How to taste sushi - this is not as stupid as it sounds !

How to taste sushi? "Just put it in your mouth !" most of you think.
Easy right?

Well, there is a difference between simply eating sushi and knowing how to enjoy it properly.

As I said in my previous post, sushi is an art. Japanese people are dead serious about it. When they eat bad sushi, they feel the same way a French person reacts when they taste a "pain au chocolat" made with margarine:
"Yuk".

So today I am going to try to give you a few tips so that you are sure to know how to recognize what makes good sushi.

1. Try the tamago yaki (a slightly sweet omelet).

This is a simple and pretty radical way to know how the rest of your meal is going to be when entering a sushi restaurant. In Japan this simple sushi is considered one of the most delicate ones and it requires great skill to be perfected. If it is soggy and too sweet, either run out of the restaurant or be prepared to even more disapointed by the rest of the meal.


2. The second easiest way to know if you are facing a good Itamae is to focus on the rice: 

How does it taste? How does it feel? The rice should not be too soft nor too firm, and the balance of seasonings should be just right. If it’s too sweet or tastes of vinegar, you are screwed. Sometimes the simplest things are the most difficult to cook.
Rice the very foundation of sushi (by the way sushi litteraly means rice in Japanese), so you should be sure to watch out for it when eating out at a Japanese place.

3. Sushi is like wine: it is about balance. 

Inspect your nigiri-sushi (not the maki roll, the one with a little clump of rice and fish over it). In a quality establishment, you shoul not find huge hunks of fish on top of three grains of rice. Although this might seem like good value for money, it will destroy the proper balance of the meal. Japanese food is about discipline and craft, it is not about supersizing your food. For that there is McDonald's. 


4. Look for fresh wasabi. 

You know that green mustard? If you are lucky what you have in your plate is just plain horseradish with food coloring. If you're unlucky... who knows. 
Real wasabi - the fresh sort - is immensly rare. If your restaurant is a real deal, you should have a waiter come and grate you a little bit of the wasabi rhizome in your plate. I know it doesn't sound very appetizing when I say it like that but trust me, the taste is entirely different. Not nearly as harsh and strong, it almost has a nutty flavor. It's like comparing real parmesan and the canned thing you buy at your supermarket. It's just not the sae product. 


5. Look for interesting seasonal items. 


This is not really necessary but it may indicate that the sushi chef pays extra attention to the particulars of the foods he offers, and seeks out something when it is available and fresh. It will mean your food has not be stuck in a freezer for the past 6 months. 




These 5 little tips should help you out to know if the restaurant you are eating at is a true Japanese establishement.
Of course, I don't expect these requirements to be met in all the restaurants I go to but for the ones that I anticipate to be good, I make sure to look out for them.
But what a joy when I find the real gem that complies with all these elements!

What to do with Kumquats? My chicken run # 2

I have Kumquats in my fridge.

A lot. I went on a little kumquat frenzy at my local market last week end.

But the trouble with kumquats is that you can never really figure out what to do with them.

Sure, they are tiny and adorable, but that won't help me to feed my hungry belly tonight.

So, I went through an extensive search in my cookbooks and magazines and finally fell on a charming little recipe that I only subtly transformed.

I used chicken instead of duck. I know. Daring.

This way, not only did I finally get rid of my cute little kumquats but I also managed to post another recipe for my chicken-run. (see my first chicken run recipe)

I'm pretty happy with myself right know ;-)

So here we go, a delicious recipe directly inspired from one of my lovely cookbooks.

Asian style Chicken with Kumquats

Ingredients for 2

2 cups of kumquats, seeded and chopped into slices

1 Tbs of brown sugar (or honey works too)

300g of chicken breasts, cut into 2 inches strips

Cooking sauce

2 Tbs of Hoisin sauce

1 Tbs of oyster sauce (or regular spring roll sauce)

1 Tbs of cornstarch

2 Tbs of Chinese 5 spice

Chili oil (or sesame oil)

1 Tbs of gresh ginger grated (or more if you like)

Half a cup of chicken broth

1 Tbs of rice wine vinegar

The way to go:

1. Combine the chicken, kumquats, sugar (or honey) and 5 spices in a jar and let sit for 20 minutes.

2. Combine the sauce elements.

3. In a wok, add chili oil an grated ginger when the pan is hot. Stir frequently on medium heat for 1 minute.

4. Add the chicken cook for a few minutes until golden brown.

5. Add the sauce, kumquats and stir until it thickens.

7. Add vinegar and scrape the pan to get all the juice of the meat. Add the chicken broth. Turn down the heat, cover pan and cook until the kumquats are soft.

You can serve this as I did with white rice. I usually add a few drops of rice vinegar to give a little twist.

Honestly this dish was easy and quick to put together. The kumquats give it a little bitter taste that is nicely counterbalanced by the sugar and Hoisin sauce but also the spicy ginger.

It's a dish I could really for a dinner party.

In that case, the best wine pairing would probably be either:

- a young Sauternes wine (hense the bottle of Cyprès de Climens, the second wine of the famous Château Climens in the background...) = nose of fruit and flowers (orange, nectarine, mango, apricot) and a little vanilla. Very round mouth, great balance and fresh fruits like oranges.

- or an Alsace region Gewurztraminer = nose of rose, exotic fruits like litchi and orange zests ; Powerful mouth, fruity with ginger and sometimes a little orangy tanginess.

Chinese Sushi

I’m a big fan of sushis.

I love their scrumptious texture, the oily sensation they distil on your tongue, their melt-in-the mouth quality.

That’s when they are good of course. And fresh. Which is scarcely the case.

I don’t know if this is so in the US or England – I’m sure it’s not in Japan – but in France, or in Paris at least, Sushi restaurant are more often than not managed by Chinese people.

I discovered this a few years ago, when I was having lunch at a little sushi place and I heard the sushichef speaking Cantonese to one of his waiters.

Oh, and they had ha-kao on the menu. And spring rolls.

I know. I’m quite sagacious aren’t I ?