Strange but True!

SUSHI is not raw fish!

SUSHI actually refers to the vinegared rice that is served in a variety of forms with different ingredients, raw and cooked. "Su"= vinegar"; "shi"= thing/food. The items that ride along with the rice may be from the farm, the field or the sea. Nigiri sushi (above) is the bitesize rice ball topped with something tasty, and maki sushi (below) is the roll with raw/cooked or vegetarian ingredients inside. Then there's chirashi sushi, inari sushi, oshiizushi etc. etc. etc!

SASHIMI is not the same. There's no rice involved, and sashimi is most often slices of raw seafood, although cooked edibles are not unheard of.

Of course, fresh is best. Is your seafood still moving? It's not necessarily all the sake you've been drinking. If you are actually in Japan, it could be you are experiencing "ikizukuri"; not impaired vision. Live fish, shrimp or lobster are sliced up and served reassembled, vital organs intact and heart still beating away....

Every so often a fish gets revenge. "FUGU" or pufferfish, are highly toxic and deadly if improperly prepared.

Sushi Chefs in Japan must be specially licensed to serve fugu. Even so, several deaths a year are reported from fugu poisoning. Usually they're the result of over ambitious homecooks falling victim to their own handiwork. And they probably can't make it look as pretty. Traditionally, fugu sashimi is sliced so thin you can see the design of the plate on which it's presented...

The sashimi has a light, delicate, slightly sweet taste. Is it worth the "risk"? Death by fugu poisoning is not the most pleasant way to make your final exit. Fugu's neurotoxin is 1000 times more powerful than cyanide. It shuts down your nervous system and paralyzes you but you remain conscious and alert. Eventually your lungs shut down and you suffocate. The process can take many hours. I'd spend the extra bucks and stick with a licensed Japanese Chef.

On a lighter note....

KAWAII! (ka wai ee!=Cute!)
And the Queen of Cute is Hello Kitty. Born "Kitty White" on November 1st, 1974 in London, England, she's got a twin sister Mimmy and fans all over the world. They earn her parent company Sanrio over a billion dollars a year. With her own line of diamond jewellery, an EvaAir Hello Kitty airbus and a maternity hospital in Taiwan, this girl deserves a blog of her own. I shall so enjoy researching and writing it. Stay tuned Kitty loving kids....


KAMIKAZE translates as "Divine Wind". Kublai Khan led Mongolian invasions of Japan in the 1200s. Not just once, but twice, massive typhoons drove the Mongols from Japan's shores, and destroyed hundreds of their ships. It was believed that the Japanese Gods had created the storms to protect the Japanese people from the foreign devils. Most non-Japanese understand kamikaze to refer to the WW2 pilots who led suicide attacks on Allied ships.

Modern day vodka drinkers think "kamikaze" and picture a tasty citrus shooter....

And on that happy note! "Kanpai"! (Cheers!)

Sanbiki hopes to see you soon!

New Year, New Staff, New Stuff....

"Akemashite omedouto gozaimasu!"= Happy New Years!



Its the most important holiday of the year for many Asians, and the Japanese are no different. New Years means special foods will be shared with special friends and family. "Mochi" (sweet rice cakes), red and white "kamaboko" (fish cakes), osechie gohan (rice cooked with red bean) and sashimi are just a few holiday treats. In Japan, ornate laquer ware "ju bako" (stackable bento boxes) are often prepared with exquisitely presented foods that will keep without refrigeration for a few days.


In the past this ensured there would be lots to eat on one of the few holidays when groceries and other businesses closed down. Even the housewives could look forward to a few days off! Meals were prepared ahead of time, and the homemade bento kept in cool areas of the house over the holidays. Nowadays, many department stores offer special order "ju bako" and the fancy versions can cost hundreds (even thousands!) of dollars. Favourites sell out months in advance.





Nowadays, Japanese homes are equipped with refrigerators and other modern convienences. Still, it is rare to have central heating or air con in Japan and many families will store food in a "cool" room. It is also uncommon for a family to celebrate the coming of the New Year without a trip to a favourite shrine or temple. Japanese spirituality or religion is generally a combination of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.



Shinto is the indigenious Japanese religion/idealogy that encompasses all things, living and otherwise. "Jinja" are Shinto shrines and easily distuinguishable from Buddhist temples. "Tori" are the fantastic gates, usually red, that mark the entrance to a Shinto shrine. Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto is famous for the thousands of brilliant red"tori" (paid for by families or companies) that wind up the side of a sacred mountain. "Kami" is a central concept in Shinto, and refers to the spirit that resides in, and unites all things. Gods, demons and everything in between have a place in Shinto.


