At the Koji Kimura sushi seminar, Japan House… It was outstanding.
(note: Battera prepared by the excellent Chef Taka Narui)
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Kanpyo, damn autocorrect.
Stop by if you are in the area and in the mood for battera.
Forgot to post my battera from Inaba (Torrance)
I was there too and that Battera was excellent. I was wondering who the caterer was, but alas I see from the website that the minimum order is 50 people. I could live on that battera.
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For those of you who have been to both, which do you recommend - Kappo Sui or Shibucho?
Shibucho is an old school sushi house, where Kappo Sui is, well, more casual. And it’s more general washoku a menu.
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Okay, got it.
My bad @J_L. I was asking about Sushi Shibucho in Costa Mesa. It was a choice between there and Kappo Sui. Wanting the full gamut of washoku (fried, grilled, steamed, noodles, sushi) we were leaning toward KS. Plus they serve battera. Who knew you need a resy on a Tuesday night? 
We went to SS instead and had the place to ourselves. I’ll do more on the meal and restaurant later. But I finally had battera…
First impression was a mouthful of fishy, vinegary ocean - thin strips of tender, pickled, oily saba (mackerel) and kombu (kelp) pressed onto squares of vinegared rice. I swore I would never use the word umami on FTC (the one time I broke that rule I regretted it). But I think it describes battera perfectly. The only slight downside was the rice. It was average. Yep, you’ve created a monster.
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I feel there are two camps of thought on using the word “umami” in food writing: One side says umami doesn’t exist, and is simply a “cop out” word to describe deliciousness. The other side states that umami is its own distinct flavor, ignored by or unknown to previous generations of food writers.
I do think umami is its own taste, and not just a different type of salty, or combination of any of the four main tastes our tongues can detect. Biologically, I believe that umami is the flavor of glutamic acid on the tongue (yes, the “G” in MSG). And though I don’t use the word as much, I certainly think it belongs in food writing (when used properly, as by, for example @beefnoguy).
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It’s quite interesting that some people cannot taste umami flavors (and thus are unable to grasp the concept), perhaps due to either lack of exposure or it could be biology/genetic. For example Beau Timken (owner of True Sake San Francisco) who is in some ways a super taster, International Wine Challenge judge, sake samurai, self admitted that he is “umami challenged”, which if it were me I’d be crying for not being able to enjoy and taste that element in a really good sake and get that to elevate with an incredible food pairing.
There is certainly a lot of umami in tomatoes, cheese (particularly the aged semi firm/hard cheese) and Parmesan Reggiano is a great example, Maggi sauce (my childhood favorite, although they say the type made in France is best, and you’ll find that at a lot of good Vietnamese restaurants), soy sauce, mushrooms, and of course katsuobushi, konbu (and the two combined into dashi). You could in theory taste the umami characters in certain sushi, and as Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Jiro himself explained that when you have the combination of salt/vinegar shari, aged medium fatty tuna, nikiri shoyu brushed on top that you get that umami / balance. Shellfish also has natural umami taste as well (and can be very rich, especially Japanese ones), which actually benefit with an umami rich Junmai sake pairing. And this is also why well executed Italian cuisine is quite a natural match with sake as well.
When considering a sake pairing with Japanese cuisine, focus on the match between the sake and the dashi for maximizing the experience. This even goes for e.g. hot soba in broth or ramen.
I once asked my wine mentor about what he thinks regarding a blanketed statement that wine has umami, and his response was that certain reds that have a mushroom note/earthiness to it do that liken to the umami character.I am curious what some supertasters think (just from the ones who do not call themselves supertasters, lol).
Even that perfectly cured kohada, saba, in sushi form can have incredible umami. It’s a little confusing as you could (and if able) to find that sweet spot between the salt, sweetness, sour/acidity, astringency, and maybe a bit of bitterness…also the interaction between the degree of vinegar marination, salt cure, the fat content of the fish…all of that in combination, is perhaps that’s where the umami is (once the properly seasoned sushi rice brings it into balance), ditto with that thin slice of kelp.
Hope this explains it somewhat.
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the first picture is where umami’s at!
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Oh totally, those Nissan Demae instant noodles also need a few drops of sesame oil to bring it all together 
which we call the droplets of love to perfect the instant noodle experience (egg and spam of course too but nothing adds more bomb than the drops of sesame oil).
Don’t forget dried roasted tilefish used in classic wonton broth, fermented shrimp block and shrimp paste Cantonese, dried shrimp (and in particular Cantonese superior stock [Cantonese dashi] with Jinghua ham, mature chicken, dried scallops and dried shrimp) and very very good quality salted fish (eg fatty threadfin during winter). OG Cantonese umami.
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Perfect @beefnoguy. Your post couldn’t be a better setup for my report on the main part of the evening - a sake tasting with Philip Harper at High-Time Wine in CM. I’ll give you a hint. We got to try that crazy ass Tamagawa Heirloom Amber Sake “Time Machine”. Talk about an adventure in a glass. TBC…
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Good, I expect a full report in the Sake thread you started 
I had the Time Machine again last month, it was better than I had remembered but this time more sweetness that rounds out the…yes…umami. Philip/Tamagawa recommends a little bit over vanilla ice cream, but it works even better with foie gras and sauteed ankimo style foie (with balsamic reduction).
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Hah! You just did part of my report. But yes, I will totally do one on the Sake thread. 
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Any leads for this dish near Studio City? Preferably lunchable?
Have you tried Totole chicken or mushroom crystals? I discovered them thanks to this, Itty Bitty Baby Bok Choy in Vinegar-Oyster Sauce | The Mala Market, and they are pretty great. 99 Ranch carries them as well as Amazon.
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