Utah Sushi Classes

 
 
Had a full class of 15 students at our sushi class at Thanksgiving Point.  We made a bunch of restaraunt rolls like the playboy roll, dragon roll, and vegas roll.  We plowed through 20 cups rice, 5 lbs of salmon, 5 lbs of tuna, and 40 shrimp tempura.  Very impressive.  
 
Party Results 03/15/2010
 
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We recently catered an event for a client that loves Japanese and Italian food.  I came up with some original creations and the results were a big hit.  The first was a Tender Loin Carpaccio on a crostini served with cilantro aioli, parmesan, yuzu juice (citron) and Kaiware (Daikon Sprouts).  

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Another twist on the classic "caprese".  Cherry tomato, fresh mozzarella, with Aojiso (Japanese Basil).  Instead of balsamic vinegar we used Japanese sushi rice vinegar, olive oil and fresh cracked pepper.  I call it the "Caprese Japonese"

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Prosciutto wrapped Japanese pear.


 
 
Some people love shopping for shoes, I love shopping for food and food gadgets.  Today, I went shopping for a party we're catering tomorrow.  I bought some imported Italian black truffles for some Lobster ravioli with black truffle butter cream sauce.  Prosciutto di Parma. to wrap around some fresh juicy Japanese pear.  I also bought a red stainless steel foamer that takes CO2 cartridges to make some whipping cream and Uni foam to put on top of sushi rolls.  Oh yeah baby!  I can't wait for tomorrow.  I'll be sure to post some photos of the event.  
 
 
Some of our latest creations for our new catering menu.  

*Shisho Salmon-Sliders Tempura fried Shiso Leaves with a generous dollop of spicy salmon, topped with negi (scallions), tobiko (flying fish caviar), drizzled with unagi tare (eel sauce).
*Escolar Spring rolls- Escolar wrapped in a thin spring roll wrapper with ginger, cilantro, and broken glass noodles, served with sweet chili garlic sauce.  
*Gyoza-Pork mixed with cabbage, onions, garlic, served with a sesame soy sauce.Some of our latest creations for our new catering menu.  

*Shisho Salmon-Sliders Tempura fried Shiso Leaves with a generous dollop of spicy salmon, topped with negi (scallions), tobiko (flying fish caviar), drizzled with unagi tare (eel sauce).
*Escolar Spring rolls- Escolar wrapped in a thin spring roll wrapper with ginger, cilantro, and broken glass noodles, served with sweet chili garlic sauce.  
*Gyoza-Pork mixed with cabbage, onions, garlic, served with a sesame soy sauce.
 
 
This Friday at 6:30 is our special sushi making party we're hosting through meetup.com.  Please keep in mind that you must register and rsvp through meetup in order to receive the discount.  This is sure to be an amazing event.  Come hungry!
 
 
There's a myth floating around that says that if fish is frozen, it's not fresh.  I haven't heard of any sushi bar in the United States that doesn't use some frozen fish.  I'm sure it does exist, but my point is that it's rare.  Especially if you're making sushi in Utah!  I had the opportunity to eat at Japanese Iron Chef Morimoto's restaurant in Philadelphia.  He has been a great inspiration for cutting edge Japanese cuisine and I just had to experience his food for myself.  For anyone that questions whether or not frozen fish is sushi worthy, just read Morimoto's book.  He explains how and why he uses some frozen fish at his restaurant.  If it's good enough for Morimoto, it's good enough for me.  
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Hot food menu 03/01/2010
 
We have a full menu of cooked food to go along with our sushi catering.  I will be posting the finished menu on the catering section of this site soon.  Some of the favorites are the Ginger miso chicken skewers, Buddha spring rolls with Japanese pumpkin, lotus root, and broken glass noodles, and the all time favorite deTempura ice cream.  
 
Utah Sushi scene 01/07/2010
 
Back in 1993 when I first moved up to Utah there where only a handful of Japanese restaurants and sushi bars.  Now it seems like sushi bars are popping up around here as quickly as Starbucks cafes.  Sushi is one of those foods that people are almost certain they won't like until they have their first bite.  Then it becomes like a drug addiction.   People always ask me if I still like to eat sushi after being a Sushi Chef.  I aways respond by saying "I love it more now than I when I first started eating it."  It's not only eating it, but it's the whole science and art of making it that keeps my passion for sushi alive and burning bright. 
 
 
Thanks to everyone for the awesome comments on the "Will it sushi?" blog.   Video producer Bryan Lee gave some great advice to improve the sound and quality of the video.  A friend of mine Connie suggested an Italian sushi.  I love Italian food and Japanese food.  Why not?  Sounds like a match made in heaven.  My mind is going crazy with ideas.  One of my main goals here is to interact with my audience.  I'm listening.  Keep those comments and suggestions coming.  Also, don't be afraid to make these recipes at home.  Remember,  making sushi should be fun.  If you have any questions send me an email and I will make every effort to answer every email personally. 
 
Will it sushi? 01/04/2010
 
We've all seen the video on youtube "will it blend?"  I'm doing a video blog called "Will it sushi?".  In this video blog I'm going to ask for audience participation in a journey to explore new ingredients and combinations to take sushi to a new level.  There are a lot of "sushi purists" that have a problem with this concept.  I have no problem with traditional sushi as I was raised eating traditional sushi since I was old enough to remember.  I was also schooled and trained to make traditional sushi.  After years of making the same kinds of sushi as all the other sushi bars around the world, I felt a deep need to expand my creativity and explore new possibilities.  I'm so excited to go on this journey with you.  I welcome your feed back, suggestions and comments.  Here's to a new year of avant-garde sushi.  See the Will it sushi? video blog portion of this site to view the latest episodes.