January 30 | Japan

We’ve visited two Asian countries thus far and felt it was time to go back. It wasn’t hard to choose Japan. Japanese food is some of the best cuisine in the world. With this menu, the recipes I found were profoundly simple yet flavorful and healthy. This was easily one of the best meals of Around the World in Quarantine!

Color Scheme: Gray, Green and White

Tablescape

• House Lantern | I love the detail in this lantern. I bought it last year for Diner en Blanc. Though I haven’t found too many other uses for it, it fit right in with this setting.
• Green Place mats | I found a set of six of these place mats at Missions Thrift some time ago. I’ve used these a few times, and I never get tired of them.
• Gray Place mats | I ordered a set of five gray napkins from efavormart.com. They had a sale last fall where the set was under $2. If you’re ever looking to purchase new and not thrift, this is a good option.
• Green Glasses | I found these beauties at Thrift2Gift for $.69 each.
• Green and Gray Flat Plate Set | When visiting Durham Rescue Mission Thrift, I found this set with no price tag. I was excited to walk away with this set of two flat plates, two soy sauce dishes and a soy sauce dispenser for $4. The best part was that I had a $5 coupon, so this set was free!
• L-shape Bowl | I often look for unique pieces that can be used for multiple purposes. I found these at Dorcas Thrift for $1 each.
• Short Clear Glasses | I’ve had these for a while and have used them for many different purposes. I believe I bought them for under $1 each.
• Chopsticks | I didn’t want to thrift chopsticks, so I purchased these from Amazon for $6.
• Green Water Goblets | I had my table set for today, and then I found these at North Raleigh Thrift Shoppe! I couldn’t pass them up at just $1 each.
• Clear Rocks Glasses | I found these on sale some time ago at Harris Teeter. I believe they were $2 for the set.
• Sake Set | I am the queen of improvisation. I’d been searching for a sake set for some time, but I couldn’t find anything. I did some research to see what nontraditional options looked like and came across this vase at Thrift2Gift for $.99. I previously purchased the shot glasses, three for $1, at Missions Thrift, and it all paired perfectly.
• Glass Ice Bucket | I found this beauty at North Raleigh Thrift Shoppe today for just $1. I’m not sure if this is actually an ice bucket, but it serves the purpose.

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Menu

Soup: Miso Soup

Miso soup has always been one my favorite soups. When visiting Japanese restaurants, I’ve always looked forward to it. No surprise I would add it to this menu as it is a staple in Japanese cuisine. It ended up being just as delicious as I’ve always had it.

Sides: Spinach Goma-ae and Kabocha no Nimono

The spinach goma-ae was an absolute hit! It was definitely our favorite dish. Not to mention, it was so simple to make. I will definitely add it to recipe list.

The kabocha was good, but it was a little soft for my liking. I plan to make this recipe again, but I will tweak the cook time.

Rice: Inarizushi

The first time I had inarizushi was at Nama Sushi Bar in Knoxville, TN, and it was was so so good! Fast forward to last week, I went to Toyo Shokuhin & Gifts to grab some items for this menu. A kind young lady helped me find my items, and when I got to the register, she slipped some a few goodies into my bag. One of the goodies was inari, and it was delicious. Though this inari recipe was good, it wasn’t as good as what I’ve had before. There must be some secrets that aren’t revealed in these recipes!

Main Dish: Teriyaki Salmon

In the Priest household, we consume a lot of salmon. A LOT. When trying to decide between main entrees, I try to stay away from things we consume frequently. However, this recipe looked delicious, and I couldn’t pass it by. Yet another simple and delicious recipe that turned out to be quite tasty.

Dessert: Dorayaki

My husband is a fan of breakfast food at any time of the day, so when I saw this recipe, I knew it would be perfect for him. This recipe consists of two pancakes with red bean paste in between. It was the perfect balance of sweetness to round out this menu.

Beverages: Sake and Plum Wine

I couldn’t decide between sake or plum wine, so I chose them both.

This sake was definitely a hit with the hubby! I served it cool, and it completely balanced our meal.

In my research of Japanese beverages, I came across plum wine. It took me back again to my time in Knoxville at Nama Sushi Restaurant when we used drink plum wine after our sushi. This one didn’t disappoint. It was subtle and not overly sweet.

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Playlist: Traditional Japanese Gagaku on Spotify

It’s been a long week, so we kept the playlist light with a little gagaku. If you need to relax, this playlist is for you!