Japan

How often do sushi restaurants in Japan replace in the menu?

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Sushi chef & sake sommerlier Zoë Escher
Japanese sushi restaurants in Tokyo change the menu more often than in Europe.Often the menu will consist of 13-15 different seafood. Some fish such as salmon and scallops can be found year-round on the menu.

There will typically be 3-5 fish on the mennu that follow the season for fish. Some fish are caught in the spring when they are going to spawn, while other fish are to be caught in the summer. It depends on the species of fish.

A fish like tuna is also popular in Japan.
Often a sushi restaurant will have 3 different kinds of tuna on the menu. It will often be tuna of different qualities, one will be lean tuna, another will fat tuna and the more exclusive restaurants have a tuna on the menu, which is matured just like beef. Tuna can be matured for several weeks just like beef.

Some sushi restaurants have the fish of the day on the menu. There it is up to the sushi chef what can be bought of fish on the fishing market in the early morning hours.

In Japan, it is an exciting experience to go out and eat, since you do not always know what fish are on the menu.

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.

When will it be possible to travel to Japan?

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As one of the few countries in the world, Japan has been hardest hit by the shutdown in connection with Corona entered in 2020.
All types of visas were suspended and borders were closed to the whole world. They still are.

However, Japan has gradually begun to allow business travelers and students to travel into the country. They still need to be quarantined.

In the last 2 years, Japan had several shutdowns some regions such as Tokyo have been shut down on a regular basis due to the population density. Face mask are not unknown in Japan. In 2004 when I visited the country for the first time, I saw Japanese walking around with face mask.

Temperature measurement is also used in several places in Japan such as in hotels.

When Japan opens up to tourists is hard to tell. My guess will be autumn 2022 or spring 2023. It will definitely be a country where one has to have a negative test when traveling into the country. I can also imagine being tested on arrival at the airport.
There will most likely be quarantine rules of varying duration depending on how many vaccines one has received.

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.

What Scandinavian fish do the Japanese love?

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Yep, it’s good enough.
There is a fish species in Scandinavia which is imported to Japan. It is the fish that most people in Denmark like, namely salmon.

In Scandinavia, the selection of high quality salmon is very large freshly caught salmon from the Faroe Islands and Norway land daily in Denmark and wild salmon from Iceland on a regular basis.
The salmon is of such a good quality that Japanese fish importers have visited Scandinavia to take a closer look at the fish.

Salmon is a fish that is not found in the wild in Japan. It is a tropical climate in the latitudes where completely different fish species thrive and which are not available in Denmark.

The Scandinavian salmon is very popular in Japan and, found in the refrigerated counter at supermarkets throughout the country.

At the Sushi course for beginners, you learn how to make delicious and tasty sushi with the coveted Faroese salmon. Of course, it is not just any Faroese salmon it is the best in the world.

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 many squid do Japanese people eat in Tokyo?

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Japan is one of the countries where all seafood is extremely fresh. Seafood is also very fresh. It is rare that you can go into a European fish store and buy a fish that has just been caught 3 hours before.

In Japan, it is very normal to eat squid that is only a few hours old.

Squid is a kind of shellfish that must be extremely fresh otherwise it ca become gummy in consistency. In Japan, squid are eaten as much as salmon is eaten in Europe. It is freshly caught in abundant quantity.

Grilled squid as seen here in the picture is a popular way to eat squid. When grilled on low heat for several hours, it becomes completely buttery and full of flavor.

In Tokyo, there are food stalls that stand and grill freshly caught squid every day.

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.

What is Japanese Sea urchin?

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Japanese sea urchin also called uni in Japanese is a sea animal. It is round and has a lot of spikes, like a hedgehog.

Japanese sea urchins can be found on the menu of Japanese sushi restaurants in Japan and exclusive sushi restaurants in the US. It is a very fine and delicate taste.

In Europe, more and more people gets to know sea urchins, there are several European chefs who have traveled to Japan in recent years. The food experiences they have had in Japan have been taken to Europe. More and more restaurants in Denmark have got sea urchins on the menu.

