Safe Travels in Japan - Gyu Kaku

Gyu Kaku

(here is the english menu for locations in Japan)

Jason here. Now I get to review my favorite restaurant from our Japan trip, the yakiniku joint Gyu-Kaku. It took a bit to find, as it was on the third or fourth floor of a building situated off of a side road. By some miracle, a friendly local saw what must have been our obviously lost faces, and came over to give us directions. I’m not sure how, but as soon as we mentioned the restaurant name, he pointed to exactly where it was around the corner, and gave perfect instructions. This was in an area with what must have been 2 or 3 dozen restaurants within a block radius.

At a yakiniku restaurant, you order a variety of meats and vegetables which are brought to your table raw. You then cook these over a grill located at your table.
The restaurant itself utilized every inch of space, with tightly packed booths of customers, and a long bar which also had grills to sit and order food at. Gyu-Kaku was crazy busy, with new customers coming in as soon as some left. We must have arrived at just the right moment, as we were seated immediately. The pace at which customers came, foreshadowed just how good the food was going to be.
The menu had an option for unlimited food and alcohol for a set price, and we made sure to communicate no soy sauce. This is important since some dishes may be marinated in soy sauce when they are brought to the table. Gyu-Kaku has an English menu available, and there was some limited English spoken by our waiter.

We ordered beef tongue, pork, black-haired beef, scallops, shrimp, squid, bacon cubes, basil chicken, and sweet potato.

For an unlimited meal we only had a set amount of time to eat them, so we got right to cooking setting a good variety down on the grill to start.

I loved the ability to cook my own food here, as it meant I could take things off as early or as late as I want. Controlling how raw, or crispy I wanted a particular dish.

The scallops, shrimp, and squid were good, but tasted exactly like you would expect. Like everywhere we went in Japan, the shrimp were served whole so we had to figure out a way to de-shell them. I’m not sure if we followed etiquette and procedure as we did so.

The basil chicken was extremely good. This wasn’t your grocery market packaged chicken that comes out tasting dry. No this was excellently prepared chicken, where each bite bursts with flavor in your mouth. Even after I not so excellently burned a few of the pieces by leaving them on the grill too long. No matter what, these pieces kept their flavor.

The bacon cube, were massive. Easily an inch or more on each side. I left them on the grill for a while to get nice and crisp on the outside, but still juicy on the inside. Even Kayleigh enjoyed these. I’ve never had bacon that thick so it was a great experience.

I definitely recommend you pick up a side order of sweet potato fries. The various meats are delicious, but you will need a pallet cleanser now and again after eating so many foods of the salty variety. You can leave the sweet potatoes on the grill for as long as your heart desires, so you get perfectly crispy fries each time.

By far my favorite of the night was unexpectedly the thinly sliced beef tongue. Even better than the black-haired beef.  Only about a millimeter or so thick, these round slices of beef tongue grill up nice and crispy. They tasted like the most succulent steak I had ever had. If I had to pick one meal to live off of the rest of my life, it might be these.

While the meal was expensive, between the unlimited drinks and food, and the absolutely superb taste I can’t recommend Gyu-Kaku enough.

Kayleigh here. While this place was definitely Jason heaven, I thought it was such a novel concept to be allowed to use a hot grill and consume smoking food as you got progressively more intoxicated.  Seriously, though, we decided to simplify things by ordering everything at the start, and they brought the dishes out one or two at a time at the same pace we were going through them.

It was a fantastically novel experience to be able to cook your own food, since it brought a fun activity to the table. Especially when we were pulling the sweet potato slices out of their foil bowl and grilling them one by one- then had the waiter quietly let us know we were supposed to just put the bowl onto the grill. We found it embarrassingly funny to have made that faux pas, made all the more funny because we were sure we had been messing up some part of every meal since we flew in and had noone to point it out to us.

Since we ended up ordering a pretty good sampling of them here, now would be a good time to mention the chuhai. Short for Shochu Highball, it's a mixer made from a sweet potato-based alcohol and comes in a variety of fruit flavors. They are refreshing, deceptively alcoholic, and less of a girly drink than the usual wine cooler. We bought them in canned form at convenience stores and mixed at bars and never found any issues with gluten. It was great to have such a tasty beer alternative!

Safe Travels in Japan- Foreword

Jason here. Kayleigh and I are back from our fantastic two weeks in Japan. It was an amazing experience getting to see the modern sites of Japan like the Tokyo electronic district Akihabara, and the fashion district of Harajuku, but also the various museums, gardens, temples, and shrines. The food was definitely no exception. It really did not matter where we went, the service was always great and the food presentation was fantastic. It never dawned on me before, but we have not really spent much time discussing presentation on this blog before. I feel like the dishes we have had in the past have all been fairly standard with maybe a simple garnish or two. Japan seems to be the opposite. Nearly everywhere we went took great lengths to present the food. There was also more of an emphasis on enjoying the meal rather than trying to quickly eat and get out. For instance, it was a common occurrence to order smaller dishes throughout the meal, rather than everything all at the start.

