Nine things you should know about sake
The Japanese rice wine is gaining momentum in Shanghai. Here are some tips to order one like a pro
Sake used to lurk mostly in obscure izakayas and high end sushi bars in Shanghai, but the Japanese rice wine is slowly coming out of the shadows. Fine dining Chinese restaurant Hakkasan has dedicated an entire section in their wine list to it, online booze retailer BottlesXO is selling one made by techno DJ Richie Hawtin, and trendy Japanese eatery Umi has tapped Elliot Faber of Hong Kong’s Ronin and Yardbird to fill their sake selection. To help you navigate the menu as sake becomes more prevalent, here are eight things you should know about it.
1. Rice is the soul of sake.
Sake is commonly known as rice wine, but it’s a fermented beverage more like beer. It’s made from rice, water, yeast, and koji mold, and is very similar to how huangjiu, or yellow wine, is made in China. In Japan, over 100 varieties of rice can be made into sake, and some producers state the variety on their bottle. One popular strain is the Yamada Nishiki variety, which is grown in Hyogo, Fukuoka, Okayama, Saga, and Kumamoto Prefectures.
2. Water is crucial to making good sake.
Sake is 80 percent water, and the quality has a significant impact on the final brew. Good water needs to have specific contents of potassium, phosphoric acid, and magnesium, and low levels of iron. Almost all sake breweries in Japan are located near water sources such as rivers, wells, or springs, and the most renowned water source is in the Nada region of Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture. Nada is also Japan’s largest sake-producing area.
3. Sake was initially made in your mouth.
Rice farming arrived in Japan via China around the year 500 to 1000 during the Yayoi Period, with sake production starting around the same time. The earliest method of making sake is called kuchikami-no sake, or mouth-chew sake, where people would chew rice and spit it into a pot. Enzymes in our saliva would then break down the rice starch to sugar, before indigenous yeast kick starts the fermentation process.
4. Production is (thankfully) more modernized.
This is how sake is made today: rice is milled to reveal the starch in the center of the grain. The polished rice is steamed and cooled before water and koji mold are added to convert the starch into sugar. Once saccharification happens, yeast joins in to turn the sugar into alcohol. Depending on the type of sake, distilled alcohol can be added before the rice solids are pressed and filtered. The liquid that comes out is what goes into your bottle.
5. The rice goes on the grind.
Before rice can be brewed into sake, the outer husk has to be milled away to expose the starchy center, and you can tell how much remains by the labels on a bottle. If it’s a sake made solely out of rice, it’s either a junmai 純米酒 (polished until 70 percent is left), junmai ginjo 純米吟醸 (60 percent), or junmai daiginjo 純米大吟醸(50 percent). If distilled alcohol is added to sake, it’s a honjozo 本醸造 (70 percent), ginjo 吟醸 (60 percent), or daiginjo 大吟醸 (50 percent). Another cruder way to tell is cost: the higher the polishing rate, the more expensive the sake.
6. The sweet scent of polish.
How much the grain is polished also affects the flavors of sake. Junmai daiginjo and daiginjo sakes are mostly aromatic, fragrant, and light with fruity and fresh aromas, and can be either sweet or dry. Junmai and honjozo sakes, on the other hand, are usually richer, fuller bodied, and savory. Junmai ginjo and ginjo sakes generally fall between these two camps.
7. It’s more than just hot or cold.
In the simplest terms, sake can be served either hot or cold, but the aromas of a particular style should be your guide when deciding what temperature to serve it. If a sake is fresh and aromatic, chilling it will further enhance these characteristics. Alternatively, warming a sake that’s umami and rich will coax out these flavors even more and make it luscious. To serve sake cold, chill it until it’s between 5 to 15 degrees celsius, while hot sake should be served around 30 to 60 degrees celsius, not exceeding 80 degrees celsius. Traditionally, ceramic cups and earthen wares are used to drink sake, but a wine glass works too when it’s cold. For hot sake, use a tea cup.
8. Not only with Japanese food.
Some general rules of sake and food pairing: the drink is a great match with seafood because it does not bring out any fishy smell, and it also goes with fermented foods such as soy sauce, miso, vinegar, and cheese because of the drink’s umami flavor. Lighter and fresher sakes bring out the freshness of vegetables and herbs, which is why junmai daiginjo and daiginjo works with Italian, Vietnamese, or Thai food. Alternatively, junmai and honjozo’s richer flavors is a match for many Chinese dishes.
9. What to look for on the label.
Here’s how to read the label on the bottle: first, make sure it’s sake, which would be written as 清酒 (seishu) or 日本酒 (nihonshu). Second, look for the classification, 純米酒 (junmai), 純米吟醸 (junmai ginjo), or 純米大吟醸 (junmai daiginjo) means it’s a pure rice sake; 本醸造 (honjozo), 吟醸 (ginjo), or 大吟醸 (daiginjo) means distilled alcohol was added. If no classification is given, chances are the sake is just the run of the mill. If it’s a premium sake, the rice polishing rate (精米歩合) will be stated. Third, the date of bottling (製造年月日) — you want something that’s fresh. Fourth: if you know your brands, the brewery name and location will also be printed. And there you have it, now you can pick out a bottle of sake like a pro.
