Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY
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Shinbashi Restaurant in midtown, is one of those restaurants where you can experience the authentic delicacies of Japan at its best. There are no ornate rolls or any sort of fusion going on here, just straight up, traditional Japanese sushi, and sushi chef Mr. Kunihide Nakajima is happy to keep it that way. This is because the veteran chef knows how truly authentic sushi is hard to come by these days. But there is something he does do differently from most other authentic sushi places, and that is his commitment to having a modern list of beverages that include a good selection of shochu and wine for his contemporary customers. Mr. Nakajima's acute sense of taste has allowed him to put together an exciting list of beverages that goes with the traditional style, and one of the shochu he's chosen is Kappa no Sasoi-mizu. We spoke to the celebrated sushi chef to find out why Kappa no Sasoi-mizu made his list.
I try to have a good variety of shochu here, because every person has a different palate. Obviously, I chose what I thought was good, but even within that, I try to have a variety of things so that there is something for everyone. We try to put a lot of emphasis on our beverage selection.
I think it's a shochu that definitely has a punch, and has a strong aroma. It's a very high quality shochu, and has a very distinct characteristic. So if you are trying many shochus I would leave this one for last, because after this one, the others will feel a bit too plain. The white koji gives this shochu a very nice smoothness, too.
Like I said, this is a very high quality shochu, so it would be a real shame to mix things with it because you really want to be able to smell the aroma of the potato. So I would drink it straight. On the rocks is also good, and in the winter, oyuwari is a good way, too, because it brings out the aroma, and warms you up. I would never dilute it with water though. I think that would be doing injustice to such a magnificent beverage, and impolite to the people that make it. In my case, that goes for all great beverages including whisky, brandy, etc.
Being a sushi chef, the food, or the fish, always comes before beverage. So pairing in general is a foreign concept to me. However, that being said, I think that beverages originating from the same place as the food they are being paired with naturally go together. It has the same, what we call fudo, which I guess is like terroir in the wine world. In other words, it has the same regional traits.
It's best with the foods from the southern parts of Japan. If you ask for sake in these southern regions like Kyushu, you will be given shochu, because shochu is the more common beverage there. In general, I don't think imo-jochu goes with raw fish. I would think something like tuna would go with red wine much better, and some white fish would go with white wine better than shochu. I think shochu is more for something like hot pots. I would imagine monkfish hotpot or shabu shabu, or the Hakata style Tori-no mizutaki (chicken hot pot), which we have here, would go really nicely with Kappa no Sasoi-mizu. However, when you're talking about raw fish that are local to the area the shochu was born, it's a different story. For example, sekiaji (a type of Spanish mackerel only found around Oita prefecture), which happens to be in season right now, is an excellent match with Kappa no Sasoi-mizu. It's hard to come by, but we just happen to have it.
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Sweet and Romantic Treats from Japan 
This full-bodied and mild sake has a depth of flavor and a refined quality that lingers nicely. It is very smooth and silky.
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