That’s why seaweed is the most important vegetable in Japan!

Sushi chef & sake sommerlier Zoë Escher
Most people associate seaweed with Japan.
Over the last many decades, more and more people have opened their eyes to sushi seaweed which contain many vitamins and minerals. Sushi is a popular food enjoyed by both children and adults.

The country of Japan consists of a main island and hundreds of small islands. It is a country which is a bit isolated from the rest of the world and which is surrounded by water.
Japan is a fishing country a country that taught the Japanese thousands of years ago to appreciate seafood but also seaweed.

Seaweed was the direct and fastest source of vitamins and minerals.
In today’s Japan, not only sushi is eaten. In Japanese cuisine, many different kinds of seaweed are used. Which seaweed is used depends on the dish in question.

Seaweed is one of the most important vegetables in Japanese cuisine.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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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 the Japanese’s favorite healthy fast food?


The Japanese cuisine consist of many healthy fast food.

In Europe there are several different types of fast foods that are not so healthy such as pizza and shawarma. These dishes are often are eaten on a busy day.

In Japan, there are several types of fast food that are suits a busy workday, dishes that can be eaten in a short time. These dishes are perfect for days with a lot of work. In Japan, a buzy work day is on average of 10-15 hours.

The Japanese are the population in the world that eats most noodles. The noodle soups are made in many different ways, some soups are made with fish, pork or chicken stock. In the big cities such as Tokyo each noodle bar has their very own recipse. In Japan, each region has their unique ingredients and raw materials, which are used to make tasty noodle soup.

In Japan, noodle soups are eaten all year round. Yes, even on a hot summer days. In Europe, noodle soups are most often eaten in the autumn, winter and spring.

On the noodle soup course for beginners, you will learn step by step how to make 2 very different unique and tasty Japanese noodle soups.

Read more about Noodle Soup course for beginners

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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.

When do the Japanese prefer to eat a bowl of hot noodle soup?

Noodle soup
In Japan, a bowl of hot noodle soup is eaten all year round. Yes, even on hot summer days.
In Japan there is a large selection of noodle soups, each region and each noodle bar has their very own version. Some soups are made on chicken stock, while others are made on pork or fish.

Noodle soup is a healthy fast food that is eaten on all days of the week in Japan. It is a dish that fits into the hectic and busy life that many Japanese live. Many Japanese work an average of 10-15 hours a day.

In Europe so far, many people prefer to eat noodle soups in the autumn / spring and in the winter. In Europe, noodle soups are also eaten on slightly cloudy days.

Read about Noodle soup course for beginners

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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.

When do Japanese children learn to eat fish?


Japanese children are being bottled up with fish. It’s quite literal.
In Denmark, Danish children learn to eat moss and oatmeal at an early age. Healthy and nutritious food. Most people eat oatmeal to some extent for the rest of their lives.

In Japan, children also learn to eat a kind of porridge. The Japanese porridge differs in that fish is added. No, it is not fish pieces that are immediately the first thought. The porridge is supplemented with fish stock, a fish stock that both tastes and smells of fish. In this way, the children learn to eat fish quietly.

When the Japanese children are a little older, it will often be salmon that they prefer. The older they get and their taste buds develop, the more fish they learn to eat with great pleasure.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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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 long can soy sauce last?


Soy sauce is fermented soybeans.

In Japan, there are as many different types of soy sauce as there is cheese in a Danish supermarket.
Yep, that’s true.

There are different types of soy sauces for the many styles in Japanese cuisine. For sushi, a specific Japanese soy sauce is used, a soy sauce that is not used for Japanese noodle soups.

Of course, all bottles have a recommended expiration date for when soy sauce expires. Soy sauce is fermented soy beans, which has a very long shelf life. Soy sauce can of course last after the expiration date. You can always taste it if in doubt.

I store soy sauce outside the fridge too even though the bottle is open, I have always done that. So do Japanese sushi restaurants in Tokyo.

In the Sushi course for beginners, I talk more about which soy sauce is best suited for sushi.

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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 type of noodle soup do the Japanese prefer to eat?

