Prep The phrase chan chan mimics the sound of ingredients sizzling on a Hokkaido fisherman’s grill. Kobayashi and chef Koichi Homma are both from Sapporo on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. “This is our hometown food.”
1. Sauce The sauce is usually made with miso and sake. Homma adds butter to make it thicker.
2. Vegetables The traditional stir-fry contains cabbage and bean sprouts. Onions, carrots, spinach, and seasonal vegetables add more flavor and appeal to produce-loving Seattle diners.
3. Salmon Marinated in miso, then grilled with sake. “We are very famous for salmon in Hokkaido; it’s like Alaska.”
Published: March 2013