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...

Brunch at Cafe Campagne

It's still a breakfast with eggs and meat but a la francaise. You won't find greasy bacon and trans-fat-coated hash browns on your plate. Bread? Demi-baguette or brioche, of course.

I ordered the "Eggs scrambled with herbs and served with pork and herb sausage".

The potatoes were nice and crispy, and the pork sausage was very flavorful even with little fat content. My only complaint was the eggs. They seemed slightly overcooked (or maybe not enough heavy cream), though they tasted nice with the right amount of salt.

My friend's choice was the "French French Toast" (Brioche fried in bourbon egg batter, served with maple syrup). I didn't taste it because I am not a big fan of french toast (or any kind of sweet meal) but smelled wonderful. The dish was approved of by my two friends at the table.

In Seattle, it's not easy to get cafe au lait,because many coffee shops serve only cafe latte (well, I don't drink coffee regularly so probably I just don't know where to go to get cafe au lait). Cafe Campagne does serve one (you might want to make sure that you get it in a large cafe au lait cup though).

The cafe is on the Post Alley. If you want to take a break from sleeping in on weekends, meeting with your good friends for a french breakfast after buying fresh flowers at the Pike Place market could be a good way to start your weekend for a change once in a while :-)

The best part is leftovers

Unless you're are Prince Kobayashi, most people usually end up taking some portion of the 12 oz of Rib eye steak home (See the size of the Daniel's steak), but I love the leftover steak because my favorite dish "garlic pilaf with the rib eye steak" is on the way.

Ingredients: diced leftover steak, leftover steamed asparagus, 2 cloves of garlic, green onions, rice, butter, salt and pepper

1. Heat canola oil in a pan and saute the steak and garlic. Be careful not to burn garlic.
2. Add green onions and asparagus. Add rice.
3. Season with salt and pepper. Drop butter at the end.More butter, more flavor of course :-)