MAR 26: Sake, Spice, Molly: 3 Peas in a March Pod

Happy March, everybody! Molly, here.

As I wrote the first draft of this entry into the monthly club annals, an atmospheric river was making its way through Portland. After a frustratingly mild and sunny Winter, March was here to teach us not to get too comfortable. Rain poured for two straight days, and the creek in my neighborhood nearly swallowed up the bridge where I take my coffee to zone out and stare at ducks in the morning. Cherry blossom season came a bit early, and the days are getting longer, so let’s have some sake and eat well to celebrate!

Namas are rolling in with all their floral, fruity, sparkly beauty, drinking like a sunbeam shining through the window, energizing us to spring clean, or maybe just lollygag at the park. I often choose the latter :o) This month I’m sharing one seasonal release, and one year-round (fresh batch!) nama that captures the essence of the season regardless. The first sake in the line up is Rihaku Dreamy Clouds (lightly) sparkling nama, a lifted and herbaceous little number made with Gohyakumangoku rice cultivated in cloudy Shimane. This is Dreamy Cloud Nama’s second year in the states, and we made a grave error last year only buying two single cases… it was a huge hit during its short tenure. Second, we have Koueigiku’s Tsukikage, a year-round nama from Saga prefecture- it’s a Kyushu style kaleidoscope of umami, sweetness, herbaceousness and zippy acidity. When it came time to consider what I wanted to include in my annual write up of self indulgence, I immediately knew I wanted to include Koueigiku, whose sakes have enjoyed heavy rotation in my home fridge since their arrival in Oregon. 

 And, you know, I almost didn’t mention it, but my birthday is in March, and I want to use this time to be a little self indulgent and talk about the number one majestic combo in my heart: sake and Indian food. 

My biggest hang up on writing this, is that I am certainly no authority on either. I have my hands full enough digging into the regional diversity and deep, centuries-spanning history of the former to truly dive into the latter (for now). But I still would like to share the experience that started this whole obsession, and a couple simple recipes you can try at home to complement this month’s picks.

This all started in Summer 2024, after a dinner at The Madras Diaries in Vancouver, BC. My husband and I had plans to go to a nearby French restaurant that unexpectedly took an early night, and this place was nearby and open, the most urgent parameters for how hungry we were after driving straight in from Portland. It was a pivot, yes, but as someone who’d only had the well known in the west classics like butter chicken and dal tadka, the menu had too many potential delights that were unfamiliar to me. Their menu references different regions and cities across Southern India, from Telangana and Tamil Nadu, to seafood curries from coastal Andhra Pradesh. We ordered Thambi Vilas Lamb Biryani, a homage to the house flavor of the famous Hyderabadi Thambi Vilas restaurant, a Puducherry style mutton curry dosa, and ennai kathirikai, a tangy, sesame laden eggplant dish from Chettinad. A vast landscape of gorgeously layered spices, earthy curry leaves, maple-y fenugreek, sweet fennel and pungent achar took over my life, and after much consideration, was a paradigm shift in how I think about flavor in every aspect of my life. I hadn’t felt that way about a culinary experience since a sake pairing in 2018 set me on the path that led me to Sunflower. And because of the way I can’t just casually enjoy anything, upon getting home we stuffed our pantry with nearly every whole spice, daal and herb we might need from the Indian market in Beaverton, and set out on a quest to learn more about regional Indian cuisine and play with these flavors at home. So naturally, once our dinner table was covered in the flavors of Chettinad and Hyderabad on a near nightly basis, the next natural consideration was what to drink with it. After much trial and error, and a frantic google search of “南インド料理と日本酒ペアリング” (lit. South Indian food and sake pairing), I found some answers, as well as Yokohama based chef Shingo Yabu, owner of Spice Drunker Yabuya*, who specializes in just the thing. 

The two sake we’re sharing this month represent two of the styles I’ve had success with, and one of the recipes in this write up is a translation of one of Yabu-san’s sake snack pairings. Both recipes may require a trip to a specialty grocery store, and I’ve provided a couple local options below that also contain excellent delis. For my non-Oregon folks, if you don’t have an Indian grocery or halal market nearby, all of the dried ingredients are readily available online. You can also email me and we can talk substitutions. The realm of sake pairing outside of the context of Japanese cuisine is one I’m very passionate about, and I am here to encourage you all to play around!

 

The Madras Diairies: 1097 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5V 3C7, Canada

*Spice Drunker Yabuya (I had the pleasure of eating here, but frankly that experience deserves its own separate write up): Japan, 〒231-0045 Kanagawa, Yokohama, Naka Ward, Isezakichō, 1 Chome−3-7 沼田ビル 3F

Apna Chat Bhavan: 1815 NW 169th Pl Ste 6020, Beaverton, OR 97006

Indian Connection : 17235 NW Corridor Ct #125, Beaverton, OR 97006

Egg Poriyal with Koueigiku Tsukikage

—An amazing drinking snack born from common fridge items!—

Recipe by Yabu Shingo, owner of SPICE DRUNKER Yabuya

Copy text by Satomi Mika

Translation and notes by Molly, from Vol. 2 of Nihonshu Dancyu, Summer 2025

[Copy text from below image: It looks like a ground meat dish, but it’s actually eggs! The eggs are coated in spices, and have a gentle warmth. “For pairing with this, I recommend a warm sake with a strong character, such as a yondan jikomi or kanzen hakkou (tl note: lit. “complete fermentation,” a notably rich and dry style of sake),” says Yabu-san.]

