The Rake Magazine

Tag: rolls

  • Sushi: The Naked Truth, part three

    Before we opened in January, I had my whole core team working with me, training at the restaurant in Eau Claire. I knew with all of the bad habits and the lack of outside chefs in the twin cities area it would be best not to hire locally and have to correct bad habits. I’m not saying there are not good chefs in the area, but the top chefs are already employed at good establishments — such as Nami’s, Origami’s, and Fujiya — and out of respect of the owners I would not try to steal their chefs.

    However, as business grows and you need to hire it’s tough to train a chef ground up when you are short handed. I buckled and hired a local chef that had experience and could work under me. I knew it would be tough as bad habits are hard to break, but this experience opened my eyes even more to how bad some places in the area are cutting corners. On the second day I had asked him to cut down and trim a hamachi (yellow tail) for me as I was swamped at my station. I watched his knife skills. He did well, and in no time the hamachi was broken down. All was good until he handed the hamachi to me!

    Shocked, I asked him why he hadn’t trimmed the bloodline completely away? His answer was that most of the places in which he had worked in the area had instructed him not to trim it all away because it’s too expensive! Almost speechless, I trimmed away the remaining bloodline, and told him that we do trim all of it away and discard it. Later in the evening, when it slowed down, I was talking to him about the hamachi, and he told me most places cut up the bloodline and add it to the spicy tuna as a filler so they get a larger yield! NASTY!! The bloodline is a part of some fish that is very strong and fishy and should always be trimmed away and discarded.

    He is a good chef, has good knife skills, makes beautiful sushi, but again it all comes down to the dedication and preparation of the establishment. I won’t go into detail on the places that cuts corners, but I assure you that we do not cut corners and some of the places in town like Nami’s, Origami’s, and Fujiya’s also carry on the strict policy of providing only the best.

  • Sushi Bar Etiquette

    Good thing we are not in old school Japan and that most elder Japanese/Japanese-trained chefs in the U.S. have adopted our ways.

    I could care less how you eat your sushi at the bar or at a table, but with some chefs it could get you kicked out!

    Basic sushi bar etiquette:

    Oshibori (hot towel) sushi is finger food, except sashimi; and the hot towel provided is to clean your hands before you eat. Please don’t blow your nose or take a sponge bath with that nice, hot wash cloth.

    Gari (pickled ginger) is provided to cleanse your palette in between different fishes, rolls, or sashimi, so the flavor does not carry over — and to cleanse your mouth when you are finished. Gari is not a salad.

    Fingers: Yes you all have five, so use them. Since sushi is finger food, use your fingers to eat the nigiri or rolls. Some people complain when the rolls are not packed tight enough and the rice falls apart — same goes for nigiri. Good sushi is supposed to melt in your mouth, and a good chef will not pack the rice into a hard ball. Nothing wrong with using chop sticks, but unless you can use them proficiently, the sushi will most likely fall apart.

    Soy sauce: It’s not to be used like ketchup with fries! If you do need soy sauce, dip the nigiri or maki in lightly. If it’s nigiri, turn it around and dip it in fish side down so that you don’t soak all of the soy with the rice. Same goes for rolls: dip the corner of the roll; don’t give it a bath. Light dipping will allow you to enjoy the wonderful flavors of each fish or roll, and one of the biggest reasons sushi falls apart is from the rice getting logged with soy sauce.

    Do not give dirty/empty plates back to the sushi chef. They are dirty; we work with our hands. Put them to the side for your server to clear.

    One bite: Sushi is meant to be eaten in one bite. Please do not cut the nigiri, sashimi, or rolls. By doing so you will lose the intended flavor combination. Yeah, go ahead and stuff your mouth. It’s not rude. Just like slurping noodles, it’s the Asian culture, and shows the chef you are are enjoying the food.

    Watch this funny video if you have not seen it before.

    Oh, and buy your chef a drink. He/she will appreciate it. And if you get them a bit drunk your slices will get bigger!! We don’t want to cut off our fingers as we start to see blurrs!!