The perfect sushi experience: Master chef Koji Sawada's technique

“I'm not making art, I'm making sushi.” — Masaharu Morimoto, Iron Chef

Image Source: travel.cnn.com

You step into a sushi bar, and as the harmony of varying aromas entices you, a chef showcases his artistic creation of sushi rolls. But then you wonder how you can measure up with the chef’s passion and skills. How can you have the perfect sushi experience? Michelin-starred Master Koji Sawada shares his techniques: 

By hands

It is best to lightly grip on the sushi without squeezing it, rolling it partly over, turning it upside down, and then dipping it in soy sauce. To enjoy its texture and full flavor, eat the piece in its entirety, allowing the fish part to land on the tongue first.

Image Source: travel.cnn.com

By chopsticks

Using chopsticks can be complicated, especially when dipping and eating it upside down (the fish side landing on tongue first). Sawada explains that many Japanese, including celebrities, hold their chopsticks awkwardly. With this, he affirms his belief that eating by hand brings out the true essence of the sushi experience better than using chopsticks.

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“Like eating curry in India, it just tastes better with the hands,” Sawada says.

To prepare your very own homemade sushi, the book Sushi by Ryuichi Yoshi, et al. details the ingredients and steps necessary for sushi making. Just use the right equipment and tools to boot, like those from JC Uni-tec, Inc and MTC Kitchen.

Engineered by experts in Japan, JC Uni-tec’s kitchen equipment was made for the easy preparation of sushi and other Japanese delicacies. Visit its website for more information about its products and services.

Japanese food: How can something raw taste so delightful?

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Japanese food is not just about taste, flavor, or aroma. Although most Japanese dishes are raw, Japanese cuisine still thrives in various parts of the world because of its cultural and nutritional values. Below are two of the most popular raw dishes of Japan:

Sashimi

Sashimi is basically thinly sliced fresh raw meat or fish, served with soy sauce and wasabi. Common garnishes of sashimi include shredded radish, ginger, and toasted nori. As online writer Terry Retter puts it: “Raw fish dipped in fabulous sauce is an authentic Japanese food that is hard to appreciate after only one bite. If you hate it, you probably haven't given yourself a chance to savor it deeply, or haven't given the dish a chance to sample you enough.” This all-time favorite comes in different varieties: salmon, puffer fish, tuna, chicken breast, and deer meat. Sashimi is best served with any noodle or rice entrée.

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Sushi

This article defines sushi as any dish made with vinegar rice, which may or may not include raw fish. There are also different types of sushi, including nigiri, gunkan, norimaki, temaki, and inari. Through the years, sushi has evolved into various forms like raw vegan sushi. 

Image Source: pbs.org

Part of enjoying Japanese cuisine is the person’s ability to appreciate its dishes at face value, and understand its cultural and nutritional worth.

JC Uni-tec’s website shares how you can make your own Japanese dishes at home.

Food Truck Bite of the Week: I Sushi, You Sushi, We All Sushi

This SF Weekly blog talks about one of the favorite Japanese foods around the world - sushi.

Our weekly bite explores the city's food trucks, one at a time, highlighting our favorite mobile dishes and snacks.

The Truck: We Sushi  
The Cuisine: Japanese-California rolls and bowls
Specialty Items: Deep-fried rolls and chirashi sushi rice bowls  
Worth the Wait in Line? On an overcast day, it was a total 10 minutes from the end of the line to food in hand.

The very nature of sushi, and the consumption of raw fish, inspires some inherent mistrust in certain situations. Discounted late night sushi at a 7-11? Probably not a great idea. While your risk-adverse brain (it is just doing its job) may categorize sushi off a food truck at a similar risk level, We Sushi surprised us with the freshness of the fish, portions, and value.

See Also:
- Flying Southern for the Winter
- ICHI Sushi's Tai Nigiri
- Is American Sushi on the Decline?

