has anyone heard of this stuff?

Conte's secret, if temperamental, ingredient is sake kasu, or the lees that
remain after sake fermentation. A popular umami booster in Japan, kasu is
still mostly unknown in the United States. Sold in blocks, the soft,
crumbly sake looks like a cross between tofu and puff pastry dough and has
an enticing, yeasty, fruity aroma. Mixed into marinades, it adds an
indescribable oomph to meat and fish. "There are no good words for it. It's
not like anything you've tasted before," says Conte.

more at:

<http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/chefs/kasu-the-next-it-ingredient.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz>

cshenk? steve?

your pal,
blake

On Sep 10, 11:53*am, ImStillMags > wrote:
> On Sep 10, 11:36*am, blake murphy > wrote:

> Here in the Seattle area you can buy it at Uwajimaya, which is an
> amazing huge Asian Market.

Love Uwajimaya. We have one in Portland (OR) (Beaverton actually) with
a second one planned for downtown in the Old Town/Chinatown area.

On Sep 10, 1:48*pm, KevinS > wrote:

>
> Love Uwajimaya. We have one in Portland (OR) (Beaverton actually) with
> a second one planned for downtown in the Old Town/Chinatown area.

I know, huh.....I can wander around in there for hours looking at
stuff. They have EVERYTHING. The original in the
Chinatown section of Seattle is funky cool.

blake wrote:

> has anyone heard of this stuff?
>
> Conte's secret, if temperamental, ingredient is sake kasu, or the lees
> that remain after sake fermentation. A popular umami booster in Japan,
> kasu is still mostly unknown in the United States. Sold in blocks, the
> soft, crumbly sake looks like a cross between tofu and puff pastry dough
> and has an enticing, yeasty, fruity aroma. Mixed into marinades, it adds
> an indescribable oomph to meat and fish. "There are no good words for it.
> It's not like anything you've tasted before," says Conte.
>
> more at:
>
> <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/chefs/kasu-the-next-it-ingredient.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz>


In its first incarnation in the 1980s, Cooks Illustrated did an article
about sake kasu, saying much the same things as the article you cite. The
only recipe I remember from the article was for salmon which was marinated
in sake kasu and then cooked in paper.

Bob

On Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:23:05 -0700, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> blake wrote:
>
>> has anyone heard of this stuff?
>>
>> Conte's secret, if temperamental, ingredient is sake kasu, or the lees
>> that remain after sake fermentation. A popular umami booster in Japan,
>> kasu is still mostly unknown in the United States. Sold in blocks, the
>> soft, crumbly sake looks like a cross between tofu and puff pastry dough
>> and has an enticing, yeasty, fruity aroma. Mixed into marinades, it adds
>> an indescribable oomph to meat and fish. "There are no good words for it.
>> It's not like anything you've tasted before," says Conte.
>>
>> more at:
>>
>> <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/all-we-can-eat/chefs/kasu-the-next-it-ingredient.html?wpisrc=nl_buzz>
>
> In its first incarnation in the 1980s, Cooks Illustrated did an article
> about sake kasu, saying much the same things as the article you cite. The
> only recipe I remember from the article was for salmon which was marinated
> in sake kasu and then cooked in paper.
>
> Bob

so not completely unknown. thanks, bob, george, and im.

your pal,
blake

This is my first post.

I started experimenting with kasuzuke after my father convinced me how easy it was. At home, he would have this Kasuzuke jar which has the consistency of mud (miso-like) and smells horible but tastes just out of this world. His story (add salt) is that in the old days fish taken from the sea shores could never make it to the mountains or inland regions of Japan so they came up with a way to pickle the fish. The Japanese never throw anything away so they take the Sake Kasu and remarket it as a marinade/pickler. Kasu means literally, trash. Well, after pickling your fish in Kasu, you can make the journey to the inland towns (Kyoto for example) and enjoy great tasting fish. FYI, the old-timers in Kyoto think that broiled fish is the only way to enjoy fish.

Sake Kasu is the what's left over after the first stage fermentation process when making Sake so it countains rice hull, yeast and everything else they throw in to make sake. To prepare the marinade, you take this sludge (sold as sake leek in the stores) and add miso, mirin, nothing else. Then you take the salmon and salt it for several days. Rub the salt off and immerse it in the Kasu. I was told to move it around everyday which meant I had to stick my hands into this mess and re-coat the kasu. The explanation was that the salt in the salmon would preserve the fish (during the 3 day brine), then during kasu immersion, the kasu would leach into the salmon, whilst replacing the salt. Eventually, the kasu would have this sweet and very unique flavor from the kasu which just equates to 'never can satisfy' flavor.

