How big is the selection of Japanese green tea?

In Japan the selection of Japanese green tea is very large.
In Denmark there are more and more people who drinks Matcha tea. Matcha tea has gain a lot of attention due the health benefits you get from drinking the tea.

Japan produces annually approx. 85 tons of tea of which 99.9% is green tea. The most popular brands of green tea tea are Bancha, Genmaicha, Gyokuro, Hojicha, Kabusecha, Kukicha, Matcha Sencha and Shicha.

Within these types of green tea you can buy tea of different qualities in Japan which all have their own unique flavors and taste.

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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 prefers does Japanese prefer to drink for their sushi meal?

It depends a little on whether they eat sushi on a weekday or an evening at the weekend.

As a starting point, the Japanese prefer to drink an ice-cold classic beer with their sushi. The Japanese are a beer people and they value a good beer for the food. However, it is also Japanese who prefers a cup of green tea for the food.

On weekends where the Japanese are free and have more time to sit and eat a meal for several hours. There, the Japanese will also tend to drink sake for sushi.

In Japan, the range of sake is at least as large as the selection of wines in a European supermarket. Therefore, a sushi restaurant will serve sake within various price levels which are closely aligned to the menu that is served.

Read more about 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.

How often do you develop new dishes?

Like many other chefs I also continually develop new dishes.

Where I get inspiration is very different. It may be the season or a specific raw material that goes on and will inspire a new right.

Very basic when I develop new dishes they must be delicious, tasty and a bliss for the eyes. But I do also have my own Japanese sushi style.

Read more about Sushi chef & sake sommelier Zoë Escher

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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.

What was your impression when you first tasted sushi in Tokyo?

In 2004, I traveled to Tokyo for the first time on a training session. My Japanese kendo teacher Hirakawa sensei had arranged that I was going to practise in Tokyo’s best kendo club.

As it was my first trip to Japan, I was told that I was going to take the bus from Narita Airport to the Sunshine Hotel in Tokyo where I would be picked up by 2 members from the Kendo Club Yushinkan Dojo.

When I arrived at the hotel we walked directly into the hotel to have lunch at one of the hotel’s many restaurants. In the restaurant I was served sushi and it was my first meeting with Japanese sushi.
I clearly remember the experience. The quality was different and the sushi pieces tasted more fish than what I had experienced in Denmark.
I was also surprised at how many different kind of seafood are used for sushi.

That it would later go to be my way of life I did not really think so at that time.

You can read more about 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.

What kind of fish do the Japanese prefer?

The Japanese have a slightly different view of sushi.

In Japan it is believed that all types of high quality fish can be used for sushi. This means that most sushi restaurants have 15-20 different fish on the menu. With such a large selection the Japanese prefer to eat nigiri.

But before a fish enters a sushi bar the quality of the fish has to meet the specific criteria.

On the class Sushi for beginners you will hear the quality of the fish is decided.

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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.

How do you use tofu in the Japanese cuisine?

RamenIn Japan soya products such as tofu, soya sauce and miso is eaten in large amounts. It is a healthy source of protein.
If you take the product tofu.The selection of tofu in Japan is very high. You can get many different types of tofu at different price ranges and qualities.

In Japan you can get several type of tofu where the consistency is very different some types are soft while others are firm. To determine which tofu buy you have think of the dish you are making since some tofu are suitable to fried on a pan.

There are more and more Japanese household who makes their own tofu. It is cheaper you also have a freshly made tofu.

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Zoë gives lectures and has 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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Gem

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Are there any advantages to using Japanese ingredients?

Without a doubt yes.
Ingredients have different flavors and taste according to the world they come from. The fewest are aware that Japan, Korea and China produce seaweed to sushi.

Here I think the variety used to produce the tang, the taste and the quality. The same applies when it comes to pickled ginger, soy sauce and vinegar.

Sushi is a nice and delicate eating so it is worth paying to buy ingredients that emphasize the fine shades of the food without dodging or dominating.

Read more about 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.

How often are raw jellyfish eaten in Japan?

More often than most people know.

At Japanese restaurants, you don’t place a freshly caught squid on the plate and send it directly to the guests. You would never do that.

A raw squid that often comes from China is “prepared” with the same care as any other raw material. Very few people discover that they have eaten squid. It took me 10 years to discover that.

For several years I had noticed that I was served something indefinable on a regular basis. It tastes fine and repared in a delicate way so I could not figure out what it was. In Denmark we do not have waterman on the menu.

One evening when I was dinning in Tokyo a Japanese friend told me that it was a jellyfish that I was eating.

Read more about Sushi Sushi Chef & Sake Sommelier Zoë Escher

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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.

Which vegetable is really good for sushi?

Farmers markets

There are several different vegetables that are suitable to be used for sushi.

In Denmark you can get different kinds of asparagus it is a vegetable that thrives in Denmark. The asparagus season is in spring. In Copenhagen you can go to the farmers market that sells different kinds of asparagus with unique aromas and flavores.
The supermarket usual has one kind of asparagues.

Asparagus is vegetable that is perfect for sushi since you can use it in different ways.

The season in spring is quite short so I encourage you to buy different varieties of different quality and enjoy the different flavors of taste. You don’t necessarily have to make sushi. You can also steam them quite easily and eat them with a little butter and salt.

Read more about the sushi class Sushi 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.

Sake is more sophisticated than “ordinary” wines

The Japanese rice wine sake has more dimensions than classic wines as we know it in Europe. Sake wines have a nice and a more silky smooth texture. Sake is not “heavy” that you can sometimes experience with wine.

The variety of aromas is greater in your wines. Some sake wines have a depth that you do not find in wines and other sake types smash your tongue.

And yes in some countries you can get sake with bubbles which is Japan’s interpretation of champagne.

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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.