Seemingly contradicting the previous statements, restaurants felt a lot more streamlined. Now granted it could be because we entirely misunderstood social situations, but it was common practice to call the waiter/waitress over and ask for the check, or to order a new dish. Many places brought the check out immediately after each order and left it on the counter. Most of the time you paid at the register at the front. This made the meal feel extended, and the waiting around to pay and get change almost nothing.

Kayleigh here. The experience of dining really was something different. Like Jason said, menus tended to consist of smaller dishes that you would mix and match to make your meal out of. So instead of ordering a roasted chicken that comes with a salad and two sides, you could pick whatever you thought would go well together. I actually think that may have made things easier for us, since the wait staff could construct a gluten free meal for Jason without having to substitute sides or parts of the dish.

If you are anything like us and have a very limited understanding of the Japanese language, then there are a few tools that will be essential. First, bring a card in Japanese explaining what gluten intolerance is and what you can and cannot eat. There are several companies devoted to creating allergy cards in all sorts of languages, but we settled on printing out the information on this blog onto an index card- we thought that it did a great job mentioning all the most common gluten-containing foods, and it ended up working one hundred percent of the time for us.

For when you just want to pick up something prepackaged, come prepared with a way to translate the ingredients on the label. We used a translator app on our phones, but you could just as easily use a thorough pocket dictionary or a written list of words to check for. Unfortunately, you will not find any warnings if they have been processed in a gluten-containing facility, and there are several ingredients that can contain hidden gluten- starch syrup (found in sweets) and food starch (blanket term for any blend of flours and starches) being the common tripup terms. Do a bit of research before traveling to become familiar with what you need to look for, and make sure to check for the hiragana or katakana word as well as the kanji. Finally, if you find something you like that doesn't poison you, take a picture or save the wrapper! It will save you from having to search through the shelves, trying to remember which labels you had already checked and which were safe.

Oh, and it seems to be commonly spread around the internet that you may be kicked out of a restaurant when you explain your allergy. We were met with nothing but kindness and excellent hospitality wherever we went, and it probably helped that we researched a dinner restaurant for each day we were there, plus a few more just in case (we turned to convenience stores for breakfasts and lunches most days). Even so, we were very politely turned away twice over two weeks of constantly eating out, so it can happen. Just remember that gluten intolerance is not nearly as widespread an issue, so the restaurant may not have the knowledge or ability to make a safe meal for you. Really, it was better that we got turned away than Jason got glutened.

Making Grill Parties Safe

Kayleigh here. Every summer, we all look forward to that unique flavor in foods that can only come from dragging out and firing up the old outdoor grill. For many, it is the chance to perfect that burger recipe, or to figure out how to sear that salmon steak to lock in all the juices. For most, it's a great excuse to have a few parties and enjoy some outdoor time with good friends and neighbors. For gluten intolerant folks...those hotdogs look tasty, but when was the last time that grill was even scraped down, much less cleaned?

An interesting fact to note- gluten can actually be removed from a surface if it is thoroughly heated for a good length of time, like the cleaning cycle on your oven. Short of requesting that the cook heats the grill up to 500 degrees for a half hour in between their food and yours, the best thing you can do is sacrifice getting pretty grill marks on your food and ask that they cover a small section in aluminum foil to keep your stuff separate from the rest. Bring your own utensils for them to use, to avoid stray crumbs, and make sure the cooked food goes straight onto your plate and skips the serving tray. It may sound a little pushy, but it is a lot better to be safe than to get glutened and have your buddy feel bad about it.

We do have some good news out of this- there are loads of good gluten free cookout foods available pretty much everywhere. Most sausages are completely gluten free, and will often say so pretty predominantly on the front of the label. Gluten free preformed hamburgers can be a little trickier to find, but looking for ones that are labeled as 100% beef can quickly narrow down the playing field, so you just need to check the back to make sure their facility did not contain wheat products. As for veggie burgers, most of the main brands are unfortunately out, but a trip down the organic/natural foods aisle should grant you at least one safe variety. Finally, fresh produce should be entirely safe, and most common condiments are as well (just double check the label). Do stay away from the teriyaki burgers (unless they were made specifically with gluten free sauce), and opt out any spice mixes that you do not get to okay in advanced- stick with the one ingredient spices.

Finally, as with making all gatherings safely gluten free, try to get anything you want from buffet-style tables first, before they can get cross contaminated through people double dipping or spilling a few crumbs here and there. If you brought a dish to share, save out a little portion for yourself in another container just in case. And offer to bring your own buns or bread, so the host does not need to get anything special for you- you probably already have some on hand anyways. Worst comes to worst, you can always use a bed of lettuce or tortilla chips on the plate and take a fork to it.

 

Jason here. I’m pretty lucky in that sausage hot dogs are my favorite cookout food. They are easy to find in a variety of different flavors, so getting two or three means pretty much everyone will find something they enjoy. I love getting together with some friends, so bringing a sheet of tinfoil and some gluten free buns is never an issue. 

 

On the days where the cookout gets rained out, be sure to have a backup plan. Sometimes it’s as easy as throwing the sausages in the oven or stovetop, but other times it takes a bit more creativity. I’ve found that brining some nacho’s with salsa or cheese dip to be a great back up plan. They can be picked up last minute from a grocery or convenience store, and require zero prep. If you have a little extra time, you can always throw to together some homemade dip. Our friends always seem to enjoy it when we bring over our spinach queso dip.