The menu of rolls, including sushi "burritos" dominates half of the menu, along with deep fried items like their popular Lobster Crunch ($8, lobster salad, cucumber, avocado, yuba aka tofu skin). Tossed in a tobiko spiked dressing, the nice chunks of lobster meat and veggies get wrapped in yuba, coated in tempura batter, and deep-fried. While it was crunchy, generously portioned, and a nice combination of ingredients, it's a dish best reserved for those days with an open calendar, i.e., able to sneak a nap under your desk.

The simple beauty of the Chirashi ($9.50, assorted sashimi and vegetables, sushi rice) bowl seemed to highlight the freshness of the fish the best. A warm bed of seasoned sushi rice with just enough sweet-salty-tangy flavor contrasted nicely with the large slabs of salmon, hamachi, albacore, and what we guessed was probably snapper (we forgot to ask), a small tangle of some amazing seaweed salad fragrant with sesame oil, cucumber batons, and the usual ginger and wasabi. While we wished the fish came sliced thinner and in bite-sized pieces, the fish was fresh, and the price amazing for the portions. A spicy version is also available, though the fish is chopped and mixed with a spicy mayo sauce; not quite as light or visual striking.

A filling-yet-revitalizing meal is a rare feat for food truck fare, but like Liba Falafel's wonderful salads, We Sushi's chirashi manages to expand your food truck options to something delicious you won't feel bad about eating.

Source: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2012/11/food_truck_bite_of_week_we_sushi.p

Feature: Tuna sushi with rocket salad

Published in BBC.co.uk, this recipe includes a step by step procedure on how to make tuna sushi, complete with dressing and a salad side dish. 

by: Simon Rimmer

For this recipe you will need a sushi mat.

30 mins to 1 hour: preparation time
Less than 10 mins cooking time

Ingredients

For the tuna sushi

• 200g/7oz sushi rice
• 350ml/12fl oz water
• pinch salt
• 30g/1oz caster sugar
• 50ml/2fl oz rice wine vinegar
• 100g/3½oz nigella seeds
• 1 tbsp ready-made wasabi paste, mixed until well combined with ½tsp water
• 200g/7oz raw top-grade tuna fillet, cut into very thin slices
• 100g/3½oz carrot, peeled, very finely sliced (use a mandoline if you have one) 

For the dressing

• 100ml/3½fl oz light soy sauce
• 1 lime, juice only
• splash fish sauce
• 1 tsp ready-made wasabi paste

For the rocket salad

• 150g/5½oz fresh rocket leaves
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, out of their shells

To serve

• 10 -12 pieces pickled pink ginger
• soy sauce, to taste
• 1 tsp ready-made wasabi paste

Preparation method

1) For the tuna sushi, wash the sushi rice thoroughly in cold water and drain well. Place the drained sushi rice into a pan and pour over the water. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the rice for 4-5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside, covered, to cool.

2) When the cooked sushi rice has completely cooled, drain off any excess water, then transfer the rice to a bowl. Season, to taste, with the salt, then sprinkle over the sugar and drizzle over the rice wine vinegar. Mix until well combined.

3) Cover a sushi mat with cling film and sprinkle over the nigella seeds to form an even layer. Place a 1cm/½in layer of the sushi rice on top of the seeds, then spread over the wasabi paste.

4) Lay the tuna slices on top of the wasabi to form a thin layer, then arrange a layer of carrot slices on top.

5) Roll the sushi into a tight sausage shape using the sushi mat. (The sushi mat and cling film are used as guides to make the sushi easier to roll, but they should not be incorporated into the sushi roll, but should be peeled away as you roll the sushi).

6) Wrap the sushi roll in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. When the sushi roll has chilled, slice it into 2cm/¾in rounds, trimming off the ends.

7) For the dressing, in a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients until well combined.

8) For the rocket salad, in a bowl, mix together the rocket leaves and pumpkin seeds. Drizzle over the dressing and mix well to cover the leaves.

9) To serve, divide the tuna sushi pieces equally among four serving plates. Place a few pieces of pink pickled ginger, a small dipping bowl of soy sauce and a dot of wasabi paste alongside. Pile the dressed salad alongside.


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tunasushiwithrockets_91177