Japanese food

Is there a difference between soy sauce?

by

Yes there is a very big difference between soy sauce.

In Japan, soy sauce is used as a spice it is a way of seasoning the dish food and give it the final finish.

In Japan, soy sauce is not just soy sauce. There are as many different kinds soy sauce just as many as the cheese shelf in an European supermarket. When the Japanese select a soy sauce they first look at the following,

Which dish should the soy sauce be used?
What other spices are used to taste the dish?
How powerful or mild is the dish?

This is because the Japanese want to use a soy sauce that highlights the right qualities without being dominant. It also means that it does matter which soy sauce is used for sushi.

At Sushi course for beginners I talk more about which Japanese soy sauce best suits 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.

Where is it best to buy fish for sushi?

by

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.

What Japanese raw material is in season right now?

by

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.

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

by

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.

How strict are Japanese sushi chefs in their handling of food?

by

Japanese sushi chefs are stricter when it comes to handling raw materials to sushi.

There are several reasons for this.

Japanese sushi chefs have a completely different view of sushi and, the ingredients used for sushi. Sushi is a dish that you do not fry or cook as we know from dishes such as lasagna.

Sushi is a dish that is cooked as little as possible, which means that it places greater demands on the way in which food is prepared. This applies right from the purchase of fish and vegetables, storage, freezing, preparation of raw materials and preparing the food.

Japanese sushi chefs have a more in-depth knowledge of the different fish species for sushi because it takes longer to be trained for sushi.

At Sushi course for beginners you will learn how to handle raw materials and make sushi like Japanese sushi chefs in Japan.

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.

Is there a difference in the quality of sushi in Japan?

by

Yes, there is a difference in quality in Japan. As in Denmark, the quality of sushi differs but the range is much bigger.

At the lowest level, you will find Running sushi, which most people outside of Japan have heard of. In Japan, most of the students eat at running sushi.

In Japan, there are several levels of gastronomy. Most people in Denmark consider three star Michelin restaurants as the highest. In Japan, the level is also very high but there is a level above Michelin restaurants. Yes, you heard right!

This is because there are restaurants that the Michelin Guide has not discovered.

There are also restaurants that are so popular that they are removed from the guide.
There are restaurants that are so in demand that they are unable to accommodate the many guests.

There are also chefs who are so high in age that they have chosen to slow down and only cook for their regular’s guests. The type of restaurants tourists rarely hear about.

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.

Can brown rice be used for sushi?

by

Brown rice can be used for sushi.

In the US there are restaurants that specialize in making sushi with brown rice. In 2006, I once made brown rice sushi it was during the training for Japanese sushi chef in Los Angeles.

Sushi with brown rice has a nice taste.

However, I think there are a little too many challenges when cooking brown rice to start making sushi with brown rice.

As most people know sushi rice is already hard to cook to perfection. Sushi ris should be soft but firm. It is a texture that is hard to get right.

Brown rice is even harder to cook to perfection since the pre-cooked rice will never have the consistency the same as white 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, Accenture audit Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Why is it difficult to cook sushi rice?

by

There are several reasons why it is difficult to cook sushi ris. You use less water compare to “normal” rice which means that it only that it takes very little to get them wrong.
The perfect sushi rice is solid but at the same time soft. It very diffcult to cook perfect sushi rice.

Another factor that has a major influence on cooking sushi rice is the weather. If it rains, snow or a hot summer day it will affect the process of cooking of sushi rice.

It means that you might have to change the way you cook the rice every time.

Read more about the class Sushi course for beginners

_
Zoë har holdt foredrag og afholdt sushikurser for A.P. Møller – Mærsk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis,Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup og mange flere.

How often do the Japanese eat cabbage?

by

Most people believe that sushi is one of the most important dishes in Japanese cuisine. The Japanese love sushi, but sushi makes up less than 15% of Japanese cuisine. That’s because Japanese cuisine has so many tasty dishes and unique styles to offer.

One of the ingredients that the Japanese eat almost every day is cabbage. In Japan, cabbage is not just cabbage.

There are several different types of cabbage and different kinds of kale. Some varieties of cabbage and kale are eaten raw and others are best suited for squeezing juice.

There are also the varieties of kale that are prepared in different ways e.g. for a soup.

Common to all of them is that cabbage and kale is prepared in a delicate way so it is a gastronomic experience to eat cabbage and kale several times a week without it getting boring.

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.

Will fresh fish still arrive in Denmark even though the borders are closed?

by

Yep, it does.

Although the government has closed down for people to travel in and out of Denmark this does not apply to food.

There are many supermarkets that have ordered extra goods so their stock is full of goods. Special stores such as fishmongers still get fresh seafood delivered several times a week from abroad.

It ranges from tuna in Japan to salmon from the Faroe Islands. However, the fishmongers may well find that the amount of tuna entering Denmark is less than it usually. This is not because the quantity of goods from the producers has decreased.

There are some food suppliers in Denmark who order fewer products from abroad at the moment. This is because the restaurant industry has been shut down for a period of time.

However, the most sought after items such as fresh salmon, marinated herring and other Scandinavian seafood will be found at the fishmongers.

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.