- [Narrator] Hi welcome to Sorted. We're a bunch of mates
in London looking for the exceptional things
in food that will help make our and your lives
a little bit better in amongst constantly ribbing each other. Some of us are chefs, the
rest of us well we're normal, but every video we make always starts with a suggestion from you guys. (upbeat music) - Hey everyone, I'm Mike. This is Jamie. - And today, we've teamed up with JFOODO who are in charge of shining a light on Japanese food and drink around the world. - Now we went into this series of videos with no idea as to what had been planned. Go on then. - Thank you Janice. - It's like exam results day. - In celebration of London Sake Week, Barry, Mike and Jamie will
compete in an ultimate Japanese battle to create a winning
dish that pairs with their choice of sake. Ben and James will judge. - Yes.
- We will. - To research, they will each
choose a London restaurant at different price points to
learn as much as they can. - So London's best. - London's best and
then an ultimate battle. - And we get to drink sake. - You're saying sake as
if you know what sake is. - Well it's that Japanese wine isn't? - [Narrator] Sake is an
alcoholic rice drink from Japan. It's made by fermenting
rice and fermentation is the process of turning
carbohydrates into alcohol using live microorganisms. In the case of sake, koji is used. Before the rice is
fermented, it's get polished to rub away it's outer
layers and get to the core because the core contains starch, carbs, vital for fermenting. After the rice, koji and
added water ferments, it's pressed, filtered and blended. There are loads of factors and
variables that can be tweaked to alter the flavor of the sake but today we're just covering the basics. There are four basic grades
of sake to look out for. Junmai, made of just rice, koji and water. Jamie is a craft beer drinker
and he liked one of these. Honjozo, same as the
previous, only with a tiny addition of distilled alcohol. Mike is a lager drinker
and he liked one of these. Ginjo, premium, highly milled rice. Barry is a cocktail drinker
and he liked one of these. Daiginjo, big, complex flavors. Ben is a wine drinker and
he likes one of these. Sake's consumed in Japan with food because when paired correctly some
spectacular flavors can result and that's what we want to encounter and emulate in this challenge. - There was one paragraph that I didn't read out on our note. Ben and James will accompany
as they will also be competing in an ultimate chef vs chef battle featuring a very special guest judge. Our first destination was my choice. Central London, £30
budget, Flesh and Buns, a Japanese South American
fusion restaurant. I'm easy myself, us in gently. Dish one, octopus ceviche
and dish two, yellow tail. Both of these dishes are
quite spicy so we've been recommended this particular sake because the sweetness counteracts the spice. - [Male] Dig in boys. (laughter) - Kanpai (upbeat music) - Both of those dishes go so
well with the milky pea sake. - [Narrator] Our next
dish was tempura corn paired with a light and refreshing sake, perfect for cutting
through the fatty flavors. - Course three, buns. - [Narrator] With sweet,
sticky, aubergine steaks. - The glaze on top is almost jammy. - [Narrator] Ebbers was
in full swing as was Jamie when the brisket and short rib showed up with chipotle miso barbecue sauce. - Oh my word, that's smoky. - The sommelier has described
this sake as the perfect sake for whisky drinkers. - Yeah, I'm into that. - [Narrator] Some of us were
not as into it as others. And finally these babies, kinako black sugar custard doughnuts. - It's really good, like really good. That might have been the best doughnut I've ever had in my life. - Number one done. What'd you think? - You have a made a
strong start haven't you. - [Mike] Yes I have. Alright, we'll start this Japanese battle with some Japanese food shall we then? - Oh. - [Narrator] Barry's place
was next to Oxford Street, but he kept on saying it was in Mayfair and he had a £50 budget at
Chisou, authentic Japanese food, and he started well by getting all the food and sakes in at once. - I'm so excited to try truffle on sushi. - I had no idea you could
put so many things in batter. - [Narrator] Dish one,
maki Californian prawn, salmon and spicy tuna paired with a clean, light sake to complement the fish. - And sushi's with our fingers right. - You were told that
literally 30 seconds ago. You could not claim that
as your own information. - It feels weird. - [Narrator] James was very happy. - It's so fresh, sort of like clean. - I'm doing my best to stop and appreciate the flavors going on. I'm not just smash it,
that's really horrible. - Don't know if you just got Ben picking up the tempura on camera
but I was always told never pick up tempura. - [Narrator] We added radish
and ginger to a dashi broth which then thickened and
we then dipped our tempura dishes in that incredible thick broth. - When you were on making the food. - Sake number two meant to
complete the unami flavors. - The what? - Unami, no. - Umami. - What did I say? (laughing) I knew this would happen. - Kenpai. - Slightly more acidic. - It's different again. - Tangy. - Slightly bitter. - That is so good. - [Narrator] And this was
paired with snow crab, wasabi, salmon and truffle mayonnaise - This might be my favorite so far. - Truffled, pickled wasabi,
not two things I expected in the same mouthful,
but that's incredible. - I'd love to use something that. - I'm thinking the same thing. - [Narrator] And then
the arguments over who was using which sake began. - With what's up there. - You know what I love
most about all of this is that me and Ben are under no pressure, we're just having a lovely time, whereas you guys are thinking
oh what can I pair with this? What can I do here? - [Narrator] And finally, mochi ice cream. Salted caramel, matcha and vanilla flavors with a dessert sake. This dish particularly appealed to me. - Aged and buttery and rich,
very sweet almost syrupy. - That is so good. - I hate to say it but do
we have to congratulate Barry on his choice of restaurant? - We can just all agree
ourselves that it was great and won't tell Barry. (laughing) - Boys, my choice, I
brought you to the actual heart of real Mayfair. There's art galleries, expensive shops, authentic Italian pizzerias. I booked us a two
Michelin star restaurant. Posh up. - Now I'm impressed. - [Narrator] Jamie's choice
was Umu, two Michelin starred and run by world renowned
head chef, Yoshinori Iishi. All the food was prepared
in the open kitchen. There was a huge variety
of sakes and we started with a sea urchin pairing.
