The Soul of Sushi
Meet three chefs from the region who have mastered the Japanese art of sushi making.
Learning to prepare Japanese cuisine is tough.
At Sukiyabashi Jiro – the subject of the 2011 cult documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi – apprentices train for close to a decade before being allowed to even stand at the counter where guests are served. Years of gruelling, repetitive training goes into each task behind the preparation of sushi. While the once three Michelin-starred – revoked for being too exclusive – Sukiyabashi Jiro might be an extreme example, it sets the tone for working in most high-end sushi restaurants – an ascetic environment fraught with rules, tradition and hierarchy.
Given the language and cultural barriers, it’s a wonder that there are nonJapanese sushi chefs at all – and there are many who have overcome such challenges in pursuit of a singular cuisine.
We speak to three such chefs about their experiences. Assistant head chef, Shinzo
Like most of his peers who started their culinary careers in the 90s, Kevin Ho entered the industry out of necessity. Now 46, he spent his first eight months as a waiter at Singapore’s first sushi restaurant Nogawa before being allowed to try his hands in the kitchen after an employee resigned.
As it turned out, Ho’s inability to speak Japanese was a non-issue as most of the chefs in the kitchen at Nogawa – barring the head chef himself – were Singaporeans or Malaysians. Instead of having to repetitively work on a single task, chefs were expected to have a grasp of every station, making it possible to learn almost all the basics in a matter of a few years.
There, Ho tells us, the head chef would test every chef’s craftsmanship. Nigiri sushi, for instance, would be lifted through the centre by a metal skewer, and passing would mean that the piece had held its form for at least a few seconds before falling apart, proving that the rice was packed to just the right tightness.
With decades of experience, Ho reveals that one of the hardest things to do in Japanese cuisine is also one of the first things sushi chefs learn: the maki roll. “You have to get the proportion of ingredients and rice right and roll them to a consistent thickness. And, because a Japanese knife is only sharpened on one side, you had to angle your blade to perform a straight, perpendicular cut. Chefs might be able to make one perfect roll, but to produce 20 identical rolls is extremely difficult.”
"You have to get the proportion of ingredients and rice right and roll them to a consistent thickness. Chefs might be able to make one perfect roll, but to produce 20..." KEVIN HO OF SHINZO ON THE MAKI ROLL, ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS TO MAKE IN JAPANESE CUISINE