Coveted Barbeque Sauce

The other day, my friend mentioned that of all the foods he missed the most, he really missed being able to eat a good sandwich. I told him that I used to eat a lot of sandwiches back home, but oddly enough, I didn’t really miss them. The next day, I really wanted a sandwich.

Sandwiches are available here in Japan, but usually only in convenience stores. I haven’t tried one yet, and I don’t really plan on it.

I mentioned that I used to eat a lot of sandwiches. I wouldn’t say that I was a sandwich expert, but I’ve always been pretty good at putting stuff between two pieces of bread. This is not as easy as it sounds. I’ve learned over the years that there is a certain skill to piecing everything together, folding, cutting, and of course balancing ingredients. Anyone who knows me well, has probably been able to smell peanut butter and jam on my breath at some point. I’ve actually been eating a lot of peanut butter and jam sandwiches here in Japan (you just can’t beat them as a mid-morning snack), but I really miss a proper sandwich with a little meat and vegetables.

Two days ago I decided that I was going to make chicken sandwiches with barbecue sauce. Condiments are a bit lacking here in Japan. Things like mustard, relish, and barbecue sauce are a bit difficult to come by. I managed to find everything except for barbeque sauce. I looked in a couple of places, and I began to think that maybe it wasn’t a good sandwich that I missed, but some tasty barbeque sauce.

Alas, when life gives you lemons… I decided to make barbeque sauce. With a quick search on google, a found several recipes for barbeque sauces. I learned about different bases, flavours, and uses for barbeque sauce.

My sauce was a ketchup base (I used ketchup instead of tomato sauce because it lasts longer in the fridge). I was missing a lot of the typical ingredients used – Worchester sauce, olive oil, white vinegar, but I did have Japanese counterparts: soy sauce, Japanese cooking oil, and rice wine vinegar. I also added a dash of whiskey and some lemon – to tie everything together.

The sandwiches and the barbeque sauce – maybe because of the barbeque sauce turned out great. With a bit of mayonnaise, vegetables, and toasted bread, I don’t know if I’ve eaten anything that tasted so much like home.

A few people are coming over for dinner and a movie tonight – among them the friend that misses sandwiches. I thought I’d give my sandwiches a second go to see what he thinks of them. I also made some fish soup – something I haven’t done since my old restaurant days.

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I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but people started arriving, so I didn’t have time. The sandwiches were a big hit with everybody and the soup was good too – although there were a ton of fish scales that required a bit of careful eating.

Movies we watched: Big Trouble in Little China and Little Miss Sunshine. Both were amazing; both I’ve seen before; and both I will see again sometime.

The photo is one more from my day at setogaro.