We are pleased to announce that Roka Akor has been ranked #1 Asian Restaurant in Arizona by Ranking Arizona! We received praised for our contemporary yet relaxed surroundings, our top quality seasonal and local produce, and delicious dishes to satisfy every palate, from mouthwateringly fresh sushi and sashimi to robata grill specialties. Reserve your spot today by calling (480)306-8800, e-mailing info@rokakor.com or going to OpenTable.com to find out what all the fuss is about!
The Robata Grill: Ancient Cooking Techniques for the Modern Palate
When you walk into Roka Akor, it’s hard to miss our robata grill. Located in the center of the dining room, it is the heart of the restaurant, where 60 percent of our menu is prepared. Japanese for “around the fireplace,” robata grills originated hundreds of years ago among Japanese fishermen who would grill their daily catch on the boat, using wooden oars to pass food from boat to boat to share with their neighbors. This slow grilling method relies on oak charcoal to enhance natural flavors, and meats, fish and vegetables are finished with savory marinades. Smoke is not a part of robata cooking, as binchotan, the charcoal used for grilling, is nearly smokeless. Instead, the charcoal is arranged in a pyramid to evenly and steadily circulate heat around the food, helping to develop umami flavors. Because of the simplicity of this cooking style, it is imperative that the ingredients used are of the highest quality.
While robata cooking has only recently begun to catch on in America, it has remained popular in Japan since its introduction. It is commonly found in izakayas (Japanese drinking and eating establishments), where customers sit around and watch their meal being prepared, with fresh ingredients for guests to point at when they would like to order. While you’ll have to speak up and tell your server if you’d like to order one of our robata-grilled dishes, you are certainly welcome to sit around our grill and watch our talented chefs in action.
The robata grill can offer something for everyone, from vegetable skewers like sweet corn with butter and soy and zucchini with miso mustard to entrées like marinated pork chop with sweet miso and kimchi, chicken teriyaki with shiitake mushrooms, and salt-grilled hamachi collar with tomato ginger salad. Try one of these dishes at your next meal, and make sure to grab a front row seat at the grill!
Chopsticks 101
Everyone knows that part of the fun of eating sushi is getting to use chopsticks. But did you know that the Japanese have a strict set of customs that govern their use? Before your next meal at Roka Akor, arm yourself with some knowledge of Japanese chopsticks etiquette to impress your dinner companions–and enjoy the added authenticity of your eating experience.
Chopsticks first came to Japan from China in the Nara period, between 710 and 794 BC. As in most other areas of Japanese culture, etiquette and tradition are very important to the dining experience, and chopsticks are no exception. Learning to hold the chopsticks, which you can do here, is just the beginning. Once you have mastered the technique, it’s time to explore some of those traditions and the reasons behind them.
Where you put your chopsticks during your meal is very important. Between bites of food and at the end of the meal, it is polite to set your chopsticks either on a chopstick rest or on the table (but don’t cross them!), never on your plate or across a bowl. Sticking your chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice is taboo because it calls to mind incense sticks burning in sand–a common practice at Japanese funerals.
Another funereal faux pas is passing food from your chopsticks to someone else’s. This is because such an action would recall the act of passing bones of cremated bodies from person to person. No one wants to think about death during dinner time, so these customs make quite a bit of sense. It is also considered rude to bite your chopsticks or to use them to point or spear your food, which is understandable as well.
The list of chopsticks etiquette goes on, but there’s no pressure when you dine at Roka. We just want you to enjoy your meal–and perhaps provide your friends and family with an interesting dinner discussion topic!
Sushi Master Class With Executive Chef Roman Petry
On Sunday, February 28th, we will be holding a Sushi Master Class with Roka Akor Executive Chef Roman Petry. After learning some background information about the restaurant, Japanese cuisine, and the ingredients you will be working with, you will discover how easy it is to make some of your Roka favorites at home. From California maki rolls to sushi rice, Chef Petry will demonstrate his techniques, share some of his secret tips and tricks, and guide you as you recreate sushi masterpieces on your own. He will also explain how to pair the sushi with sake, Japanese beer and shochu. This hands-on class combines a great learning experience with a fun weekend activity and a chance to taste some delicious sushi–that you made yourself! Space is limited, so call (480)306-8800 today to reserve your spot. Cost is $75 per person and includes all food and beverages.
Sashimi Made Simple
Ordering sushi can be overwhelming–there are so many options, and for many of us, they are in an unfamiliar language. Sushi, sashimi, or maki roll? Toro, unagi, or hamachi? While it’s hard to go wrong with expert preparation and top quality fresh fish, diners understandably feel more at ease when they know exactly what they are ordering.
Because of its simplicity, sashimi is a great place to start. Usually consisting of nothing more than thin slices of raw seafood accompanied by soy sauce for dipping, the fish selection is of the utmost importance, as there is nothing else distracting from the flavor and texture.
