Dallas Food - Late Summer at Tei An (More than Soba)

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Late Summer at Tei An (More than Soba)
Posted on Tuesday, September 15 @ 17:32:22 PDT
Topic: Froufrou

Everyone likes Tei An. I'm no exception. There's no need to add to the superlatives heaped on Teiichi Sakurai; however, photos of Sakurai's work are often hard to find online (with the notable exception of The Brad's blog). To that end, here are some photos of several late summer meals at Tei An.

Meal #1 (basic soba).

Zaru soba.

The depth and aggressive seasonal rotation of the menus at Tei An impress, but the meals I enjoy most frequently are basic soba preparations--zaru soba ($8) in warm weather, plain soba soup ($9) in cool weather. Sakurai's soba generally consists of a 50/50 blend of buckwheat and wheat flour, hand rolled and cut into 2 mm x 2 mm lengths. As an occasional weekday or off-menu special, Sakurai will make wider inaka soba (i.e., "country soba"). (The wider noodles require a longer cooking time, making it unsuitable when the restaurant is slammed.) Zaru soba is presented on the traditional bamboo tray (pictured at the top of this item), accompanied by a cup of tsuyu (with garnish of scallions, fresh wasabi, and shredded daikon) for dipping.

Musubi.

During lunch hours, any order of soba comes with a complimentary musubi (or o-nigiri)--a flavored, cold rice ball with a strip of nori for wrapping. This one is with egg and chicken, though the flavor changes nearly daily.

It can be hard to order soba only (especially once you've seen Sakurai's full potential). But if you look at what most of the Japanese customers are ordering, it's often just that. There's something very satisfying about a comfort food prepared with great care and skill.

Meal #2 (no soba).

First Course: Okra.

Sakurai more fully exploits okra's potential than any chef I've seen in Dallas, using it hot, cold, raw, fried, steamed, stewed, etc. Here, it's chilled, dressed with uni miso, plated with a salad of micro greens and herbs, including buckwheat sprouts, garlic sprouts, and lemon basil.

Second Course: Kabocha.

Peak season for kabocha comes; Sakurai puts it on the menu. Here, it's simply braised in soy. Sweet and savory, almost dessert-like. (Small, seasonal veg dishes like this are often no more than $3-4 on the specials menu, making them a good way to build up your meal, if you don't want to stick with soba alone.)

Third Course: Grilled tomatoes.

Skewered cherry tomatoes, grilled (almost smoked) and served with shredded basil.

Fourth Course: Tai head, Shanghai style.

The head of a Japanese snapper (or sea bream), seasoned and lightly fried, plated with a soy and rice wine vinegar sauce, fried shisito peppers, and tempura of local fig. Indescribably good--the sort of dish that makes you want to round up your friends, sit them down with a plate, and watch their faces as that first bite hits the tongue.

Fifth Course: Chakin sushi.

Vegetable chakin sushi (one wrapped in thin omelet, the other in soy paper), each topped with a chilled shrimp.

Just a reminder to always review the specials menu--the one on the printed card. The standard menu (in the roll) is loaded with delightful dishes; but the specials menu (which changes every day) has the seasonal items, dishes featuring ingredients in limited supply, and Sakurai's latest experiments. Some ingredients and dishes won't appear in either menu, but will only be seen when Sakurai is turned loose with a request for omakase.

Meal #3 (omakase).

First Course: Okra and uni.

Chilled okra with uni miso, plated with steamed uni, sprinkled with salt.

Second Course: Sashimi.

Kibinago (small sprat/sardine-like fish), bigeye tuna (from Ecuador), kanpachi, tai, Japanese Spanish mackerel, and Scottish salmon.

Third Course: Grilled pork skewers.

Kurobuta pork, lightly grilled (almost smoked), with shimichi for dipping. Very rich meat, with light, almost spongy texture.

Fourth Course: Abalone.

Steamed abalone, topped with grated plum.

Fifth Course: Ayu.

Soy-braised ayu. Though ayu (grilled or braised) has been on the specials menu a few times during the season (June through August), I believe the roe-laden specimens (see above) are reserved for omakase.

Sixth Course: Hanamaki soba.

Not on the regular or specials menu (but generally available on request), hanamaki soba is a soup-style soba with scallions, egg, and nori (in strips or shredded). A great dish for a cool, drizzly day.

