SEAWEED, BONITO, DRIED MUSHROOMS AND WASABI STEM

400 years—depending on how you break it down, that’s four centuries or 40 decades, which is definitely a long time to perfect wasabi cultivation. Not content to settle for second best, Sushi Kazu seeks out the said wasabi specialist in Shizuoka and grates the ground rhizome with shark’s skin so as not to spoil its texture. Equally precious is the katsuobushi bonito which, to the untrained eye, might be mistaken for a block of wood. When chef Kazu shaves the bonito block with carpenter-like precision, an umami aroma wafts through the air. Akin to truffles, dried bonito is most intense when shaved à la minute.