Brewing Sake

A new way to experience Japan

On Monday I had the chance-of-a-lifetime to spend a day working at a sake brewery (酒蔵) called 18 Zakari Shuzo (十八盛酒造) in Kojima, Okayama. It was hard work but very interesting and exciting.

The brewery was started more than 200 years ago and has been growing ever since. It’s still a small operation, with only about 10 employees, but everyone there clearly cares deeply about the art of making sake. I felt so lucky to be able to see them at work and help them make something they are so obviously passionate about.

In the morning I was able to stir some of the tanks of sake that is being brewed right now, steam some rice, and then make some koji (麹), which is the fermented rice that is used to start a batch of sake (along with yeast, water, and more rice).

In the afternoon we washed some rice, which was much more complicated and difficult than I expected! It required perfect timing and coordination between the brewers, and I made a couple of mistakes, which the brewers luckily fixed for me. Hopefully I didn’t hurt the taste of the sake!

Thanks to everyone for having me! I can’t wait to try the sake I helped make! It should be ready in a few months.

Last Sunday was NEO’s 13th annual Thanksgiving party. We cooked up the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner.

We ate turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, candied yams, mixed vegetables and dinner rolls. And we also had dessert.

We had apple pie, pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream for desert.

This year was our biggest party ever, 54 people! This year’s party was also very international, we had guests from 10 different countries: Japan, the USA, Canada, The UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, China, Germany and Austria.

Here are some pictures of NEO staff and students enjoying the party.

Dave-sensei was on "Let's Enjoy English" on Radio MOMO (79.0 FM) yesterday. Dave and D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu talked about holidays like Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Click the button below to listen. 

Dave-sensei will be on Radio MOMO (79.0FM) with D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu on Thursday November 28th at about 5:40 pm. They will talk in English and Japanese about holidays like Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

10月25日（木）5時40分ごろにDave先生がRadio MOMOに出演します（DJは上別府千晶さん）。英語と日本語の両方で感謝祭とブラックフライデーについて話します。

http://www.fm790.co.jp/

Peanut Tofu

An Okinawan Treat

Okinawa is filled with great food, but one of my favorites is peanut tofu – known as ジーマーミ豆腐 in Japanese. It’s a creamy, soft tofu infused with peanut oil, which gives it a dessert-like quality.  The first time I tried it in an izakaya in Naha, I immediately ordered two more. It’s that good.

When I went to Naha last year, a bought a bunch of peanut tofu from a supermarket before coming home. The pre-packaged cups are not nearly as good as the real thing. Not bad, but not great. Still, I enjoyed having a taste of it back in Okayama.

So if you happen to see peanut tofu in a local supermarket, or if you get some as omiyage, give it a try. And if you have a chance to go to Okinawa yourself, go to a restaurant and eat as much as you can!

And please bring some back for me, ok?