Every late riser with meal-skipping tendencies has been threatened with the same tired warning: Sumo wrestlers skip breakfast to bulk up. And while sumo diets have been a source of fascination for the media ever since body fat became an international preoccupation, there’s a lot more to those massive bodies than the daily consumption of 20,000 calories. Central to the sumo wrestler’s diet is chankonabe, a nutrient-dense stew consumed just before a fight. Apparently it’s truly delicious, and now you can try it yourself at Brooklyn Kitchen alongside a live-streamed sumo match, bento boxes and sake this Saturday.
The chankonabe in question will be chicken-based because “the Wrestler is supposed to be on two legs like a chicken, so no four-legged animal is included,” Brooklyn Kitchen CEO Harry Rosenblum tells us. The event, which costs $35 and starts at 4:00 p.m., is inspired by photographer Michael Harlan Turkell’s recent trip to Japan. He and his wife drove four hours across southern Japan to get to Fukuoka for a sumo match one day. “The sport is so steeped in culture, and aside from the wrestling, the ring, the traditional garb, and the revelry, there’s an inspired food component,” he gushes. Turkell and Rosenblum would like to see a series of parties like this one and even incorporate live Sumo wrestling some day.
You can buy tickets for #SumoStew here and expect to enjoy Orion beer, Joto Sake and a final toast with Nikka, some of the finest Japanese whiskey. Matches will be projected on a big screen, and Rosenblum assures us that the rules are not particularly hard to grasp. Can’t make it Saturday but still craving chankonabe? Brooklyn Kitchen stocks a variety of Japanese condiments, rice and other tools alongside an extensive knife selection. And hopefully someday, when the L train is running again, you’ll get to see live sumo at their store.
