Japanese cuisine has not been exotic in Russia for a long time. Almost everyone has already been able to enjoy sushi and rolls, try Japanese buckwheat and rice noodles. However, if we talk about the culture of drinking Japanese drinks, most of them are amateurs. This also applies to sake.
Instructions
Step 1
First of all, the sake bottle must be brought to the correct temperature. Japanese rice liquor is drunk over a wide temperature range. Heat the sake to a temperature of 30 ° C - it will be "hinatakan" (sun sake), 35 ° C - "itohadakan" (human skin), 40 ° C - "nurukan" (slightly warm), 45 ° C - "jokan" (warm), 50 ° С - "atsukan" (hot) and 55 ° С - "tobikirikan" (very hot). In cafes and restaurants, the drink is heated in special ovens. At home, you can simply dip the container of sake in a saucepan of hot water for a few minutes.
Step 2
Heat and serve sake in special porcelain jugs - "tokkuri" (from the Old Korean "clay container"). Their volume is 180 or 360 ml.
Step 3
There are two ways to drink sake in a company. The first, an old Japanese custom, is called the "circular bowl." If you become the master, then sit at the head. Sit guests on either side of you. Place a plate of snacks in front of each. For yourself, in addition to the plate, pour the warmed sake into a bowl.
Step 4
Drink a little and pass it to the neighbor on the right. He is also obliged to drink a little and pass the cup to the next one. When the sake has bypassed the entire table, you or the service personnel should pour each guest sake into separate small cups of 30-40 ml in volume - "sakazuki". But the ritual does not end there either.
Step 5
First, each guest drains their sakazuki and refills again. He gives the cup to the owner and already he drinks it in one gulp. And so does every guest. After that, songs and entertainment begin. The guests are already drinking with each other, exchanging cups. Such a complex custom was invented to prevent the deliberate poisoning of guests. Medieval Japan is the center of political intrigue, and the main weapon has always been cunning and a bottle of poison.
Step 6
In modern Japan, sake is still drunk according to the "circular bowl" tradition. However, more often you can find another custom, more modern. All guests receive a separate sake-filled tokkuri and sakazuki. But it is not customary to pour yourself from your jug. You must treat your neighbor with your drink, he, in turn, will make sure that your cup is not empty either. If you are the only sake lover in the company, good manners oblige your neighbor to take care of you. You, as a sign of reverence and demonstrating the culture of drinking, should keep the sakazuki raised while filling it.
Step 7
Sake, like any alcoholic drink, must be eaten. It goes very well with light Japanese cuisine: squid, eel, tuna, salmon and other seafood, pickled or raw. Often times, the snack plate is filled with sashimi, the thinnest pieces of raw fish that literally melt in your mouth. Sake is also drunk with sushi - a favorite dish of Japanese cuisine in Russia.
