Don’t drive after eating this — the Derecha cake contains over 2% alcohol.

Photos & Text /Right forty-five degrees

Ever since I first tried Derecha sake at a Japanese restaurant, my sake switch flipped on the right side, and I finally understood what truly delicious sake tastes like. Lately, this sake has been getting more and more popular in Taiwan, and almost every Japanese restaurant, big or small, carries it. As for how I ended up buying this cake? Derecha is a local sake from Yamaguchi Prefecture. During my recent cherry blossom trip through Kyushu, San’yō, and Kansai, I passed through several major stations in Yamaguchi, and it was sold at almost every souvenir shop.

Just look how popular Derecha is — they even put up a special sign reminding tourists not to forget to take some home~~

The photo above was taken at a lunch spot in Iwakuni. Holy moly, there were so many kinds of Yamaguchi Prefecture local sake, but only Derecha was sold out. You can tell how popular it is in Japan... Plus, there aren’t that many foreign tourists in Yamaguchi, so I think it was all bought up by locals. That means your chances of getting it are really slim — as soon as it’s restocked, it’s probably gone again...... (sob)

Derecha can be broadly divided into three types: 50, San Waku Kyuu Bun (39%), and Ni Waku San Bun (23%). All are made using polished Yamadanishiki rice. “50” means it’s brewed with rice polished down to 50%, “San Waku Kyuu Bun” is 39%, and “Ni Waku San Bun” is 23%. The Derecha made with Ni Waku San Bun (23%) polished rice is considered the highest quality sake in all of Japan.

Look at this most expensive one — Ni Waku (23%) — priced at 5,150 yen??? I couldn’t believe it was that cheap, so why wouldn’t you definitely want to buy it? A Japanese friend I met in a ramen shop said that this is basically Japan’s most beloved local sake. If you’re a sake fan, you should definitely bring some back. If you miss out, I totally get wanting to go back right away.

Unfortunately, after checking three places along the way, they were all out of stock. So I bought a Derecha cake instead — to soothe my disappointed heart. The sake makers are so thoughtful, giving heartbroken customers something to bring home.

It seems this isn’t easy to get either, with generally limited shelf stock. I ended up buying a pack to take back to Taiwan, and later regretted not clearing the shelves (lol). No need to refrigerate — it can be stored at room temperature, which makes bringing it back to Taiwan super convenient.

Open the pink gift box, and inside it’s wrapped in a silver aluminum foil bag, with a shelf life of six months. Unwrap the foil bag and take out the cake — the aroma of sake just bursts out...

Look at the cake’s texture on the side — the crumb is fine and dense. But don’t feed this to kids, because it contains over 2% alcohol. People who are allergic to alcohol should also probably avoid it.

It’s a bit like a honey cake — the exterior is a bit oily, but it tastes incredibly rich, mellow, and smooth. Your mouth gets filled with stickiness, fragrance, and sweetness, and the sake flavor is so strong it’s like drinking sake while eating cake. You’ll be scared to open your mouth too wide in case the aroma escapes (lol). If only some brand would import this cake.

【Derecha】

http://asahishuzo.ne.jp/cn/
Places in Taiwan where you can buy Derecha sake:http://asahishuzo.ne.jp/store/ja/index.html
On the official Japanese website (http://asahishuzo.ne.jp/products/items/item.html) they also introduce other products: sake lees and sake lees soap.
Where I bought it: Various souvenir shops in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. I saw it at JR Tokuyama Station and JR Yanai Station.

Right forty-five degrees — a girl’s Japanese food travel journal
Just love going to Japan