Some sashimi is made from fish that is very familiar to most people, like salmon–although most Americans are more used to it in its cooked form. Salmon sashimi, known as sake in Japan, is rich and creamy, with a delightfully chewy texture and a vibrant orange color. Another familiar word on the sashimi menu is tuna, also known as maguro. Roka Akor serves many different types of tuna, including the red, beefy mebachi maguro, pink-hued, firm and flavorful hamachi (young yellowtail), and perhaps the most sought-after variety, toro. Rich, buttery toro comes from the most tender part of the tuna–the fatty belly.
Sashimi isn’t limited to fish–next time you’re dining at Roka, try something adventurous like unagi, ama ebi or hotate. Unagi is freshwater eel, grilled and glazed with Japanese sauce. Ama ebi is raw shrimp with a natural sweetness. Similarly sweet is hotate, or raw scallop.
Now that you know everything you need to know about sashimi, you are ready to order like an expert and impress your dining companions at your next Roka Akor meal!
Exciting New Happenings at Roka This Week!
Everyone at Roka Akor is getting excited about two great new weekly events kicking off this week- the Farmers Market and Ladies Night!
The Farmers Market will be taking place every Sunday, starting January 31st, from 10am to 2pm in the Roka Akor parking lot. It will feature the freshest produce from local vendors as well as food stalls from Roka Akor and our sister restaurants Bombay Spice Grill & Wine and San Gabriel Mexican Café. For more information, click here.
Wednesday, February 3rd will be our first weekly Ladies Night, and we think the ladies will enjoy our fresh take–each week, we will be featuring the work of a local female artist. From 5pm-10pm, Enjoy a selection of six discount cocktails and three food specials in addition to our regular Izakaya Happy Hour menu. This week’s featured artist is Catherine Slye. Check out this article in the Phoenix New Times for more information.
We are looking forward to seeing all of you this week!
What is Shochu?
With all the attention our new Izakaya menu and Shochu Lounge have been receiving lately, a lot of guests have been wondering, well, what on earth shochu is.
You may have heard of it before by another name–soju, as it is known in Korea–or perhaps you have yet to be introduced to this delightful beverage. Popular in Japan, shochu is just starting to make its mark on bars across America. While similar to sake, shochu is distilled rather than brewed, and can be made from a variety of base ingredients, the most common of which is barley–others include rice, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, and chestnuts. Shochu can legally contain up to 45% alcohol, although 25% is standard.
Although shochu has been produced in Japan since at least the 16th century, its notoriety among more stylish sippers is a relatively recent phenomenon. Previously regarded as an old man’s drink, the beverage surged in popularity in 2003 due to some very clever marketing, and has been on fire ever since (literally–the word ”shochu” is written using the Chinese characters for “fiery liquor”!). Health-conscious consumers revere it for its low calorie content (about 15-20 calories per ounce) and reputation for preventing thrombosis, heart attacks and diabetes, while everyone else just appreciates it for, well, its delicious flavor.
Speaking of flavor, you’re probably pretty curious to taste it by this point. Roka Akor’s Shochu Lounge offers shochu in two different traditional forms–mixed in cocktails, or chilled infusions to be sipped and savored. Infusions are made by macerating fruits and herbs in the shochu and come in over forty different flavors, including pineapple, Fuji apple, and honey. Try one before your next meal at Roka or stop by the Shochu Lounge to enjoy a drink with some selections from our new critically acclaimed Izakaya menu!
JNK CONCEPTS RESTAURANTS DONATE A PORTION OF EACH CHECK TO DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS TO ASSIST EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN HAITI
In response to the overwhelming ongoing need for emergency assistance in Haiti, John Kapoor, President of JNK Concepts Restaurant Group, will be donating a portion of each guest check between Sunday, January 24th and Sunday, February 14th to Doctors Without Borders.
Participating restaurants include:
- Roka Akor Sushi and Robata Grill, 7299 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
- Bombay Spice Grill and Wine, 10810 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix
- San Gabriel Mexican Café, 7000 N. 16th Street, Phoenix
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization. The organization delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries.
“Doctors Without Borders has been working in Haiti since 1991 and had more than 800 Haitian staff, as well as 30 international staff, working there before the quake,” said Craig Meunier, Vice President of Operations at JNK Concepts. “Because of the experience of these doctors, and the staff working in Haiti, we are confident that the money donated will be put to good use.”
Doctors Without Borders had most recently been operating three emergency hospitals in Port-au-Prince and is now mobilizing a large emergency response in the wake of the earthquake that hit the country on January 12, 2010. MSF teams are focusing on meeting the urgent medical and surgical needs of quake victims. As of January 20th, the organization was running 10 operating theatres and working to increase its capacity.
For more information about the organization’s mission, visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org.
Eateraz.com Reviews Roka Akor’s Izakaya! “We Like it Cheap and Easy” by David Tyda
Our Izakaya “happy hour” served all night in our Shochu Lounge has received another great review.
“We Like it Cheap and Easy” by David Tyda (Eateraz.com), is a must-read. Included in this review are a few pictures of our Izakaya dishes.
Eateraz.com is chewing up the local food scene! If you want to be the first to know about the news, gossip and inside information, make sure to subscribe on the homepage.
Read the review: