We will introduce the charm of Uda, a city said to be the birthplace of medicine, where you can enjoy traditional vegetables, medicinal herbs, culture and traditional techniques to delight both your body and mind.
No.1 Sake Brewery Cafe Kubo Honke Sake Brewery Hanare
Koji mold is a type of fungus unique to Japan. We spoke to the Kubo Honke Shuzo Hanare sake brewery cafe in Uda City, Nara Prefecture, which serves lunch featuring koji mold and other fermented ingredients, about the wisdom of living with fermentation.
The cafe is run by the proprietress of Kubo Honke Sake Brewery, a long-established sake brewery with 300 years of history. She brews sake with bacteria every day and feels the power of bacteria, which is why she decided to run a cafe that serves meals incorporating fermentation.
"Miso, soy sauce, vinegar... fermentation and bacteria have been a part of Japanese life since ancient times, and they're nothing special. I think they're the things that suit the Japanese body the best," says the proprietress.
An example of the limited-edition sake brewery fermentation lunch menu, which is the cafe's best way to experience fermentation, is a menu of grilled salmon marinated in salt koji and pepper sauce, new potato salad with miso mayonnaise, koji natto, miso soup, homemade pickles and tsukudani, three-minute rice, and sweet sake and soy milk jelly for dessert, all fermented. You can also choose a sake tasting from Kubohonke Brewery as part of the set drink.
In recent years, it has been said that the importance of a healthy intestinal environment is linked to good health, and this lunch is sure to help regulate your intestines. It's surprising how many variations there are of menus that incorporate fermentation. How can we incorporate fermentation into our daily lives?
"The easiest things to incorporate into your life are miso soup and soy sauce. I'm sure many people eat these naturally. If you want to take it to the next level, try using shio-koji. It's sold at supermarkets now, so it's easy to get hold of. You'll be amazed at how adding it to meat or fish enhances the flavor, making meat tender and fish fluffy. The longer shio-koji sits, the tastier it becomes, so I recommend it especially for busy people. If you add it in the morning or a few days in advance, you can easily make a side dish by just grilling it and eating."
If you want to take it even further, you can make seasonings by adding something extra to the koji. For example, if you mix soy sauce with koji, you get soy sauce koji, and if you mix it with onions, you get onion koji, which can be easily used to season dishes and make dressings. It's a versatile food that can be enjoyed by mixing it with a variety of things.
Hanare-san is also working on creating meals that make adding fermented ingredients fun.
"For example, natto alone is an excellent fermented food, but we also add rice malt, sake, soy sauce, mirin, and other ingredients. It's also convenient to make a large amount, such as a week's supply."
There are many different seasonings available, but the best for Japanese people is probably the original "sashisuseso" that has long been said to be the best.
Hanare has been making sake for over 300 years, and as such, it values traditional fermented foods and seasonings. The cafe, located in the city center, has an eye-catching exterior that exudes both tradition and modernity.
"I want many people to try fermented foods, which are best suited to the Japanese body. I would be delighted if the café could become a place of relaxation where people can spend time in the nature-rich Uda area."