Chase Kojima

SOKYO, SYDNEY & KIYOMI, GOLD COAST

Which ingredients are you excited to be experimenting with right now?

Bluefin tuna, sea urchin and truffles. I have a sushi dish called Chase Toro Toro: I make toro sushi, put sea urchin and Australian truffles in it and serve it on crisp nori. My friend James Audas, a former sommelier for Noma, explained that it’s the best one bite you can have of one thing. It is. It’s craziness, it makes you want to swear.

Where does the name come from?

There’s a super chef in the US called Masa Takayama with a dish called Masa Toro Toro. It’s toro and caviar. You eat it with a spoon with some wasabi soy sauce. So I was like, Chase Toro Toro.

Tell us about the lamb chops with Vegemite miso sauce you’ll be demonstrating on the Gold Coast next month at the Gourmet Institute

It’s a very important dish to me, because that lamb dish got me the job at Sokyo, basically. I can’t take it off the menu.

Do you make your own miso?

I haven’t, but my dad does. It tastes like a Japanese-style hummus – you can just dip vegetables into it. I like to use stuff that’s made already. How can I make miso that’s better than miso made by people in Japan who’ve been making it for hundreds of years? Although, my dad’s is very good.

Is there a supplier you’re excited about?

If you walk into a grocery store in Japan, the tofu is so good. But in Australia, I don’t know, maybe they’re playing it safe. Chang Chi’s Aming Chang, which we use at Kiyomi, tastes good. I like that he’s making it fresh every day and he’s close by.

Sokyo, The Darling, The Star, 80 Pyrmont

St, Pyrmont, NSW, (02) 9657 9161, star.com.au; Kiyomi, The Star Gold

Coast, 1 Casino Dr, Broadbeach, Qld, (07) 5592 8130, thestargoldcoast.com.au Catch Chase Kojima on 6 June at Kiyomi as part of the 2018 Gourmet Institute. harveynorman.com.au/gourmet-institute