Ingredients

Eggs…6 large

White Onion…1/2 small

6 cherry tomatoes or 1 slicer tomato

Shishito Pepper…5

Cilantro, leaves and stems…10g

Dried red chiles…4

Himalayan black salt (preferably, but sea salt is ok, too!)...1 ½ tsp, divided

Powdered Spices (A)

Turmeric powder…1/4 tsp

Cayenne pepper…1/2 tsp

Coriander powder…1 tsp

Cumin Powder…1 ½ tsp

Mustard seed, black or brown…1 tsp

Curry Leaves…one sprig

Garam Masala…1/2 tsp

Ghee or neutral oil…3 tbsp

Method

1. Dice tomatoes, quarter shishito peppers, mince onions, and finely chop cilantro. Separate and set aside.

2. Beat eggs well, then stir in 1 tsp salt. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, pour in 3 tbsp of ghee and mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to pop, add curry leaves, onion, and a teaspoon of salt. Sautee.

4. Once onions are lightly browned, add tomatoes, shishito peppers, and cilantro.

5. Once the tomato is well incorporated, reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the powdered spices from list (A). Sautee well, scraping the pan as you stir to prevent the spices from burning. Adjust salt to taste here.

6. Bring the heat back up to medium, and pour in beaten eggs, stirring carefully until you have a fine scramble.  After cutting the heat, mix in ½ tsp garam masala.

Molly’s Notes: In Tamil, poriyal means to sautee or shallow fry in oil or ghee, and the “pori” refers to the onomatopoeic sound of spices and vegetables spluttering in oil. This recipe features eggs, but poriyal is a method rather than a dish, so play around with different vegetables and spices! Green beans or snap peas with a bit of toasted coconut and black dahl in the summer, and cabbage or potato in colder months are some of my favorites. 

Because I chose this recipe to complement Koueigiku Tsukikage, which is a touch sweet, earthy, and bright compared to the more mature sake Yabu-san mentions, I recommend adding a heaping teaspoon of grated ginger with the onions and curry leaves in step 3, and adding the cilantro as a fresh garnish at the end rather than frying it with aromatics early on. 

Enjoy with the Tsukikage at room temperature, or gently warmed to ~120°F in a tempered glass vessel. The boon of warmer sake is that it lengthens and evolves how the spices bloom on the tongue. 

 House Green Chutney for a zesty lil’ bevvie (Rihaku Tokubetsu Junmai “Dreamy Clouds” Nama) - Recipe by my husband who doesn’t measure, dictated by me

Ingredients

Cilantro…1 bunch

Mint…~1 ounce, picked from stems

Cumin seeds…1 tsp 

Unsweetened shredded coconut…2 tbsp

Serrano or Indian green chili…1/2 to 1, depending on desired spice level

Garlic…1 clove

Ginger…1 inch chunk, peeled

Full fat yogurt…1 tbsp (1/2c if you want a chips and dip situation)

Juice from half a lemon

Chaat Masala…1 tsp*

Salt…1/4 tsp, more to taste

Method

1. In a dry pan on low heat, toast cumin seeds until they become aromatic (~20 seconds), then add shredded coconut. Pull from heat when the coconut begins to brown and transfer to a plate to cool

2. Wash and rough chop cilantro and mint. Rough chop a peeled clove of garlic and a peeled chunk of ginger. Add all to a food processor or blender with cumin seeds, coconut, serrano, up to 2 tablespoons of water and a tablespoon of yogurt. Pulse till smooth.

3. Add chaat masala, lemon juice and salt. Incorporate, then adjust to taste.

Molly’s Notes: The internet is rife with green chutney recipes, and there are as many iterations of it as there are households that make it. As dishes from various parts of India make it to our dinner table at home, we would tweak the chutney to suit the region of inspiration, and of course, enjoy it with sake. So it follows that over time, we stopped following a recipe at all, or even measuring. This is, as of the current moment, what our version of a “house” green chutney has become. As the weather gets warmer, I look forward to mixing a little into kewpie to slather on sandwiches for the river. Dunk some samosas in there, slather it on grilled meats and veggies, it’s chutney. Go crazy.

Lemon and tangy yogurt complement the lactic-acidic backbone of Dreamy Clouds, and heaps of fresh herbs are a no-brainer with nama. Once we decided on this sake for club, I knew right away I wanted to pair it with something equally bright and energizing.

*A note on the chaat masala: you can buy it prepackaged from the store, but this specific recipe hits with sake because of its unique ingredients. Acidic, pungent green mango powder (amchur/amchar) and funky himalayan black salt, unusual for chaat masala, play off of koji/fermentation notes and the fruit-floral notes as well! Sake and tsukemono (pickled things) are a classic combo, no? So if you want to take this recipe as far as it can go, I’ve included a recipe for my house chaat masala below. I don’t remember where the recipe came from anymore… it’s just a cropped screenshot from a youtube video on my phone. Sorry :/ This will yield a healthy half cup of masala that you can sprinkle on pizza, fried egg sandwiches, grilled and roasted anything, samosas, sake highballs, etc. The sky is the limit. The first time I made this a few months back, I thought I’d never get through it. That was two batches ago. 

Toast the whole spices in a dry pan on low heat until fragrant. When cool, transfer to a spice grinder with powdered spices and blitz until fine. Can be stored in the spice cabinet for months.