(Fortune Small Business) — As a young boy growing up in Japan, Nobu Matsuhisa dreamed of becoming a sushi chef in a restaurant where he could create his own menu. It took more than 30 years of experimentation, failure and incompatible business partners to reach his goal, as he worked his way from dishwasher in Tokyo to co-owner of a small sushi establishment in Lima, Peru.
And on one snowy night in Anchorage, Matsuhisa literally watched his dream go up in flames.
Today, Matsuhisa and his business partners, who include actor Robert De Niro, operate 22 restaurants around the world. The newest launched in Dubai late last year. Mexico City, Moscow and Cape Town are slated for restaurant openings this spring.
Matsuhisa, who continually travels the world to check in on his restaurants, recently sat down with Fortune Small Business to share his story. Read More
Box sushi, or hako sushi, is sushi pressed into the shape of a box. Master Chef Andy Matsuda, founder of the Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles, shows us how to make both shrimp and salmon varieties of hako sushi.
You Will Need
2 medium shrimp
60 g salmon
280 g sushi rice
2 tbsp furikake
2 tbsp tobiko (fish eggs)
14 g ginger
1 cutting board
1 sharp knife
1 box sushi press
1 bowl of water
Step 1: Slice Shrimp
First, we will start with the shrimp by delicately cutting both shrimp so as to make each in a butterfly pattern.
Step 2: Place Shrimp
After first wetting your hands with water, place the cut shrimp in the bottom of the box form.
Step 3: Layer Fish Eggs With Rice
Evenly spread a spoonful or two of fish eggs, or tobiko, onto the placed shrimp in the center of the box. Next, wet your hands which will help mold the sushi rice. Take a palmful of the sushi rice and place it over the fish eggs, pressing it firmly around all edges of the box form. Now, spread another layer of fish eggs followed by a final layer of sushi rice.
Step 4: Press, Mold, and Cut
Take the top of the box form and slightly wet it. Place it on top of the box, pressing down firmly. Rotate the box form a few times as you do so as to evenly compact the form. Carefully remove the box lid, gently placing the newly molded box sushi on your cutting board. Cut the molded sushi into six equal sized pieces.
Step 5: Prep Tuna and Rice
Now it is time to make tuna hako sushi by first slicing four equally sized pieces of fresh tuna and placing them evenly on the bottom of the box sushi press. In the tuna version of hako sushi, the sushi rice is mixed a combination of sesame seeds and sea weed called furikake. So take five ounces of rice and thoroughly mix it with two tablespoons of furikake.
Step 6: Press, Mold, and Cut
Now press the rice and furikake into the sushi box form and cover. Rotate and press evenly as before with the shrimp, ending by again cutting into six equal pieces.
Step 7: Arrange & Serve
You’re almost ready to eat, but first you need to artfully arrange the shrimp and tuna hako sushi on your plate and add some ginger for a garnish. Sushi is just as much about looks as taste, after all. And voila! Time to eat and impress your friends.
Every cuisine has a specialty of its own that people across the world fantasize. There is always one specific dish that people around the globe are familiar to and also relish eating it. Similarly, in the entire Japanese cuisine, sushi is one such dish that we all are aware about and might have also tasted.
Sushi is a very delicious dish made from fish and thus people of not just Japan enjoy it but across the various countries also fancy it. The word sushi basically meant the vinegared rice which was usually placed below the fish for long term preservation. The sugar and the salt from the fish would simply melt down into the rice which was then discarded. But today, this rice along with the fish are used together to make this mouth watering dish of sushi. This authentic Japanese dish based on its taste and traditions are made in various ways which have their own distinct taste. Most people have the idea that sushi is a dish containing raw fish or raw seafood, but it is a dish that contains rice along with the cooked or the raw fish or seafood that are cooked and then dipped into the various types of sauces before eating.
Amongst the various types of sushi that are made, a few of the most common ways include, the traditional roll, reverse traditional roll, nagiri sushi, hand roll, sashimi, chirashi etc. Each of these various types of sushi, are cooked in a different and unique way. For instance, the traditional roll is cooked by taking about 2/3 of flattened sushi rice along with a sheet of nori which is filled further with cucumber and rolled up to be cut into 8 pieces. Thus, every type of sushi has a different way of cooking with different ingredients and style. However, the main idea of sushi remains the same and is maintained in all the types.
Cooking sushi at home is also a very simple task and can be learnt very easily. You don’t need to make too many preparations but instead, cook it many times so as to improve with every chance. Also, you need to know about a few things about each of the various types of sushi. But most primarily you need to be sure if you really like raw fish or seafood. There are various places where you can get sushi in London, which also provide the home delivery of sushi such as Yo sushi. So, if you want, you can enjoy sushi at home through yo sushi delivery.
