Food is and always will be a reflection of our culture. What we put on the plate isn’t just an expression of what we’re hungry for, it’s a window into where we come from. And there’s no better time to get a look in the window of another culture’s rich cuisine history than at the annual Obon Festival. Ā
On July 22, festivalgoers flocked to the Veteran’s Memorial Center in Santa Maria to celebrate the Obon Festival. Hundreds of people filled the space, watching martial arts demonstrations, admiring crafts, and, of course, sampling some delicious foods.
The festival takes its name from Bon Odori, a style of dance. Put on every year by the Guadalupe Buddhist Church, the Obon Festival is meant to be a time to honor friends, family members, and loved ones who have passed away recently. Many attendees wear traditional Japanese kimonos, happi coats, or yukata. In addition to the martial arts groups, dancers and taiko drummers also performed for the crowds.
It’s a fun and important event that highlights the diversity in our community and gives participants an opportunity learn more about another culture.Ā
I was there to sample and learn more about the food. A variety of traditional food options are offered every year, culminating in a teriyaki chicken dinner. In addition to that, visitors can sample sushi, wontons, kushiyaki, udon noodles, and desserts such as strawberry shortcake.
Kushiyaki refers to food on a skewer; kushi meaning skewers and yaki meaning grilled. You might be familiar with yakitori, a variety of kushiyaki, which features chicken as the skewered meat. Chicken breast is a popular meat choice for yakitori in some local restaurants. But just about any meat, including seafood or vegetable can be skewered and grilled to serve kushiyaki. (There’s also kushiage, which is fried meat served on skewers.)Ā
The beef kushiyaki served at Santa Maria’s Obon Festival were prepared to order on the open pit grill. The meat is served tender yet nicely charred on the outside so as to preserve the flavors of the seasoning. Served with a sweet and salty teriyaki sauce, kushiyaki is a great snack for a something like festival because you don’t have to get your hands too dirty when you eat it, and it’s super filling.Ā
Attendees also slurped up big cups of udon noodles. Udon noodles are thick wheat noodles with a neutral flavor that suck up the flavor of the broth they are typically prepared with. Udon noodles can also be served cold for hot summer days, but they are mostly found in our parts in bowls of hot broth loaded with veggies and fresh ingredients. At the Obon Festival, they were served with bits of pork and fresh green scallions, in small portable cups.
The festival also served sushi, including one of my favorites, inari. Inari are sushi rice balls stuffed fried bean curd paste pouches, and they are delicious. They were served alongside kanpyo, a type of dried calabash gourd, and egg maki. Maki is from the word maku meaning to roll, which is a dish wrapped in seaweed (called nori). The ginger served with sushi dishes at the Obon Festival is benishoga, slightly different that the gari shoga typically served at sushi restaurants, which is a bit sweeter in taste.Ā
The absolute best part of the food at the event was the chargrilled teriyaki chicken dinner. The dish was served with rice balls topped with black sesame and an edamame and tomato salad (which looked colorful and was a simple and tasty side).Ā
Teriyaki is a marinade made from soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and sake or mirin sauce. Mirin is a tangy and sweet rice vinegar sauce that can add a little sweetness to certain dishes. You can replace sake in just about any recipe when you don’t want to use alcohol or you’re looking for something a little sweeter.Ā
This is also a great time to talk about edamame, one of my favorite go-to snacks. Typically served as a snack to accompany sushi, edamame are soybean pods prepared blanched and often served with salt. Shelled edamame can add a punch of protein and fiber to just about any dish. I like to add it to salads or serve it tossed with corn, fresh herbs, diced onions, and red pepper and a dash of rice wine vinegar and make a nice succotash with it. Edamame is easy to prepare and keep on hand; you can buy cheap bags of frozen edamame and keep them in the freezer. Just always remember to buy them in the shell, never shelled, because I find they lose a lot of flavor out of the pods in the freezing process.Ā
Food is meant to bring us together, to share our traditions and insight into ingredients and dishes. Thanks to the Obon Festival, Santa Marians get a good chance to do that and much more. So see you next year (and save me some more udon)! Ī¼
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose is easily skewered. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
Ā
ā¢ Cubanissimo‘s pollo con papas (pictured) is one of their best and most memorable dishes. The chicken is spicy and tangy but not overpowering and served with a generous portion of fresh herbs. Visit them at 4869 S. Bradley Road, suite 118, in Orcutt to try this dish.
ā¢ It’s hot out there, so you’re probably not in the mood for something warm like panini. But Panino in Santa Ynez has a light and fresh tuna salad sandwich that goes perfectly with a cold beer. Made with white albacore and mixed with tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and red onions, the sandwich is served with your choice of bread and honey mustard with a bed of greens for $10.95. Get it at 3569 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez.
ā¢ Wine Tasting with the Summer Pass is going on through Aug. 31. Fourteen tasting rooms throughout Santa Ynez, Buellton, Los Olivos, and Solvang are participating. Each tasting consists of four to five wines. For more info on how to get the summer pass, call (800) 563-3183.
ā¢ Get your fancy on at the Masquerade Gala on July 28 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Monarch Club at Trilogy Monarch Dunes. The event features live music and auctions to benefit the 5Cities Homeless Coalition and Nipomo Food Basket. Tickets are $75. Cocktail attire and masks encouraged. More info: (805) 574-1638. The Monarch Club is located at 1645 Trilogy Parkway, Nipomo.
ā¢ Fiddlehead Cellars presents Fiddle Fest 2.0 on July 28. The event is a fundraiser for the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County and features more than 30 wines open for tasting, a take-home commemorative etched Burgundy glass, barbecue lunch by 805 Chop House, vineyard tours, and more. Tickets are available at fiddleheadcellars.com.
ā¢ I would make my Austrian mother very disappointed if I forgot to mention that Bell’s in Los Alamos is now serving Weingut Knoll wines, made from grapes grown in Austria’s most prestigious wine country, the Wachau. Get them while they last at 406 Bell St., Los Alamos.Ā
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2018.