Seventh Course: Soba ice cream.

Soba ice cream, sprinkled with kinako (parched soybean flour) and served in a pool of kuromitsu (black buckwheat honey). Easily my favorite dessert at Tei An, balancing savory and sweet.

Soba tea.

Most meals end with complimentary buckwheat tea. (Japanese customers typically take the soba tea throughout the meal.)

Meal #4 (omakase).

First Course: Sashimi.

Octopus with thyme and micro arugula, tai, kanpachi, bigeye toro, and shiro-ika (sword-tip squid).

Second Course: Kurobuta motsu.

Excellent miso-braised chittlins with onion.

Third Course: Tonkatsu.

Kurobuta pork, breaded and fried, served with Sakurai's imitation Bull-Dog sauce, Japanese hot mustard, and a salad of soy bean sprouts in tartar sauce. (I don't know where he's getting his pork, but it's the best I've had in Dallas.)

Fourth Course: Plum oroshi soba.

Ending on a light note of bright, tart plum with the cold soba.

Fifth Course: Peach mousse.

White peach mousse, mildly sweet, with a variety of textures (fruit, jelly, mousse, and juice-soaked cake).

Sixth Course: Yokan.

Agar-agar thickened red bean jellies.

Meal #5 (omakase).

First Course: Sesame pork.

Soy-braised Kurobuta pork with sesame and chilled white seaweed.

Second Course: Sashimi.

Kanpachi, tsubu (a seasonal whelk from Hokkaido), and Coca-Cola-glazed octopus. (Sakurai noted that Coca-Cola glazing is a tradition in Japan going back more than fifty years.)

Third Course: Tempura.

Tempura of kisu (Japanese whiting), magochi, local figs and summer squash.

Fourth Course: Chawan mushi.

Smooth, barely set, steamed custard with shrimp, enoki, ginko nut, etc.

Fifth Course: Kinme-dai.

Kinme-dai (Japanese golden-eye snapper), marinated in kasu (sake lees) and grilled. Plated with a pickled radish and...

...fresh local sudachi! Sakurai planted a sudachi tree nearly fifteen years ago. This is the first season that it has produced fruit. Unbelievable commitment and integrity.

Sixth Course: Kitsune tanuki soba.

"Fox and raccoon" soba, with tenkasu (fried bits of tempura batter) and a poached egg.

Meal #6 (omakase).

First Course: Tsubugai.

Seasonal whelk in sudachi broth.

Second Course: Uni and yamanoimo.

Freshly shucked, raw uni and wasabi over grated Japanese yam in a soy and sudachi broth. (Another, please.)

Third Course: Sashimi.

Seasonal sword squid, tai, bigeye toro, kanpachi, and sanma (mackerel pike), with a shochu-soaked plum.

Fourth Course: Tai ribs.

Grilled Japanese snapper ribs (both sides) with sesame and soy. More work than a fillet, but well worth it for the tender, fatty meat between and behind the bones.

Fifth Course: Mozuku soba.

Cold soba with mozuku (delicate Okinawa seaweed) and fresh sudachi.

Sixth Course: Sesame mousse.

Simple, light black sesame mousse.

Meal #7 (omakase).

First Course: Tuna.

Marinated tuna and walnuts with micro greens.

Second Course: Poached egg.

Warm poached egg in chilled dashi.

Third Course: Tai with okra.

Bite-sized pieces of Japanese snapper with seasoned okra filling, plated with edible buckwheat blossoms.

Fourth Course: Tonkatsu-style kisu.

Kisu, prepared like tonkatsu (breaded, fried, served with Sakurai's "Bull-Dog" sauce and spicy mustard).

Fifth Course: Steamed tai head.

Sake-steamed Japanese snapper head, plated with shimeji and shiitake mushrooms, white seaweed, and soft tofu. (Note that the tofu is cut in the shape of gingko leaves. Sakurai has several gingko trees in front of the restaurant that, if female, should begin forming seed pods this month, which he'll presumably use in the restaurant.) Great dish.

Sixth Course: Jako and diakon oroshi soba.

Cold soba, topped with jako (dried sardine fry), shredded daikon, shredded nori, and fresh wasabi. Once the ingredients are mixed, this is a dish that works nearly all of the tongue--salty, spicy, sweet, and savory.