In Denmark, sea urchins most often come from the Faroe Islands.

In Japan, many different kinds of sea urchins are found in the sea around Japan.

Sea urchins do not taste the same. The Japanese sea urchins are divided into what area of ​​Japan they come from and their quality. It is bit like prawns.

In Europe you can buy cheap prawns, where the quality is not so good. Then you have the Greenlandic, which have a much finer quality. Similarly, there will be a difference in sea urchins.

Read more about Sushi chef & sake sommelier

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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.

Do the Japanese eat spinach?

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Yes, the Japanese eat spinach. They eat many different vegetables in one day.
The Japanese eat several different vegetables every single day. They diet pyramid is very varied and healthy.

In Japan, there are 3 different kinds of spinach plants. They each have their very own unique taste and, they are used differently depending on the type of the dish in question.

Horenso spinach is very similar to the classic European spinach. It is healthy and full of different vitamins.

Komatsuna spinach is mustard spinach. Of course, it is also healthy and full of vitamins. Of course it tastes like mustard and, it is used in salads or in soups and stews.

Mizuna is a spinach that has a more peppery taste. It is also healthy with many vitamins. The peppery taste makes it suitable for soups and strong stews.

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.

What is the first thing Japanese people notice when they eat sushi?

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When a Japanese person orders sushi, they use other criteria to evaluate the food.

When it comes to sushi the Japanese’s favorite food is nigiri. The selection of fish in Japan is very large and it is very normal that you find 15 to 20 different fish on the menu.

What a Japanese person primarily looks for when eating sushi is whether the rice is cooked to perfection. The consistency of sushi rice should be soft but also firm. It should not be like porridge, but the rice grain should not be hard or raw inside either. It is a balance that is difficult to get.

If the rice is not cooked to perfection, I will affect the dining experience.  This is because quite a few ingredients are used for sushi. You use the best fish in the world, but if the rice is cooked to perfection the dining experience will fall apart.

In the Sushi course for beginners, you learn step-by-step how to cook sushi in a quality that is suitable for use in 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 soy sauce do exclusive sushi restaurants in Tokyo use?

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Exclusive Japanese sushi restaurants in Tokyo differ from other restaurants. In Europe many people use Michelin guide as a yardstick which is not the case in Japan.

In Japan, many exceptional restaurants never be published in the Michelin Guide. These gourmet sushi resturant use af different type and unique soy sauce.

The restaurant will often use a homemade soy sauce where the recipe is secret. It may be a soy sauce developed by the sushi chefs but it can also be a recipe that has been passed down through generations. It is different from restaurant to restaurant.

Read more about the Sushi course for beginners

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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.

Memory: Opening of Formland Spring in the exhibition center Herning in Denmark, 2016

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In 2016 I held the opening speech and opened the exhibition Formland Spring in the exhibition center Herning in Denmark. I was asked by exhibition center Herning if I was interested in making a speech where I talked about Japan.

I said yes of cause it is one my favorit topics.

I spoke about Japan, Japanese culture and design.

When I had declared the fair open Seido Taiko played Japanese drums.

At the opening, 49 from the press, 20 VIPs and 271 exhibitors attended.

Opening the fair and talking about Japan was a fantastic experience.

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.

Are Japanese sushi restaurant in Tokyo different?

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TokyoThere are many different types of restaurants in Tokyo.

The most exclusive sushi restaurants in Tokyo are very different compared to European restaurants.
The size of a Japanese sushi restaurant can be very small.  There are many Japanese restaurants that has only room for 6 – 15 people. There are several reasons for that.

Tokyo has 20 million citizens living in a very small geographic area. Besides the many people living in Tokyo there are also many restaurants, street food and shops. There is almost a restaurant on every street in Tokyo so the competition in the neighborhood is fierce.

There is also another factor which is that the Japanese do not compromise on the quality of food and service. Tokyo is the city of the world with the highest quality of food.

Every restaurant try their best to provide the best food and service. The competition between the restaurants are very fierce. In order for a restaurant to succeed the has to be good.

Please 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.

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