Oko Sushi is a Japanese restaurant that has been a part of the Amador Ridge Shopping Plaza since it opened. My mother and I hadn’t eaten there since last year, so we decided to call and order dinner to go on September 2.
When we eat at Oko Sushi, we do so on Wednesdays because of their Wednesday special: When you buy one combination dinner box, you get the second one at half price. Oko Sushi gives you six different combination boxes to choose from, but you can also order from the regular menu (at regular prices) if you want.
My mother ordered the chicken teriyaki combination box that has grilled chicken strips with teriyaki sauce. I ordered the orange chicken that has fried chicken chunks coated in orange sweet and sour sauce. All combination boxes come with steamed rice and a salad. You can also choose two of three appetizers, and my mother and I ordered the same appetizers for our meals: gyoza, or pork potstickers, and a California roll cut into thirds.
My mother called at about 5:35 p.m. and ordered on the phone, and she said I would be there around 6:30 p.m. My meal wasn’t ready when I arrived just before 6:25. There were several tables marked for Oko Sushi on the large patio outside with people eating their meals. When I entered, there was a pair of small tables pressed together near the front where I checked in. Fortunately, most tables were put away so there was plenty of space to wait safely.
The restaurant was quite busy with staffers walking quickly, people (me included) waiting for orders, and people continuing to enter the restaurant to both pick up and order. One person remarked, “It looks like McDonald’s in here,” which got a chuckle from the staff.
My Meal
The California roll is a combination of cooked and uncooked food: cooked imitation crab, nori (edible seaweed), avocado, and cooked rice on the outside. The three large pot stickers contained pork, cabbage, and assorted vegetables, and the potstickers rested on several fresh cabbage leaves. A lidded cup contained soy sauce for dipping.
The appetizer box also came with several small sheets of what seemed to be takuan, which was both sweet and somewhat spicy, as well as a small amount of wasabi. The wasabi, like most served at restaurants, is horseradish with mustard flour, corn starch, and green food coloring. However, don’t eat the small amount all at once unless you need to wake up and clear out your sinuses.
Most of the 20 pieces of chicken were small enough to eat with chopsticks, though I had to get the biggest pieces with a fork. The breading was crisp, the chicken juicy, and the sweet part of the sweet and sour sauce had a strong enough orange taste without being overwhelming.
The small salad had only romaine lettuce leaves and shredded carrots in a sweet dressing that I found unoffensive. The large mound of steamed rice stuck together so well that I was able to drop it in the leftover orange sauce without any trouble so I could enjoy orange rice.
Mom’s Meal
My mother’s meal had at least ten large strips of grilled chicken coated in teriyaki sauce, and she said “so good” several times as she ate.
Unlike the orange chicken, which is made of chicken breast, the grilled chicken is also made from other parts of the chicken. So, she bit into a couple of pieces of gristle that she had to put aside as she ate.
She ate one slice of takuan and said she wouldn’t eat another one. She dared not eat any wasabi with her appetizers.
A week after she ate her meal, she said that she didn’t get chicken — she got steak. She still enjoyed her food and didn’t think to mention it to me until a week later. And she hoped the person who got the teriyaki chicken instead enjoyed the chicken just as much as she enjoyed the beef.
The Verdict
There was so much food in these boxes that we decided to eat them directly out of the boxes instead of trying to put them on plates. As she neared the end of her meal, she remarked, “there’s half a chicken here!”
I always get the orange chicken at Oko Sushi because I find it so tasty, and to my surprise, I ate my entire meal as well as a pair of Two-Bite Cupcakes from Raley’s for dessert. Bad heartburn taught me that I should have saved some food to eat the next day.
My mother was smarter and saved some of her meal for the following day and have room for her cupcakes that night. She told me the next day that her meal tasted just as good after a night in the refrigerator.
Green light from both of us, and we’ll go back again.
The price of our meal was just over $23.
Want to Try Them?
Oko Sushi offers take-out and outdoor dining, and they’re open every day for lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and for dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can view the entire Oko Sushi menu with prices on their website.
You can’t order directly from the website, so you need to call them at 209-223-4088 to confirm hours during the public health emergency.
Amador Business Ticker food reviews are adventures in local dining with Editor Eric Butow and his mom.
