Life & Style | Food

Hands-on sushi

Le Royal Meridien, Abu Dhabi, teaches you how to make eatable works of art

  • By Pauline M. Forte, Features Writer
  • Published: 22:46 July 24, 2009
  • Unwind

  • Image Credit: Supplied Photo
  • Le Royal Meridien, Abu Dhabi, teaches you how to make eatable works of art.
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After stepping into Soba Restaurant at Le Royal Meridien in Abu Dhabi, I was quickly shown to my kitchen benchtop where an apron, a large sharp knife, a cutting board, a bamboo mat and seaweed sheets were set up for me, along with fresh ingredients — salmon, pickled ginger, rice and long strips of three vegetables.

Tracing the origins

I was ready to learn how to make sashimi, nigiri and maki sushi. Soba's chef Elvin Quintero taught the few of us taking part in the class about the history of sushi, which is originally from China.

When the Japanese travelled to China in the 14th century, they used vinegar to preserve rice and fresh fish, hence the literal meaning of sushi — “it's sour''.

By 1700, sushi had become a part of Japanese cuisine, Quintero said. He learnt the art of making sushi from a Japanese chef for four years in Manila, the Philippines.

Art on a platter

“Japanese food is like art and sushi is a form of art and teppanyaki (stir-fried meat and veggies cooked on a hot plate) is a form of show,'' Quintero said.

“There are many styles in Japanese cuisine and it's healthy,'' he added.

People interested in refining their sushi skills can attend one of the four classes offered every week at Soba throughout the summer (two on Saturday, one on Sunday and one on Monday). Each class lasts for two-and-a-half hours and costs Dh150.

After the history lesson, it was time to get our hands “dirty'' and learn the different steps of making nigiri sushi, or oval rice balls with fish on top (literally hand-formed sushi).

Before we began, we dipped our fingers in vinegar water. The chef explained that vinegar has acidic properties and acts as a natural disinfectant.

Vinegar also helps mould sushi rice — a short-grain variety of Japanese rice, which has high starch content. It is (very) sticky and has to be rinsed in cold water until the starch is gone.

Getting the basics

The first time I grabbed a small amount of rice, it stuck to my hand and I had to start all over again. Even the most basic step was not as easy as it seemed.

After shaping the rice into an oval ball, I placed it on the end of my fingers and added a slice of salmon on top, wrapping it around the rice.

Then I wrapped the sushi towards my palm — the whole process using only one hand — to continue the moulding process. I placed the sushi on the cutting board and stepped back to look at my work. I had made a fine-looking nigiri sushi (according to Quintero).

Next, the chef showed us how to make maki sushi (rolled sushi), which required a few more steps but added some excitement to the class. Indeed, sushi looks like an eatable work of art and it feels good to say “I made it''.

I placed a sheet of nori seaweed on the bamboo mat and spread rice evenly over the sheet. Once done, I turned the sheet over and placed a few of slices of radish, cucumber and carrot in the middle of the nori, before rolling it.

On a roll

That's when the chef's assistant helped me as it takes some practice to roll the bamboo mat —tight enough to keep everything together but not too hard to avoid crushing the sushi. I concur with chef Quintero. Making sushi is an art.

Then I rolled the maki in red caviar for decoration and placed a few small slices of salmon on top. The chef gave us a tip on how to prevent ingredients from sticking to the knife.

Before cutting, he dipped the tip of the knife in the vinegar water and let it drip down the blade.

I followed his instructions and cut both ends of the maki to make it look nice and cylindrical.

Finally I cut the roll into six pieces and put them in a takeaway box with wasabi and soy sauce.

I have to go home and get ready to host a sushi fiesta.

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