No matter what your style, don’t let gluten scare you away from spending some times with your friends and enjoying a cookout.

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Kayleigh here. I will make no secret of it- I occasionally get a massive craving for a big, gooey cinnamon bun. Cinnamon raisin toast or cinnamon oatmeal with cream cheese just don't quite do it at these times. I need a real deal spicy, icing- covered sugar bomb.

This recipe came into being when I was trying to figure out a way of making one of those decadent giant cinnamon rolls you would get at a diner. Making a whole dozen would just make me feel guilty by the end, so I whittled the ingredients down to make just four of the monsters. Next time you feel like really treating yourself on the weekend, try this recipe out. Make it the night before, then reheat it and add frosting in the morning- it will still taste just as good the next day.

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

For the rolls:
1 Medium Russet or Golden Potato (slightly larger than your fist)
2 TB Butter
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 ½ ts Baking Powder
¼ ts Baking Soda
½ ts Xanthan or Guar Gum
1 ts Apple Cider Vinegar
2-3 drops Almond Extract
1 Pinch Salt
1/3 Cups Warm Water
½ Cups White Rice Flour
½ Cups Sweet Rice Flour
½ Cups Tapioca Starch
1 ½ ts Instant Yeast

For the Filling:
3 TB Butter, room temperature
1 ts Maple Syrup
1/3 Cups Brown Sugar (lightly packed)
2-3 ts Cinnamon

For the Icing:
½ Package Cream Cheese ( 4 oz) at room temperature
½ Cups Powdered Sugar
¼ ts Vanilla Extract
Splash of Milk


Directions:

1) Well in advanced, peel the potato and cut it into rough 1 inch cubes. Boil them in water until very soft, then drain and mash with a fork. Add the butter to let it melt in.
2) If you have the time, then just leave the mashed potato out until it reaches room temperature- you can put the butter and cream cheese next to it to start warming them up. If you're shorter on time, throw it in the fridge until they're simply warm, or place their bowl on ice for 10 or so minutes.
3) To the mashed potatoes, add the ingredients from egg through salt and combine well (no lumpy potatoes!). Add the water to the mixture, then the flours one at a time. Add the yeast last, to make sure it doesn't start losing potency before you're done forming the rolls.
4) Set the dough aside, and combine all the filling ingredients in a smaller bowl. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan and set aside.
5) Lay out two strips of plastic wrap, then coat one side of each with cooking spray or melted butter. Sandwich one of the dough balls in between the buttered sides, then use a rolling pin to flatten it into a roughly 10 x 12 inch rectangle.
6) Remove the top layer of plastic wrap, then cover the dough evenly with the cinnamon sugar filling. Roll it up carefully and evenly, then using a wet knife cut the log into four equal rolls. Place these in the baking pan.
7) Set the rolls aside for roughly one hour, or until the bottoms of them have spread to cover the whole pan. Sprinkle the outsides with extra cinnamon if desired. Then, in a 400 degree preheated oven, bake them for 20 minutes or until the tops are brown.
8) Optional- Five minutes before the rolls are done, you can take them out and brush them with additional melted butter. Or, as my parents like to do it, drizzle some maple syrup on top and sprinkle chopped walnuts- the baked maple syrup will help them stick.
9) While you wait for them to cool, combine all the ingredients for the icing. Spread it on slightly warm rolls just before serving.

Alternate rolling method:
When I made this last batch, I really did not feel like dealing with the plastic wrap and rolling pin method, so to save on time I tried rolling them by hand- they don't roll out as thinly or evenly, but that doesn't change the taste! And I'm sure that kids would love doing it, if you divide the dough into eight and gave them kid-friendly portions.

So, to start, wash and dry your hands thoroughly, then spray one with a thin coating of cooking spray. Pick up one quarter of the dough and stretch it out across your greased hand- I got mine to about 2 1/2 inches wide and 8 inches long.

Spread the filling onto the face up side, then roll it from your fingertips downwards into the right shape. When you are ready to move onto the next roll, be sure to wash and dry your hands thoroughly and recoat one in oil to prevent sticking.

Jason here. I realize now, I have missed many breakfast items since I have had to cut all gluten from my diet. There were pop tarts, various cereals (captain crunch I’m looking at you), toaster strudels, and cinnamon rolls. Well luckily for my Kayleigh has been amazing and always trying to fill that gap, including these tasty cinnamon rolls.

The taste is definitely what I remember with a sweet cream cheese icing, and a different kind of maple and cinnamon sweet bun. The only missing factor was the stretchiness which gluten tends to add. I was very happy that we got to use one of Kayleigh’s Christmas gifts which was Ceylon Cinnamon. Ceylon has a lighter taste, without the bite of standard cassia cinnamon. The reduced sharpness lends itself to a sweeter taste for me, which makes it perfect for dessert recipes like ice cream and these cinnamon buns. If you haven’t tried Ceylon Cinnamon (true cinnamon), we highly recommend you pick some up.