Buddhism is one of many early imports to Japan by way of China. It remains a central pillar in Japanese life today. It's a cliche in Japan to say "We are born Shinto , but we die Buddhist". When a child is born or a couple married these events are celebrated by a visit to a Shinto Shrine. Funerals however, take place at Buddhist temples and this is where many rituals honouring the dead take place.

Sanbiki celebrated the holidays with our staff and their families and friends. New Chef Hiro is a new father as well! He got the best Christmas gift! His lovely wife (Seiko) and beautiful daughter (Reina) joined him in Canada in time for New Years! Thats him below with our other new Chef Yama and Marvellous Megumi!


As usual, an amazing assortment of food was prepared and washed down with far too much beer, wine and fruity cocktails. Masato's "te maki" is always popular. Its like fajitas, but Japanese style. Everyone prepares their own "mini maki sushi". It starts with a square of seaweed and a scoop of rice. Load it up with whatever raw or cooked seafood and veggies catch your eye. A dab of wasabi, a drop or two of soy sauce and down the hatch it goes!



There were homemade sweets (Japanese and Western) savoury Taiwanese style pastries, spicy Korean rice cakes and much more! Everyone got to take home leftovers after.



Crannog Ales Party Pigs were empty by the evenings end. Beer leftovers have never been an issue at our staff parties! Strange berry cocktails were consumed by the adults while the little people indulged in Ramune and Calpico.


Those with a sweet tooth were left satiated (albeit perplexed!) with a bizarre sweet rendition of a pizza. It invloved cheesecake, fruit and far, far too much strawberry cream cheese icing, green and red gummies and white chocolate shavings!


Keep in touch!

We'll continue to blog about restaurant news and special events. We'll be doing more fundraising this year as well. We'll start with the Kamloops SPCA and are arranging a Special Bento Dinner for January. $20 per person ($10 to SPCA) with your choice of special dinner bento boxes. Our new dinner menu features hot pots, spicy new sushi and much more. Check our facebook page for updates and we are on twitter as well!

Hope your holidays were happy! Things are getting back to normal and we all look forward to seeing you soon at Sanbiki and Mori Mori.

Nabemono

"Things in a pot". Doesn't sound very special...A very basic translation by a non-Japanese speaker. "Nabe" = pot. "Mono"= thing/stuff; in this usage, "edible things". Done properly, very delicious, edible things end up simmering together in a big ceramic or metal pot. Japanese hot pots take many forms. Canadians are perhaps most familiar with Shabu Shabu, Sukiyaki and Yosenabe.



"Yosenabe" (pictured above) is one of our favourites. Christmas dinner at Sanbiki did not involve turkey, turnip puff or yorkshire pudding as it would have at my Mom's. Instead, we started with a pot of water and a piece of seaweed. "Kombu" is a kind of kelp that is loaded with "umami"(the "fifth taste") due to the presence of glutamic acids. It don't look like much now, but we are just getting started...

We leave the kelp to soften and flavour the stock. Seafood and fish are prepared for cooking. We used B.C. Black Cod (Sablefish), Spot Prawns ("ama ebi" or sweet shrimp) and scallops. The Black Cod is a mild fish with a high fat content. Cooked properly the flesh is light and flaky. Near the skin, bones and cheeks, its even better. Packed with omega-3 fats these bits take a bit of work to eat but melt in your mouth. Definately worth the effort of picking and spitting a few bones. As the skin cooks down it becomes delicious too. Nothing is wasted. We sliced it and blanched it briefly to get it ready to play it's part in our nabe party...

BC Spot Prawns are another local, sustainably sourced seafood. Allowing them to cook in the shell, head on, keeps the shrimp from drying out and adds flavour to the stock. The heads take time to cook but are a crunchy, end of meal treat I look forward too!


What's a hot pot without the veggies and tofu? No hot pot at all! We used daikon (giant white radish), Napa Cabbage (hakusai in Japanese or sui choy in Chinese) and green onion to start. Tofu and "shiritaki" (a chewy noodle) will add more texture than taste to the dish. A balance between textures as well as tastes is important in Japanese cuisine. Not that the tofu and noodles will be tasteless. They wil absorb the flavours of the stock as they cook; this is why they are added to the nabe early on.

Cold beer makes the waiting a little easier... a glass of Sauvignon Blanc tastes even better as the steam and smells drift up out of the simmering pots! You heard right. "Pots", as in plural. While seafood, veggies and tofu boogie away in the big nabe, a private poultry pot party is happening right next door ...

