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