Where is it best to buy fish for sushi?

It is hard to say where it is best to buy fish for sushi. I will only buy fish at fishmongers in Copenhagen.

There are some basic things to look for in a fishmonger.

Fish for sushi should never be placed with other fish. Fish for sushi has a completely different quality than”ordinary” fish for cooking. To ensure that bacteria are not transferred between the 2 types of fish they must be kept separate.

Fish for sushi should be perfectly fresh. On the sushi course for beginners, I talk about what to look for if you want to make sure you leave the fishmonger with fresh fish.

Read more about the Sushi course for beginners

_
Zoë has held sushi courses and cooking classes for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

How long can sushi stay in the summer heat?

Sushi should not be in the sun very long time.

If you have bought take-away or made sushi at home then sushi should be kept in the fridge.

Normally, it is said that sushi must be taken out of the fridge 15 minutes before it is eaten so it has room temperature. If the food is too cold you will not fully benefit from the flavors.

When it’s as hot as it is at the moment I’ll first take sushi out of the fridge approx. 10 min before.

Bon appetite!

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

_
Zoë has held sushi courses and cooking classes for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

What Japanese raw material is in season right now?

In Japan, Japanese chefs prefer to use raw materials that are in season when they cook food. In Tokyo, Japanese dishes often contain ingredients that most people outside of Japan do not know like Chinese horse radish.

Chinese horse radish is a very popular raw material in Japanese cuisine.
In Tokyo, Chinese horse radish is used in various ways. Chinese horse radish is a raw material that is often pickled and eaten as a garnish. There are many restaurants that grate chinese horse radish and eat it as topping on various classic Japanese dishes.

In most Asian supermarket you can buy Chinese horse radish all year. Horse radish is a winter vegetable which is harvested during winter months.

Read more about Sushi chef & sake sommelier Zoë Escher

_
Zoë has held sushi courses and cooking classes for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Do the Japanese eat a lot of salmon?

Japanese people eat many different kinds of seafood.

You can find salmon on the menu at many sushi restaurants in Japan. However, in recent years I noticed a change. In 2004 and until 2016, the Japanese did not eat much salmon.

In 2017 when I was in Tokyo, I could immediately see that the Japanese had changed their view of the salmon. Some of the very popular fish such as tuna are endangered species.

Instead, the Japanese are very interested in salmon. Today, the Japanese eat a lot of salmon.

I know that Japanese fishmongers travel around Scandinavia to take look at salmon. The salmon from Scandinavia is known for its high quality.

At the Sushi course for beginners, you will learn what to look for in order to buy top quality fish for the least amount of money.

Read more about the Sushi course for beginners

_
Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

The reason why Sushi course for beginners becomes more exclusive

Times have changed in many different ways which benefits the customers.

There will be fewer attendances in the class maximum 9 people.
You will have more room to make sushi.
There will be more time to ask Sushi chef Zoë.

Last but not least the atmosphere will be cozier.

On the Beginner Sushi course you will learn step by step how to make tasty Japanese sushi which you can take with you when you leave the class.

You can read more about what else you will learn at Sushi course for beginners such as purchasing fish, handling raw materials and much more.

_
Zoë has held sushi courses and cooking classes for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Does it require a special knife if you want to learn how to make sushi?

In a sushi course for beginners, you will learn how to make delicious and tasty sushi that is suitable for a nice dinner at home.

In the class you will learn to apply Japanese cutting techniques at beginner level. To get the most success with the techniques required, you need to have a very sharp knife. The size of the knife or the brand is not crucial at that level.

If you want to make sushi that is suitable for a restaurant then you need to have a special knife and focus your skills.

You can read more about Sushi course for beginners

_
Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

What are Japanese sushi chefs take on fresh raw materials?

A Japanese sushi chef in Japan have a different view of raw materials.
If a fish is still alive or caught the same day when the restaurant collects raw materials from the supplier then the raw material is considered fresh.

In 2010, I visited the exclusive sushi restaurant Kyubey in Tokyo where I had a sushi dinner.

At one point the sushi chef came out into the sushi bar with a big shrimp sitting on a leaf on his hand and was looking.

He looked at me and asked, “Do you want it fresh or cooked?”
I thought “I can always get cooked shrimps in Denmark”. “I want it fresh,” I said.

2 seconds later the chefs broke the head of the shrimp and removed the skull and intestine. A few seconds later, the sushi chef made a nigiri. The shripm that lay on the nigiri was still moving it was the nerves that moved.

I looked with big eyes and thought “that might be fresh enough.”
I ate it and I have never eaten a nigiri with shrimp that tasted so good. It still had body temperature and it was so good.

Read more about Sushi chef & sake sommelier Zoë Escher

_
Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

How many attendants are there on your sushi course?


In the classes, that I hold there have always been fewer attendants compared to other culinary schools. This means that my students get more out of the course when there are not so many participants.

Including Covid-19, I have sharpened the number of attendance I will continue to do so regardless of how the infection developed in Denmark. There will be no more than 9-10 participants.

There are several benefits to

There will be plenty of space between the attendances
I have more time for the participants
The attendances also get to try more

You can read more about what you learn in the Sushi course for beginners

_
Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Tuna is just tuna

TunaIn 2012 I visited my Japanese sushi chef instructor Toshi in Los Angeles. I got some private lessons in his restaurant where he introduced to a nigiri technique that takes 20 years to master. 

One day one of his talented Japanese sushi chefs showed me 2 different kinds of tuna. Tuna is called  toro and the piece on the left side is matured up to 3 weeks before it is used for sushi.

Read more about Sushi chef & sake sommelier Zoë Escher

_
Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Gem

Can all types of seafood be used for sushi?

For that I have to say both Yes and No.

It depends a lot on how it is used in sushi.
You have to think that seafood has a completely different texture than fish. Most fish fillets are quite firm in the meat.

If you look entirely at seafood they remind you most about a bag of mixed candy. Seafood comes in many different sizes, tastes and texture. It is the raw material that is the hardest to use for sushi.

Some seafood used in sushi restaurants outside Europe are very difficult to prepare for sushi, it requires you as a sushi chef to use many different Japanese cooking techniques.

The consistency of seafood is also very different. Some shellfish have a very hard surface while others are very soft. In order for this type of raw material to become a gastronomic experience, you need to know which Japanese cooking techniques are best suited to it.

At the Sushi course for beginners the attendance learns to prepare the most sought after raw materials for sushi.

_
Zoë has held sushi courses and cooking classes for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.