- I don't know if I told you, the best mouth of food I
had in Japan was sea urchin. - So the sake that we're pairing with this is very classic style of
sake in the brewing process. It's clean, it's smooth and
it pairs incredible well with raw fish like sea urchin. - How do you feel? - Nervous. - Bottom's up. - That's so different
to anything, it's creamy and it's a little bit fishy but really. - It's almost got a texture of like really good scrambled eggs. - Next up we've got a
Japanese fish and chips. There's tempura fish from
shrimp, scallops, mackerel. There's Japanese potatoes. It looks incredible and
paired with it is a really light, crisp and refreshing sake which just like myself is very elegant. ♪ [To the tune of Sia's -
"Chandelier"] I'm questioning ♪ ♪ whether this was good idea. ♪ - That tempura rata is amazing. - I'd just a prawn. It was really beautiful sweet and meaty. - At the start of today,
if I'm being honest, I was dreading the sake
coming to the table where as now it feels every
dish isn't quite complete without the sip of sake. Am I a changed man? (whistle) - Nah. - [Narrator] Dish three, lobster sashimi. - It came in an incredible
theatrical lobster basket. Hello. And then had bits and pieces
added to it which was great. It's also being paired with a really rich classic-style sake. Oh yeah. - [All] Cheers, Kanpai. - I just think the best bit
for me is pairing the sake cause it goes so well, the
richness and the sweetest and complexity of the
sakes, it's delicious. - [Narrator] Next dish, waygu beef. - Gone for the steak, it's
grade 11, which is the highest grade you can get. - I am chef. - It hasn't even touched my tongue and the smell alone is making me salivate. - That was so good. - Holy. - On a normal bit of steak
you get the fatty bit on the outside of the meat. This feels like you've got
fat layered between meat. Fat, meat, fat, meat, fat, meat. - It's meaty but butter
with a hint of meat. That is outstanding. - Worst thing about that is I'm not gonna have steak that good again. - Dish number four is a sashimi plate, but to get the real
experience, I think we're gonna have to go into the open kitchen. What followed next was not at all planned as Jamie was invited to
cut a 8.5 kilo, 350 pound portion of tuna steak. - I am so nervous, this is so fun. I am two Michelin star chef. (laughing) I told you guys I have potential, you've been holding me back. - Das Michelin stars. - I am very good. - For me, the mackerel
and how amazing that is, is like number one. - And to finish, we have a lovely glass of sparkling sake, perfect for an aperitif or at the end of the meal
with a light dessert. - This is mine. I will have a second sip
but I know that this mine. That's the most delicious
sparkling alcoholic drink. - Some of the most
exceptional fish preparation and presentation and
flavor I've ever tried. There's so much to process from today. The skill showed in that
kitchen, terrifying. - I had forgotten about the
next part if I'm honest. I just got comfortable
with enjoying myself. - Yeah and now I'm scared. - Well shall we? - Good job. (applause) - It's quite posh so quietly. - If you want to try some
sake we highly recommend it. Go and give it a go. If you're in London,
London Sake Week starts on the 22nd of February. - There's a load of restaurants
taking part in Sake Week and they're actually gonna
put on a set sake menu so you can experience it like we did. All the information is
in the link down below. It's foodandsake.com just in
case you can't be bothered to scroll down. - And you know we love to chat with you so comment down below. Let us know what the stand out dish for you was in that video. - Waygu. If you haven't already
subscribed, subscribe. If you have subscribed, click the bell, get notified every time we upload. We will see you on Sunday
4:00 pm for the battle. I'm confident. - [Mike] I do not know. - [Narrator] As we
mentioned, Sorted is just run by a group of friends so if
you like what we're doing then there are loads of
ways that you can support us and get more involved. Everything you need to
know is linked below. Thanks and see you in a few days. - Oh Ebbers, I'm sorry, it
just fell out of my chopsticks.
