Friday, April 22, 2016

The Preparation Process

The process of becoming a sushi chef

Just like entering any profession, it is not an easy job to begin with. It requires time to help one train to become the best one in the field through experiences. Even though it's not easy, if one has a passion in doing what they believe that will make them happy, they will more than likely will succeed in the profession. That brings to the topic of how to become a master sushi chef. As many people may see sushi being easy to make, and doesn't really require a lot of work, they are wrong. Sushi is a form of art. The displaying of the food is really important when it comes to serving the customers because it can really turn a customer's mood around. Another reason why it may seem easy but it's really not, is the fact that sushi requires a lot of preparation ahead of time, so it reduces the amount of time it come to serving the food

"In Japan, it take years of work to earn the title of sushi chef, but in Los Angeles, not so much" (lamag). The training in Japan may take up to 15 years before one can run the restaurant, as compared to Los Angeles, one will be able to enroll in a 12 week course to becoming a sushi chef. Here's a breakdown of 15 years of training in Japan (lamag):
Year 1: Mopping floors and washing dishes
Year 2: Learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Year 3-4: Promoted to a food prepper and prepare some cooked dishes as well.
Year 5: Ready to prepare the sushi rice
Year 6: Allowed behind the sushi bar, and make sushi rolls for takeout only.
Year 7 to 9: Given permission to interact with customers.
Year 10: Official sushi chef
Year 15: Running the restaurant.

"When it comes to learning sushi making, there is no right or wrong way of learning, you simply do what works best for you and ensure that you’re enjoying yourself, whilst learning in the process." Over the course of training, one will be able to cover all 5 steps of training. These steps are: knowing which fish is which, vegetable prep, sushi rice, making the rolls, and filleting the fish (mychefit).

Since fish is an important part of sushi, knowing how to prepare the fish can really determine how skillful the sushi chef is. The first step to preparing the fish is to find out whether or not the fish is fresh. By following these three steps, one can determine if the fish is fresh:
"Above left: Touch beside a gill lightly. It should be soft.
Above center: The underside of the gills should be reddish in color.
Above right: The eyes should be clear" (web-japan).

Breaking down the fish is a three man job. The first man is on scaling duty, scraping the sides of the fish to remove the rough exterior layer. Sushi chef usually holds the fish by the eye because the fins are often poisonous. The second guy in the disassembly line dives in heads-first. After the head is removed, the blood is dug out with a tool. If you don't remove the blood, the meat will spoil. Removing the organs requires special care, because puncturing something like the gallbladder will cause an explosion of bile from both the fish and the chef. After this major surgery, a third man rinses out the fish before it makes it way to the sushi counter to be skinned and sliced. When the fish is ready, the sushi chef will cut out the fillet and carefully removes most of the skin, leaving a thin layer that adds texture and flavor (Thrillist).

I would personally say filleting the fish would be the hardest part to learn from my own experience because sometimes when filleting the fish in the wrong way may leave a lot of extra meat on the skin or the other way around. That is why I would recommend to take all the advises given, and handled the fish one step at a time. Don't ever jump to conclusion so quick because you may leave out some of the most important skills.  

Websites used:
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/a-look-inside-the-world-of-the-sushi-chef-thrillist-nation
http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia36/en/feature/feature10.html
http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/
http://mychefit.com/2015/10/28/5-steps-for-training-to-be-a-sushi-chef/





