Sake kasu flavors the menu at Rintaro in San Francisco

When they lived in the neighborhood, Rintaro was Yoshi and Lani’s favorite restaurant. They’d sit at the bar for hours and feasting on chef-owner Sylvan Mishima Brackett’s traditional Japanese menu, paired with sake, of course.

Today, Den Sake is on Rkintaro’s beverage menu and chef Mishima Brackett also incorporates Den’s sake kasu, the lees from Yoshi’s sake-making process, into his cooking. Sake kasu is a very common ingredient in Japan, but less widely used in the States.

At Rintaro, sake kasu’s sweet, earthy, funky flavor and aroma enliven a delicate soup with carrot and radish. The koji-infused lees are used to marinate fish, offering flavor as well as tenderizing the meat. Chef Mishima Brackett also mixes sake kasu with wasabi for a pickled condiment.

Sake kasu is used by chefs to incorporate an umami richness and deep aroma to a range of dishes, a by-product of the sake-making process