But he’ll still see plenty of evidence of American and Japanese cultural solidarity — and flowers aplenty — on the tables at Wednesday’s White House state dinner held in honor of him and his wife, Yuko Kishida.
The White House on Tuesday held a preview of the dishes and decor that will greet guests at the Wednesday fete, which first lady Jill Biden promised will be “meaningful and memorable.” Guests dining beneath silk butterflies from the two countries are meant to understand the subtext: “As our nations navigate the winds of change, we do so together as partners in peace and prosperity,” Biden said.
The Bidens’ state dinner style is by now well established (this week’s is their fifth such black-tie gathering): Menus typically showcase American produce and products while incorporating elements of the visiting guests’ cuisines for an elegant mashup. Beef figures prominently. (And yep, there’s always ice cream, the dessert with which the president has famously enjoyed a decades-long love affair.)
A dish for Wednesday’s dinner that epitomizes that approach is the appetizer, which White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford said was inspired by a California roll — a menu item you’ll find on most stateside sushi joints that is widely considered to have been invented by Japanese chefs in the Golden State. “It’s been such a wonderful innovation of both countries, culinarily,” Comerford said of the “iconic” roll. The starter salad stars house-cured salmon served with crisp watermelon radish, grapefruit, avocado and cucumber, accented with a tempura-fried shiso leaf, a mint-adjacent herb with citrusy notes that is often used to garnish sushi.
Shout-outs to Japanese cuisine continue in the main course, a rib-eye steak accompanied by a butter flavored with an ingredient you often see on both Japanese and American menus: blistered shishito peppers. The accompanying fricassee of springy morel mushrooms and fava beans will be served with a sesame oil sabayon, an intriguing-sounding sauce that marries the Asian flavor of sesame with a classic French preparation typically found in the dessert course.
And it wouldn’t be a Biden affair without a scoop to finish the meal, though the dessert — a salted-caramel pistachio cake served with Bing cherry ice cream — is long on elegance and Japanese influence, thanks to a ganache flavored with matcha, the green tea powder that has in recent years become trendy with American drinkers (just ask for one at Starbucks). Pastry chef Susie Morrison said the cherry was meant to evoke the blossoms that ring our Tidal Basin every spring (though we would quibble that those are actually the non-fruiting variety).
The White House opted to forgo its tradition of inviting a guest chef to assist the regular kitchen team, a practice it continued after the Obamas used it to success in adding even more star power to state dinners. “Iron Chef” and Japan native Masaharu Morimoto provided an assist the last time the White House hosted a Japanese leader, when the Obamas feted Shinzo Abe, the prime minister at the time.
Decor for the dinner, which will be held in the State Dining Room on the George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson china, will feature Japanese motifs of fans and koi fish, as well as 6-foot-tall hydrangeas native to the United States and Japan — all designed to dazzle. Further proof that we’re pulling out all the stops: After-dinner entertainment is by legendary musician Paul Simon.
There is no sake on the menu, but the wines — a chardonnay from the Lingua Franca winery in the Willamette Valley, a Long Shadows Pirouette red blend from the Columbia Valley, and a bubbly rosé…
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