Japan
Year 1: Your apprenticeship, AKA mopping floors and washing dishes, begins.
Year 2: You learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Years 3 to 4: You’re promoted to shikomi, or food prepper, where you get to prepare some cooked dishes and staff meals.
Year 5: Now you’re ready for sushi rice. Congrats!
Year 6: You’re allowed behind the sushi bar, where you make only rolls for takeout.
Years 7 to 9: You have permission to speak to customers.
Year 10: A decade in and it’s official. Tada! You’re a full-fledged sushi chef.
Year 15: They let you run the restaurant—finally.
Los Angeles
Enroll in a 12-week sushi-chef course at California Sushi Academy. Tada! Get a job at Geisha House.
- See more at: http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/#sthash.j7ojDquU.dpuf
Japan
Year 1: Your apprenticeship, AKA mopping floors and washing dishes, begins.
Year 2: You learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Years 3 to 4: You’re promoted to shikomi, or food prepper, where you get to prepare some cooked dishes and staff meals.
Year 5: Now you’re ready for sushi rice. Congrats!
Year 6: You’re allowed behind the sushi bar, where you make only rolls for takeout.
Years 7 to 9: You have permission to speak to customers.
Year 10: A decade in and it’s official. Tada! You’re a full-fledged sushi chef.
Year 15: They let you run the restaurant—finally.
Los Angeles
Enroll in a 12-week sushi-chef course at California Sushi Academy. Tada! Get a job at Geisha House.
- See more at: http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/#sthash.j7ojDquU.dpuf
Japan
Year 1: Your apprenticeship, AKA mopping floors and washing dishes, begins.
Year 2: You learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Years 3 to 4: You’re promoted to shikomi, or food prepper, where you get to prepare some cooked dishes and staff meals.
Year 5: Now you’re ready for sushi rice. Congrats!
Year 6: You’re allowed behind the sushi bar, where you make only rolls for takeout.
Years 7 to 9: You have permission to speak to customers.
Year 10: A decade in and it’s official. Tada! You’re a full-fledged sushi chef.
Year 15: They let you run the restaurant—finally.
Los Angeles
Enroll in a 12-week sushi-chef course at California Sushi Academy. Tada! Get a job at Geisha House.
- See more at: http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/#sthash.j7ojDquU.dpuf

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Evolution of Sushi

Sushi has been around for many centuries now, but it has been slowly evolving along the way. The evolution of sushi actually surprises me on how it first started out to be, to where it leads to right now. When sushi first started, it was a way to preserve food and make it portable. The trend caught on as rice cultivation spread over the sea and northward from Southeast Asia. Different cultures have their unique additions to the basic recipe and arrangement of what was, for a time, called Funa-zhushi (Sushi Now).

Seventh century-Sushi had made its way to Japan, where seafood has historically been a staple. The Japanese took the concept further and began to eat the rice with the fish. Originally, the dish was prepared in much the same manner (Sushi FAQ).

15th century-The fermentation techniques became faster. Preservation that used to take six months or more, now only took one month and rancid rice that once was discarded, could now be eaten.  These sushi styles are very different than the one that we are familiar with today. The fermentation sushi techniques were invited to preserve the fish. Currently in Japan, there is a similar style of this fermented sushi that still exists, and it’s known as Nare-zushi. Nare-zushi is basically fish that has been fermented by wrapping it in fermenting sour rice so it gives off an acquired taste (On The Gas).

17th century-Matsumoto Yoshiichi (a medical doctor) discovered a style of sushi that was termed as haya-zushi. This style is simply adding rice vinegar to the cooked rice and shortened the fermentation time down to about 24 hours. By adding rice vinegar, it gives the fish more tender and flavor of the rice (On The Gas).

18th century-“Sushi we know today as Nigiri sushi came to be. Hanaya Tohei found the ‘Eddoko’ (people of Edo-Tokyo) were looking for something they could eat ‘on the go’ or as a quick meal and it was then that sushi became the world’s first fast food. The rice was salted and vinegared after cooking, and the fish was applied fresh. Sushi was made for the masses and served in outdoor kiosks all over Tokyo”
(On The Gas).


19th century-Hanaya Yohei discovery of Nigiri sushi conceived a major change in the production and presentation of his sushi. No longer wrapping the fish in rice, he placed a piece of fresh fish on top of an oblong shaped piece of seasoned rice. At that time, sushi was served from sushi stalls on the street and was meant to be a snack or quick bite to eat on the go. Served from his stall, this was not only the first of the real 'fast food' sushi, but quickly became wildly popular. This style of serving sushi rapidly spread throughout Japan, and aided by the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. After World War Two, the sushi stalls were shut down and moved indoors, to more sanitary conditions. More formal seating was later provided and sushi changed from 'fast food' to a true dining experience. Sushi spread around the globe, and with the advent of the promotion of seafood, this unusual style of serving fish was quickly adopted by the western cultures (Sushi FAQ).

