February 17, 2012 @ 8:45 am
The Tacoma Buddhist Temple will hold its 50th annual sukiyaki dinner fundraiser on Sunday, March 4, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The golden anniversary of this popular community event will once again feature the dinner's namesake, sukiyaki – a one-pot meal of thinly sliced beef, saifun noodles, tofu, green onions and other vegetables, all lightly sautéed in a flavorful broth. Also on the menu: teriyaki chicken, teriyaki beef shish kabobs, mochi ice cream, rice and drinks. Items cost $1 to $11. The dinner debuted as a two-day weekend event in 1962. Back then it wasn't easy to buy Japanese specialty cookware. After members decided to hold the fundraiser, the temple's minister at the time, the Rev. Sadamaro Ouchi, on his next trip to Japan bought scores of aluminum pans designed to cook individual portions of sukiyaki. The temple still uses those pans, along with additional ones purchased over the years. Temple cooks also have been using virtually the same sukiyaki recipe, from the late temple member Martha Yoshioka, all these years. The secret? "It's the broth," said Toyoko Nakagawara, a temple member who has volunteered since the first sukiyaki dinner. Temple cooks boil beef bones starting the night before the event, and then strain the juice, providing a flavorful base for the broth. The broth is key, she said, because the sukiyaki is cooked quickly. Kats Fujita said she notices people spooning the broth over the rice to enjoy it as much as possible. Fujita and her husband Hiroshi "Fudge" Fujita served as general co-chairmen of the first dinner. "Our sukiyaki has always had real good taste, real good flavor," she said. Tacoma Buddhist Temple is located at 1717 Fawcett Ave. Visit www.tacomabt.org.
By Matt Nagle