BTW, I don't trust my father with his ceramic container in the basement so my mix is in the refrigerator....

I'm trying to figure out short cuts because the fish always disappears in one meal. Note: if strangers don't like the smell, let them be ignorant as it allows for more fish for you. I keep making the mistake of introducing the flavor to folks so they eat it all up.

Sometimes it's alittle too salty so I'm thinking of making another batch with sweet miso. After searching the net, I find that there are a million variations. For example, some people add carrots or daikon to absorb the salt in the kasu or throw in bread to absorb the water if it gets too watery.

Take care,

Ken

On Sat, 11 Sep 2010 18:21:44 +0000, racerken wrote:

> 'Bob Terwilliger[_1_ Wrote:
>> ;1527895']blake wrote:
>> -
>> has anyone heard of this stuff?
>>
>> Conte's secret, if temperamental, ingredient is sake kasu, or the lees
>> that remain after sake fermentation. A popular umami booster in Japan,
>>
>> kasu is still mostly unknown in the United States. Sold in blocks, the
>>
>> soft, crumbly sake looks like a cross between tofu and puff pastry
>> dough
>> and has an enticing, yeasty, fruity aroma. Mixed into marinades, it
>> adds
>> an indescribable oomph to meat and fish. "There are no good words for
>> it.
>> It's not like anything you've tasted before," says Conte.
>>
>> more at:
>>
>> 'All We Can Eat - Kasu: the next 'it' ingredient?'
>> (http://tinyurl.com/24g92ol)-
>>
>> In its first incarnation in the 1980s, Cooks Illustrated did an article
>> about sake kasu, saying much the same things as the article you cite.
>> The
>> only recipe I remember from the article was for salmon which was
>> marinated
>> in sake kasu and then cooked in paper.
>>
>> Bob
>
> This is my first post.
>
> I started experimenting with kasuzuke after my father convinced me how
> easy it was. At home, he would have this Kasuzuke jar which has the
> consistency of mud (miso-like) and smells horible but tastes just out of
> this world. His story (add salt) is that in the old days fish taken
> from the sea shores could never make it to the mountains or inland
> regions of Japan so they came up with a way to pickle the fish. The
> Japanese never throw anything away so they take the Sake Kasu and
> remarket it as a marinade/pickler. Kasu means literally, trash. Well,
> after pickling your fish in Kasu, you can make the journey to the inland
> towns (Kyoto for example) and enjoy great tasting fish. FYI, the
> old-timers in Kyoto think that broiled fish is the only way to enjoy
> fish.
>
> Sake Kasu is the what's left over after the first stage fermentation
> process when making Sake so it countains rice hull, yeast and everything
> else they throw in to make sake. To prepare the marinade, you take this
> sludge (sold as sake leek in the stores) and add miso, mirin, nothing
> else. Then you take the salmon and salt it for several days. Rub the
> salt off and immerse it in the Kasu. I was told to move it around
> everyday which meant I had to stick my hands into this mess and re-coat
> the kasu. The explanation was that the salt in the salmon would
> preserve the fish (during the 3 day brine), then during kasu immersion,
> the kasu would leach into the salmon, whilst replacing the salt.
> Eventually, the kasu would have this sweet and very unique flavor from
> the kasu which just equates to 'never can satisfy' flavor.
>
> BTW, I don't trust my father with his ceramic container in the basement
> so my mix is in the refrigerator....
>
> I'm trying to figure out short cuts because the fish always disappears
> in one meal. Note: if strangers don't like the smell, let them be
> ignorant as it allows for more fish for you. I keep making the mistake
> of introducing the flavor to folks so they eat it all up.
>
> Sometimes it's alittle too salty so I'm thinking of making another batch
> with sweet miso. After searching the net, I find that there are a
> million variations. For example, some people add carrots or daikon to
> absorb the salt in the kasu or throw in bread to absorb the water if it
> gets too watery.
>
> Take care,
>
> Ken

thank, ken. i'm thinking i will look for this stuff and see if i can use
it for something other than fish (which i don't eat much of).

your pal,
blake

The packages are refrigerated and have the appearance of flat blocks of tofu that almost has the same concistency of clay.