Saturday, May 10, 2008

Sushi Art - The True Art of Japanese Cuisine

Prosperity can be nothing, if one cannot enjoy the luxury of good food. Fortunate for me to have lived in the heart of the isles of Northern Malaysia - Penang, where food is the main attraction.

Why is it so? The reason behind this is because Penang comprises mainly of Chinese community. As what it has been practiced among the chinese, even in the earliest civilisation of ancient Chinese Empire, the standard of food has always been a sign of wealth and status, apart from serving its basic purpose of satisfying one's hunger. It's always food that brings the chinese community together. There is always a reason to celebrate and to feast.

The Japanese Sushi madness hit South-East Asia years ago, promoting fresh, raw and health food to every single corner of Malaysia where chinese populations are the majority. Paying the bills for ths luxurious meal is simply pain-staking. But how to avoid paying this much? There is only if the consumers know how to prepare these sushis from scratch. No short cuts and pain in the ass.

My love for sushi led me to work as a sushi chef when I was studying in Leeds. Due to the improper teachings from the restaurant that i used to work in, my sushi making skills has shown no improvement. I really admire those who have tremendous skills in sushi making, not because they can perform this well in front of the customers, but rather the ability of calming themselves and avoiding mistakes. It requires continual practice whether you are rolling the sushi, hand-molding the nigiris or slicing pieces of raw fish meat. Patience and total focus will be the main ingredients to achieve this.

I must admit that i am not as good as what i have expected myself to do. But I am going to show the following clip, which will lead us to the highlight of this entry.



Look at how fast and how skillful for him to hand-mold the nigiris. There are 4 different methods to do it. Can you notice the difference?

Samurai Spirit oftens demonstrated on the samurai sword. Observe how he positioned sliced the futomaki. True Samurai Spirit!

Can you imagine how he came out the picture on the sushi that he was making?

I was puzzled when i saw different images from each slice of the futomaki. Look closely, he only did a roll of futomaki and it came with various designs! Simply remarkable!

Japanese food for dinner tonight, shall we?

To end this entry:

"Learn the Art. Feel the Passion. Love the Food."

"Hai. Itadakimasu!!!"

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