Sushi was first served in the United States in the early 1900s following an influx of Japanese immigration after the Meiji Restoration. The first American sushi restaurants appeared in the early 1960s, most notably in major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and New York City. The California roll was invented in Los Angeles by substituting a slice of avocado for the seasonal toro (fatty tuna) in a traditional maki roll (Wikipedia).

As sushi evolve in different cultures, the preparation and ingredient still remain the same. For example, sushi rice for Americans are a little sweeter to meet the world-famous American sweet tooth. Sushi has changed in the same way that other cuisines are altered in the United States, but changes is not always bad. This evolved sushi has traveled back to Japan for traveling Americans and for the many Japanese who want to experience what has become foreign food. Even though sushi has been around for hundred of years, it is still evolving in many parts of the world today to meet everyone's expectation. Just thinking back to how sushi first started, and where it is now, also sets a high expectation to what future might hold. It started out having to wait several months and preserving the meat, to eating the rice with the fish is just crazy to think. Honestly I like the evolution, and I can't wait to see how sushi is going to be like in the future.

Websites Used:
http://www.sushifaq.com/basic-sushi-experience-information/the-history-of-sushi/
http://onthegas.org/food/the-sushi-evolution-how-sushi-evolved-over-time
http://sushinow.com/history.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sushi

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Tutorial, How To, and Ingredients

The three most common types of sushi
Sushi (Nigiri)-A slice of raw or cooked fish or shellfish pressed onto a mound of vinegared rice.


Sushi Rolls-May also known as “maki” is pretty much any types of roll. This can include rice on the outside or inside of the roll.
 


Sashimi- thick slices of raw or cooked fish without rice, and it is ready to be served anytime.
 


Ingredients needed
Fish, shellfish, or other toppings
Sushi rice
Roasted dried seaweed-(Thin layer)
Rice vinegar
Soy Sauce

Preparing
Since rice is important in making sushi, first thing you want to do is prepare the rice. Place about 3 cups of sushi rice in a rice cooker, and then rinse the rice repeatedly until the rice water is not cloudy. Then fill the rice pot with new water. Every brand of rice requires different amount of water due to the the richness of the grain. It is usually best to read the instructions on the rice bag stating how much water is needed to steam the rice for that specific brand.
After the rice is ready to be removed from the steamer, you want to add about 1/2 cup of rice vinegar onto the rice,  and let the rice soak in the vinegar for about 30 minutes. Once the rice is ready to be served, you can start making sushi rolls or regular sushi.
 


Tutorial on how to make a California roll
1.) You want to grab a handful of rice that is somewhat the size of your palm.
2.) You want to lay a seaweed on the on the table or on top of the bamboo pad.
3.) Spread the rice across the top of the seaweed first.
4.) Slowly drag the rice down from the top that you have just laid across, and spread it evenly throughout the seaweed
5.) Flip the seaweed over to the other side, so the rice is facing the table.
6.) Divide the crab meat in half, so you can put one on each side
7.) Add cucumber and avocado on top of that
8.) When you are ready to roll it up, you want to make sure to tug the side that you are cruel up underneath the stuff, so it is securely wrapped.
9.) Once the top is tug underneath the stuff, you may roll the roll up all the way.
10.) After you have confirm the roll is securely wrapped, use the bamboo pad to even it out, so it is round.
11.) Depending on how many slices you want, you have the cut the roll in half first so your final result would look evenly cut. After you cut the roll in half, if you want 6 slices, then you just have to make 3 more slices. If you want 8, you would want to cut the roll in half again, then another half, so you would have 4 pieces on each half, which will give you 8 pieces in total.
 


Making sushi 
1.) Cut out the raw or cooked fish you want on top of your rice. 
2) Grab a little bit of rice, and make an rectangle 
3.) When making a rectangle, you want to press it a few times making sure it’s secure.
4.) After you have tighten the rice a little, so it wouldn't break apart, make the top of the rice oval. The oval will make the rice look like a bridge, which when you lay the toppings on, it would look good.
5.) After the base is complete, you can lay the topping on, and securely press it again, making sure it will stay on.
6.) On some of the topping, you might have to use a thin slice of seaweed and wrap it around to secure it from falling over. It’s like wearing a belt.

