way to enjoy the texture and flavor of the razor clams. The dish is great just to serve as it or over steamed rice.