"I grew up with a grandmother who was a rice farmer," says . "It feels like I've come full circle."
The owner is referring to his latest milestone: , the charming sake bar he's just opened in Sydney's Darlinghurst. Its timber shelves are lined with Japanese brews fermented with that familiar grain, and his menu features , wonderfully crusted with burnt rice. The venue also evokes memories of helping his grandmother maintain the farm back in China.
"Being in a rice field is like when there's torrential rain in Sydney and your shoes are constantly wet," Tokiwa says. He recalls squishing through the mud (because the paddy required constant irrigation) and watching his gran kneel to plant rice. "You just had to get in there," he says. "They didn't have any fancy machinery."
It's a humble, honest attitude that's also reflected on Amuro's menu. "I just want to make food like what your grandmother makes, and I don't see anything wrong with that."
She's not the only source of his culinary inspiration either. "My mum is from [Japan's] [prefecture]," says Tokiwa and he suspects the Japanese region's cuisine will influence his future menu ideas.
"There's , which is a bittermelon stir-fry," he points out. "That's definitely a dish I want to bring in – in a more modern style."
Tokiwa is also keen to experiment with , which emerged from the American military occupation of Okinawa and involved combining rice with rations of salsa and taco seasoning.
Kei Tokiwa of Amuro. Source: Tomo Okai
The international influence on Okinawan food stretches further than that. The , which independently ruled this area for about 450 years, dispatched its chefs to study in neighbouring China; they helped establish a local version of royal court cuisine on their return. You can't discount the influence of nearby Taiwan on Okinawa's food, either.
Tokiwa (who has worked at , and ) aims to explore regional Japanese food through his menu, as well as high-comfort staples. "I'm hoping this year will be a cold, crispy winter," he says. Then he'll start simmering pots of for diners.
Some of his culinary inspiration is also incredibly local: he serves fresh-made natto from , who happens to be his apartment-complex neighbour. Tokiwa first knew him as a dancer and later learnt he was producing the ancient fermented soybean staple in Sydney. The creator of is experimenting with bean curd, too. "He's working on this organic tofu, he's using all-Australian soybeans," he shares, who has presented it at Amuro with thin onion shavings, drizzles of sweet mirin, citrus-bright yuzu and a scoop of sticky natto.
You might see Tokiwa serving , too. And while this rice dish has a humble status (it's a way of reviving leftover rice with a hot flush of tea), Amuro is levelling it up with crusty charred rice and elaborate flourishes, like floral garnishes, a smart portion of snapper or a drizzle of yuzu oil.
Okinawa is one of the Japanese regions that will influence Amuro's menu. Source: Tomo Okai
Of course, rice is the star at Amuro, thanks to its sake list. Tokiwa has chosen to showcase tokutei meisho-shu (premium or specially designated sake) – including prestigious bottles from brewmaster . "He's the god of sake brewing," he explains. "He's 90 years old – he's been making sake since 1949."
Tokiwa points out Naohiko has been credited with re-establishing the style of sake (which relies on "natural fermentation [and] more wild yeast").
"He's also one of the key guys who started the ginjo boom in the 1980s," he says. Ginjo, he believes, is the "style that's gotten the world talking about sake".
Amuro also offers a shochu made with leftover ginjo sake lees – which is "reminiscent of gin, but has the bite of a smoked whisky", he says. "You never drink shochu like this ever."
He's excited about pouring Kozaemon House Junmai Goddess of Sake, from Gifu's , which was founded in 1702. It has a remarkable fieriness to it. "Suddenly it's spicy and it's warming up the corners of your mouth and throat a little."
His bottle collection also showcases a range of grains from the standard yamada nishiki (the "chardonnay of sake rice") to Omachi, an heirloom strain that's been described as yamada nishiki's ancestor.
Omachi has long been associated with the port city of ; the area's typhoons and omachi's ultra-tall stalks made it harder to cultivate (at its scarcest, it was known as ""). That hasn't stopped it from gaining some hardcore sake fans (who call themselves ).
Amuro offers a fine sake list. Source: Tomo Okai
"I'm a little bit addicted to omachi," adds Tokiwa. "It's reminiscent of the steamed rice, white pepper – there's a green earthiness to it."
In his 20-seat bar, you can enjoy it, as well as the countless other ways that rice enhances a sip or plate.
"Rice doesn't get the credit it deserves," says Tokiwa. And as the grandson of someone who harvested the grain, it's apt that he's showcasing this staple so enthusiastically at Amuro.
Love the story? Follow the author here: Twitter and Instagram . Photos by Tomo Okai.
2/255 Crown St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Wed-Sun: 4pm-10pm
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