Sashimi 
1.) Select the raw or cooked fish that you wanted.
2.) Cut out 3 slices, but make sure it’s at lease the size of 1/4 inches thick for each slice.
3.)You may want to cut the fish at an angle so it looks better.
Sometimes when something looks good, it will automatically change a person mood or judgement on how wonderful the stuff taste.



Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Top 10 Sushi Rolls for Beginners

Top 10 Sushi Rolls for beginners
            Have you ever wanted to try sushi, but don’t know where to begin? Well, first you need to understand that not all sushi are raw, and there are sushi rolls available for vegans as well. For example, there are cucumber rolls and avocado rolls. In this post, I have listed out the top 10 rolls in order that I would recommend trying as new beginners. I have also included descriptions on what the roll contains, so you are aware of what you’re eating. As you read each roll, you will also notice I mention the price of the roll as being cheap, average, and pricey. The price in the cheap category is around 3-5 dollars. Average is between 6-8 dollars. And anything above 10 dollars will be pricey. As you eat sushi, you will realize that sushi is expensive, but not all of them are expensive. It really depends on what you are eating.

1)     Volcano Roll

This will definitely be a roll worth to try because it has salmon, cream cheese, and crab meat. Now you might be thinking that salmon is raw, but after the roll is wrapped, they will deep-fry the whole roll.  This is a special roll, so it will be a little pricey. After the roll is done being fry, it will be covered in two special sauce, which is spicy mayo and eel sauce. 

2)     Shrimp Tempura Roll

This is just a basic roll. This roll contains breaded deep fry shrimp and cucumber, and it is also wrapped so the rice is on the outside. After the roll is cut, they will cover it in eel sauce or spicy mayo. The price to this roll is average. 

3)     California Roll

This is a very common roll. Everything in this roll is not raw. It has crab meat, cucumber, and avocado. This is worth a try because it cheap, and anyone will like it because it's so basic.

4)     Eel Roll
 http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/t/eel-roll-12177986.jpg

This roll is seaweed on the outside. It doesn’t contain anything else but eel. Now trust me, the eel is already cooked, so you don’t have to worry about eating it raw. This roll will also be covered in eel sauce. The price to this roll is average. 

5)     Philadelphia Roll

 I can say this is probably the second most commonly known roll as compared to California roll.  This roll contains smoked salmon, cream cheese, and avocado. Since it’s smoked salmon, which means the salmon is already cook. I am personally not a big fan of this roll, because of the smell smoked salmon provides, but I don’t mind eating it. The price to this roll is cheap. 

6)     Kani Roll

This roll just contains crab meat, and it is seaweed on the outside.  It is a good roll to try because the crab meat is cooked, and it gives off a sweet juicy taste. The price to this roll is also cheap. 

7)     Shrimp Cucumber Roll

This roll is rice on the outside. It has cooked shrimp and cucumber. When the chef prepares the shrimp, they squeeze lemon juice onto the shrimp after its cooked, which is why you will taste some lemon flavor.  The price to this roll is cheap. 

8)     Eel Cucumber Roll

I personally like this kind of roll because I am a big fan of eel. This roll contains just BBQ eel and cucumber. The rice is on the outside of this roll. After the roll is ready to be served, the chef will cover it in eel sauce, which gives the roll a better taste. The price to this roll is average. 

9)     Smoked Salmon Roll
 

This is a basic roll that just contains smoked salmon. Like I mention before, I am personally not a big fan of smoked salmon because of the smell it gives off, but it something worth to try as you are preparing yourself to the raw stuff. The price to this also cheap. 

10) Shrimp Avocado Roll

I would recommend this roll, but its definitely the roll you would try last, if you don’t like any of the rolls above. The reason being, it just has cooked shrimp with avocado. When it comes to sushi, I personally would like to try new things as I progressively move towards the raw stuff. This roll is rice on the outside, with no sauce on top of it. The price to this roll is cheap.