Another Sushi 101, Another Success

 

Wasn't a terribly large class, but everyone really wanted to be there and had a lot of enthusiasm- something that doesn't happen often. Did have a bit of a messy time preparing things though, since the list of allergens I was given -no dairy, no gluten, no nuts- wiped out my default snack tray plan completely. But once I figured out sufficient substitutes and made sure to buy tamari instead of more standard soy sauce, it all came together quite nicely.

Not bad, right? Comfy!

The class was designed to be geared around basics. Fewer hard and fast "recipes", more techniques and principles that help the students make their own delicious food. I find that to be more effective than just handing people things to memorize and follow by rote- such techniques have their place, but copying makes it more difficult to understand how to apply the technique elsewhere.

For a starter, I taught them the fingertip method for rice after demonstrating a suitable rinse, and recommended a couple of rice cookers.

Sushi vinegar is a lot more than just vinegar, but mine isn't complicated.
This makes a batch large enough for a family dinner or two, and it keeps in the fridge for ages:
2 cups/500ml unseasoned rice vinegar, 1/4c / 65ml mirin, 1/2 cup/100g granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp coarse salt, and a 2"x2" piece of kombu.
Throw all that in a pot, bring to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes, and let it cool naturally. 

I also showed them all a nice easy snack in Kinpira Gobo, introducing them to an uncommon ingredient in a way that makes it familiar, delicious, and easy to handle. Julienne burdock root and carrots, saute in a hot pan with oil for a couple minutes, add sake, mirin, and tamari/soy, then cook it till it's dry. Hard to be much simpler than that.

Mostly I skipped the history lesson this time, but there were a great many questions about sourcing ingredients- particularly seafood, naturally, but also brands of soy sauce, mirin, even vinegar. (I inadvertently made a short primer on soy sauce just the other day- quite informative, if I do say so myself)

The student dynamic varies widely from one cooking class to another even if naught else changes, so an educator's ability to adjust to their audience on the fly is one of the more important qualities to have honed. My personal approach starts with things everyone should hear, even if they've heard them before- safety, cleanliness, communication, etc. How they react to that allows time to adjust the meat of the matter.

It's funny, though. As much as I harp on about not giving recipes, the one recipe I did design specifically for the class is also the one every single person goes completely gonzo for, and that I get the most gratitude for sharing.

A pound/500g of sliced mushrooms (shiitake preferred, but most any will do), 1c/240ml water, 1/2c / 120ml soy sauce/tamari, 1/2c / 120ml mirin, 2Tbsp sugar, a hand's worth of ginger, and spice. Combine in a lidded pot and (again) gently cook till all but dry.  

I rather like them in chawan-mushi myself, but the beauty is in their flexibility. Simple and excellent alone, or as a component of vegetarian sushi, stir fry, soup, or whatever you might deign to do with them. Understanding the principles behind the construction is what allows you to get more broad-spectrum use out of even somewhat niche preparations.

Sushi 101 @ KOF- Afterthoughts

    I was offered an opportunity to do one of my personally designed classes at a cooking school called Kitchen On Fire in Berkeley- they were in need of people who can do Asia, and that's kind of my thing.

    Strangely enough, starting with them came via a charming retro cold-call. Or cold-email, as the case may be. I gave them my name, my pedigree as an instructor, and gave the name of one of their most reputable guest instructors as a reference, a delightful woman named Maria, of Maria Teresa's Kitchen. Not at all a stretch to do so either- she'd been a guest instructor at my previous cooking school many times, and we always worked quite smoothly together. Ten minutes after I sent the email, I got a phone call with an eager offer. Pleasant!

    Fast forward several months and my shadowing a class or two, to last night's sushi seminar. Fourteen people is a bit more than ideal for this particular class, which led to it feeling rather jumbled to me. I was apparently the only one that thought so, though. Everyone had naught but good things to say, even my assistant and the dishwasher!

    I did spend a fair bit of time talking at first, which is inevitable. The goal of the class was not just to get everyone to practice what I was showing, but to ensure that they understood the principles behind the techniques. Mimicry only gets a person so far, after all.

    First comes the briefest of sushi history lessons, and the slow evolution of the concept into what we know it as today. After which I hit them with the essential terminology, some interesting trivia, and then we take a break to get into some technique. Knife skills practice yielded a rustic but classic side dish, Kinpira Gobo, as well as some delicately julienned cucumber for the evening's kappa-maki. Some other vegetarian sushi options included crispy roasted sweet potatoes, green onions, and my specialty shiitake braised in shoyu and mirin with ginger.

    Next, the fish. Tuna and salmon were the easy choices, since I'd been sandbagged with an attendee possessed of a shellfish allergy. A quick lesson on butchery, brine-freezing, and a few other tidbits kept them interested while I cut the fish. Regrettably I hadn't brought my knives, trusting the in-house tools. Mistake. I have not shanked a piece of fish quite that badly in several years. I had to skin the salmon with the heel of my hand- a tricky technique I learned in New England from one of the other cooks at a restaurant I worked in during my Johnson & Wales years.

Last, demos. Chumaki, Hosomaki, Temaki, and Nigiri. And then I turned them loose to practice and eat their fill.

    While perhaps a little rough getting going, everyone was pleasant to one another, lots of useful tidbits were exchanged, lots of different ingredient combinations showed up, and everyone came away with smiles, full stomachs, and better understanding. 

Ultimately, that's worth the price of admission and then some.