In Japan, there are many different types of noodle soups.
There is the classic tasty ramen soup that most people know and there are other types of noodle soups such as udon and soba.

In Japan, ramen noodle soup are very popular on a busy weekday. In the larger cities such as Tokyo, there are noodle soup bars on pretty much every street corner. Small dining places with delicious ramen soup which has been passed down from generation to generation.
Ramen soup in Japan is a broad concept. Some ramen soup is made on fish stock, while others are made on chicken and pork.

It is different from noodle bar to noodle bar what is used of ingredients. Fish, shellfish, meat and eggs are classic ingredients with proteins and local Japanese vegetables are used which are in season.

In the Noodle Soup course for beginners, you will learn how to make tasty classic noodle soups as they are served in Japan.

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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 to get the best avocados!

I love mature avocados, but they should not be so mature that they have also turned brown.

It can be difficult to pick ripe avocados. There are several reasons for this.

Some avocados appear soft on the outside but are rock hard on the inside. This typically happens when the avocados are pressed.

Most green avocados that come to Europe are of an avocado variety that is not mature until they have changed color to be dark brown.

The best way to ensure that you get good avocados in the shopping cart is to go for avocados that are wrapped. These are avocados that are packed in such a way that they do not get very many marks.

It is best to buy avocados a few days before they are to be used. Avocados benefit from lying on the kitchen table or near the window for a few days and ripening.

Read more about Sushi Chef & Sake Sommelier Zoë Escher

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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.

In Japan, which fish is most popular for sushi?

The most sought after fish for sushi in Japan is tuna. Japan is the country in the world that eats the most tuna.

The largest fish market Tsukiji is located in Tokyo. Every day, large quantities of seafood are sold in the morning. Many sushi restaurants go directly to the Tsukiji fish market in the early morning hours to pick up fish for the restaurant.

Many sushi restaurants know in advance which fish they should have at the fish market. It happens regularly that they come home with other fish than what was on the shopping list. Their regular fish supplier can surprise with new and exciting fish that they did not anticipated.

The tuna is the big attraction at Tsukiji fish market.

Every day, large quantities of tuna land in different age groups. The quality of the fish is assessed by tuna buyers. Sushi restaurants will, on their advice, purchase the best tuna for just their particular restaurant.

At Sushi course for beginners, of course, tuna of the best quality from Japan is used.

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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.

Which fish is most popular in the summer in Japan?


In Japan, the Japanese prefer to eat fish while in season.
Most sushi restaurants in Japan regularly replace their menus with seasonal fish.

One of the fish that has a special meaning is eel. It is a fatty fish, which in Japan is considered an exclusive fish. It is most often enjoyed in the summer.
In Japan there are 2 different kinds of eel freshwater eels and saltwater eels. As a guest, you do not notice the difference. As a chef, the 2 different eels allow you to cook them in different ways.

In Japan, you will find eels on the menu at sushi restaurants and in classic Japanese restaurants. In sushi restaurants, eels are eaten in a way that in the traditional Japanese restaurants are prepared and eaten in several different ways.

In Denmark, eel is not widespread in the same way as in Japan. Most people enjoy smoked eel on a good piece of rye bread.

At the Sushi course for beginners, you will learn how to make delicious and tasty sushi the most popular fish.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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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.

Where is it best to buy sushi knives?

It is best to buy sushi knives in Japan.

A sushi knife is not just a sushi knife. There are many things to keep in mind when buying a sushi knife.

In Japan, there are many different Japanese sushi knives of different sizes.
In Japan, sushi knives are made in different types of steel, some knife blades are easy to maintain and others are more challenging.

Some Japanese sushi knives are made of cheap steel, while others are made of exclusive steel, which has a long shelf life.

The shaft of the knife is also different. On traditional Japanese sushi knives, the handle is made of wood. In Japan you can buy sushi knives where the shaft is made of cheap wood, but you can also buy knives where the wood is exclusive. The actual design of the shaft also varies.

The weight of sushi knives is different. Some knives are light while others are heavy.

In Denmark, the selection of sushi knives is very small. In fact, it is far too small. The knives I use all come for Japan. If I need a new Japanese knife, then I will only buy it in Japan.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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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.