"Tori dango". Sounds exotic huh? Much more exciting than "chicken ball" (which is pretty much what it is). More of a dumpling as the meat is finely minced and mixed with egg, ginger, starch and onion. If it looks or sounds familiar, it probably is. Dumplings can be found on pretty much every part of the planet. Find yourself in France with a serving of "quenelles" and you'll see something similar, albeit differently seasoned and sauced.

"Ponzu" is the primary seasoning/sauce that accompanies our hot pot. The solid ingredients in the nabe are dipped into ponzu and slurped up. Ponzu is made with a nikiri soy sauce. Nikiri soy sauce is prepared with sake and mirin (sweet cooking wine). They are cooked together and reduced to remove the alcohol and concentrate the flavours. The juice from "yuza", a Japanese citrus fruit is added after the nikiri has been cooled and aged for at least a week. Ponzu is served alongside yosenabe and other hotpots.

Itadakimasu="Lets eat!" The yosenabe is ready and we are waiting. Diners pick their favourite morsels from the communal pot. Everyone has their own small bowl of ponzu sauce and nabe bits are dipped into the ponzu before being slurped up by hungry diners. This is key to seasoning the solid nabe ingredients. The individual components of the hot pot have been prepared simply and briefly cooked. A quick bath in the ponzu is a perfect compliment. Like spicy? Shake some shichimi (Japanese seven spice chili powder) into your private ponzu bowl.Leftovers are commonplace. The broth is mixed with yesterdays leftover rice, an egg, and some green onion. An umeboshi (salty, pickled plum) on top adds some sweet and salty to the final stage of our nabemono....

All traces of our Christmas nabemono have vanished...the pots are cleaned and ready for...NEW YEARS NABE!

Happy Holidays everyone! Whatever you eat and whomever you share it with...May you all enjoy!

HM: BYOB

No, we're not encouraging you to pack your favourite bottle to Sanbiki, but rather to "Build a Bento". It's a new menu we started a few months back and it's a favourite with dinner guests. Lots of choice starting at $11...

Picture an empty bento box. Now consider what you want to eat. Fill your bento with pretty much whatever you want. Like raw? Load it up with wild salmon sashimi and spicy BC Albacore tuna rolls. Craving cooked? California, and dynamite rolls are probably still the most popular. But Sanbiki's smoked salmon roll is made with Riverfresh's BC wild salmon. Local, sustainable and it tastes good too! Cool weather means more hot food. Teriyaki chicken or salmon, stirfried noodles or gyoza are good choices.

Vegetarians, and those with restricted diets (wheat free etc) have no trouble finding lots to suit their needs. We have a gluten free teriyaki sauce, wheat free Tamari soy sauce and low sodium options as well. Save room for dessert. Its just $3 more for homemade creme caramel, green tea ice cream or mochi ice. That's a soft sweet Japanese rice cake filled with ice cream.

We have a special bento menu now available for holiday parties and large groups as well. Call or come down and talk to us for more details. Perhaps the biggest news of all is that our NEW dinner menu has been sent to the printers! With the help of new Chefs Hiro and Yama we've added some great new dishes. "Yudofu" is a Japanese hot pot traditionally served in winter in a metal pot with a fire to keep it warm. Tofu and veggies are simmered in a light stock. Diners pick their favourite morsels from the pot and dip them into ponzu sauce before eating. Ponzu is an aromatic citrus soy sauce made with yuzu (a Japanese lemon/lime)


We've added more spicy favourites like Ma Po Tofu. Its a Chinese dish to which our Japanese Chefs have given their own tasty twist. Spicy pork, silky tofu and a homemade sauce warm your belly (and your tongue!). A new spicy super-sized roll can be ordered as fiery (or as mild) as you like.


We'll have more details about our new menu in our email and facebook page (Sanbiki Japanese Kitchen) Follow us on twitter too! sanbikikamloops. We are going to try and arrange for one more Red Cross fundraiser in December...our last one sold out and we have raised well over $1000 for the Red Cross. Thank to all our Kamloops customers! We couldn't do it without you!!

Red Cross Fundraising

MONDAY OCTOBER 24 5:30....East Africa Fundraiser! $20...FREE BEER IF you get the "password" by watching the youtube video..Sanbiki skydives for Red Cross!

Red Cross fundraising is not going well. Red Cross crispies and cookies sit on Sanbiki and Mori Mori's counters going stale. Our goal was to donate $1000 to the Red Cross. We found ourselves seriously stalled at just $700.

While the situation in Japan is better than it was a few months back, the opposite is true in the Horn Of Africa. Somalia and Ethiopia are among the worst hit areas. Everyone's attention seems focused on that part of the world. Perhaps our fundraising efforts needed to shift as well?

