For the second Sunday of Advent, we created a dish that brings warmth, depth and a beautiful Japanese touch to the table: a Japanese-inspired onion soup built on Kombu-Dashi, served with Wakame–Comté crackers, aromatic Sansho pepper croutons, and a delicate Morning-Dawn reduction. It’s a dish that feels familiar — like a classic French onion soup — yet completely new in its elegance and flavor structure. And it pairs brilliantly with a truly unique sake: Kikusakari “Morgenrot / Sunrise” – Junmai Rosé.
The Sake: Kikusakari “Sunrise” – Junmai Rosé
This sake is crafted from three rice varieties: Asamurasaki (a rare red rice), Gohyakumangoku, and Miyama Nishiki. Asamurasaki is used unpolished, giving the sake: its natural rosé colour lively, bright acidity gentle astringency aromas of cranberry, red berries, cooked cherries and plum a depth of umami rarely seen in rosé-style sake It offers structure, freshness and a subtle red-fruit complexity — a perfect match for warm broths, slow-cooked onions and dishes with umami and acidity in balance.
Best served well-chilled.
Food Pairing Notes from Sommeliére Agija Immenroth
The cheese cracker, together with the dashi, emphasizes the dryness of the sake even more. The warm soup releases an unexpected burst of fruit on the nose – hints of red berries and cranberry. The saltiness of the cracker adds a small kick and ties everything together. The onions, still with a slight bite, form a very harmonious balance with the sake; overall the pairing feels rounded, creamy, and soft.
With the soup, the sake shows a different side: a bit more angular and clearly defined. Its fruit becomes more pronounced – melon, pear, red apple. The soup buffers the sake’s natural sweetness, making it appear drier. The shiitake from the broth lift the fruity notes even further and extend the finish.
Complete Food Pairing Analysis
The dish is built around three core components: softly caramelised onions, a clear Kombu-Dashi broth, and crisp toppings (Wakame–Comté cracker + Sansho croutons). Together they create a refined balance of umami, sweetness, roasted notes and refreshing acidity.
Each element highlights a different dimension of the sake:
Onions → sweetness & umami
Dashi → clarity & structure
Comté–wakame → dryness & depth
Sansho croutons → freshness & citrus spice
Morning-Dawn reduction → red fruit & tension
The sensory progression:
Umami → sweetness → roasted depth → freshness → red fruit → dry, clean finish
A harmonious, elegant sensory journey