Cooking Lesson #1204: Seaweed Sake Martini

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? I’ve been asked to concoct a lot of different cocktails over the years—some of them very strange. After all I was the father of “Mung” a spirit made from kumquats especially for my restaurant, China Rose.  Mung had its charms but not to our guests.  Oh well, at times, I have been known to push the envelope. My goal here is to create a savory cocktail you’d want to serve with Chinese or Japanese food but bright enough to be a thirst quencher, too.

At its heart my Seaweed Sake Martini is basically a classic martini. A classic martini is made with gin… and this one is, too. (sorry, it just is). The aromatic botanicals of juniper, citrus peel and cardamom make gin a natural in savory mixology. In this version I’ve included sushi-grade seaweed-infused sake. Without too much effort the two come together making this sublime martini subtly savory.

Seaweed is the very definition of umami—now considered the ‘fifth flavor’. It has lately become a hot topic in the culinary world. Umami ingredients boost flavor. They make things taste more intense, more rounded, more complete. Umami is indefinable deliciousness in Miso soup. That deliciousness comes from seaweed infused broth. My Seaweed Sake Martini is bizarrely delicious. It’s mildly salty and subtly sweet, it tastes just like the ocean on a breezy day.
 
Prep time: 6 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1 (1‑inch square) piece of seaweed (plus a small strip as garnish) or garnish as you please
5 (1/4-inch thick) slices fresh celery
1-1/2 ounces chilled sake chilled
2 ounces dry gin (kept in the freezer)
1/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
2 drops bitters
 
Directions

1. Read the recipe all the way through before starting. Measure all ingredients and have at your side.
2. Pre-chill a martini or coupe glass in a freezer.
3. Prepare the garnish of seaweed, fresh cherry blossom (if in season) or a skewered green olive or skewered shrimp.
4. Place a 1-inch square piece of seaweed and the celery slices in the bottom of a small pitcher.
5. Pour in the sake and let the flavors come together for a few minutes (until it just begins to color).
6. Strain the infused sake into a mixing glass half filled with ice.
7. Add the gin, Maraschino liqueur and bitters.
8. Gently stir until well chilled and properly diluted, about 20 seconds.
9. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
10. Garnish with a strip of seaweed if using or with cherry blossom or skewered olive or shrimp.

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ChefSecret: Luxardo Maraschino is a liqueur obtained from the distillation of Marasca cherries. The small, slightly sour fruit of the Marasca cherry tree grows wild along parts of the Dalmatian coast in Croatia and lends the liqueur its unique aroma and flavor.
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Quip of the Day: Two astronauts walk out of a bar on the moon. “What did you think of the bar?" asked one astronaut. “The drinks were okay, but there was no atmosphere," complained the second.
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