So we decided that all money raised until September 1st would go towards the Red Cross work in Japan and all new money would be earmarked for East Africa. Another fundraising dinner has been scheduled for Monday October 24th at 5:30. The 2-tier Bento Boxes we used at our last fundraising dinner were a hit, so we thought we'd bring them back.

We had recently discovered youtube and we've set up Sanbiki accounts on facebook and twitter. We have been dragged kicking and screaming into high tech socially networked 2011! I rediscovered the manual from a digital camera we purchased almost 2 years ago and actually took the time to read it. Turns out that teeny tiny little camera thing can make movies! Who would have thought?

Sanbiki is not above staging a blatant publicity stunt if it helps us achieve our goals. Hell, there's not much we won't do! We decided to take it one step further. We would do anything to raise $1000 for the Red Cross. Even throw someone out of an airplane....

With lots of help from everyone at Kamloops Skydivers, Barry from Camera House and Adam from Sugar Coded Designs, a silly video was produced. In the video you'll get clues to the "password" which will get you a free beer or dessert at the dinner. You can watch it on youtube at kamloops333.

Look for a future blog about the amazing rush that skydiving is! Or if you're feeling brave this weekend , call Dean at Kamloops Skydivers 250 376 1213. He'll arrange for a day you'll never forget! Or visit kamloopsskydive.com More later...

Street Meat!

They've got mini menus, no fixed address and are compact quick-serve kitchens on wheels. More than 15 new food trucks rolled out on to Vancouver streets after getting the green light from City Council on January 20th.

They are part of a plan to encourage healthier, more diverse offerings from mobile food operators in one of Canada's biggest cities. Food carts have traditionally sold hot dogs, snacks or prepackaged food. Not anymore...

Japadog was one of the first food carts to give an ethnic spin on an old favorite. Hot dogs with teriyaki sauce? On a bed of grated daikon (white radish) and topped with strands of toasted seaweed? Yup. And Vancouverites have been lining up at the corner of Burrard and Smithe for these and other delightfully different dogs.



There are now several Japadog carts now and even a sit down restaurant. They have been featured on Food Network and the CBC. Anthony Bourdain and Steven Seagal have sampled their unique brand of "street meat".

Foodies are flocking to street corners and parking lots to take advantage of the expanding food truck phenomena. As the name suggests, Roaming Dragon serves up fast fresh food with an Asian flair. Look for Korean inspired dishes like short rib or beef bulgogi tacos. Banh mi (a Vietnamese style submarine sandwich) is stuffed with meat, pickled veggies and fresh herbs. I haven't tried it myself but the lychee and basil lemonade is rumoured to be refreshing and unique.

Bada Bing (below) can be seen cruising Robson street dishing up Philly Cheesesteaks and (un!?)healthy portions of cheesy poutine.


A few high-end restaurants also run food carts. This is a clever marketing trick, particularly with fine dining restaurants in BC facing very challenging times. Customers can sample a pricy restaurant's food without spending an arm and a leg and an evening out. If they like what they've tried off the cart, chances are they'll consider the restaurant that operates it for their next special night out.


La Brasserie (the restaurant) is located on Davie St in the West End. La Brasserie (The food cart) offers just one signature item, a beer-brined chicken sandwich on homemade buttermilk buns with fried onions. When it's gone, it's gone and the operators let their customers know when they've sold out on twitter. Twitter is a powerful and popular tool for food trucks/carts. Instantly they can inform their customers as to where they are and will be, and what's available and what's not.

Harry Kambolosis owns some of Vancouver's best known restaurants, including "C ", Raincity Grill and the relatively recent Greek spot "NU". "Souvlaki by NU" is a new street cart also operated by Kambolosis offering easy to eat souvlaki (on a stick) or wrapped in a pita with your choice of condiments.


Does the guy working the cart look familiar? Yup, that's Executive Chef Robert Clark of "C" grilling, wrapping and rolling. He's been featured on the Food network and CBC and was a founding member of the vancouver Aquarium's Oceanwise Program. Oceanwise encourages guests, restaurants and suppliers to support sustainable fisheries.

Sustainable, local seafood is always on the menu at "Feastro" Fresh fish tacos, Seared BC Tuna Carpaccio and crab cakes are sold (quite literally) off the back of a truck. They're usually parked in the neighbourood of Cordova and Thurlow, near the Convention Centre.

Kamloops is probably a ways from having a regular street food scene anything like Vancouvers! But fresh and tasty snacks can be found at The Kamloops Farmers Market Wednesday and Saturdays downtown. Vendors can also be found Friday afternoon on the North Shore and Sundays at Sun Peaks. That's all for now...eat and enjoy!