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Sushi (alt.food.sushi) For talking sushi. (Sashimi, wasabi, miso soup, and other elements of the sushi experience are valid topics.) Sushi is a broad topic; discussions range from preparation to methods of eating to favorite kinds to good restaurants. |
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http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2005/06/01/
first_sushi_then_the_world/ First sushi, then the world Raw fish and olive oil? Eel layered with Caribbean flavors? Absolutely, say a new wave of Japanese restaurateurs who are taking their traditional cuisine global. By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff, June 1, 2005 NATICK -- Toru Oga is working at warp speed. He piles greens on top of a pool of miso sauce on a curved, segmented plate, then picks up a long knife to cut gleaming cubes of tuna to place atop the greens. Instructing his cooks in Japanese, the chef and owner of Oga's Japanese Cuisine here reaches for a shot glass of pale green okra soup and places it in the other side of the plate. Bits of dark tuna marinated in soy peek from the bottom of the glass. Oga carefully garnishes the soup with salmon roe and sea urchin, then sprinkles the tuna cubes with pine nuts and thread-thin strings of red pepper. Oga is an illustration in motion of a new wave of Japanese restaurateurs who use flavors and ingredients from South America, the Mediterranean, and beyond. For the Natick chef, this means serving dishes with foie gras and duck; sprinkling bits of tomato and Parmesan on soba noodles; and declaring boldly that olive oil goes especially well with raw fish. With the popularity of sushi so widespread that nutritionists are beginning to cite it as a way to get teens to eat better and supermarkets are proudly trumpeting their California and spicy tuna rolls, we're well acquainted with the little nibbles of raw fish and rice, as well as a few traditional dishes such as tempura and sukiyaki. Now Japanese chefs are beginning to spread their wings, led by celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, who has startled the New York sushi crowd with the far-reaching creations at his namesake restaurant. Japan's world-inspired cuisine is popping up in new places all over New York. And some of its biggest fans are European-trained chefs eating out on their nights off. Trim in chef's whites, with a deep voice and a stylish haircut, Oga, at 49, is the master of Boston sushi chefs; he is also part owner of the Ginza restaurants in Chinatown and Brookline. His sushi bar and restaurant here draw the local Japanese community and aficionados from all over. His favorite customers, he says, ask for omakase (''whatever the chef makes"), giving him latitude for improvisation. For Oga, and for other Japanese chefs, in order for the cuisine to stay vibrant, it must keep evolving. Americans tend to order the same caterpillar rolls and sliced hamachi when they go out for Japanese food, he says through his manager, Toshi Fujine, who is acting as translator. When the same order comes in again and again, using the same ingredients, he says, ''I get bored." That explains Oga's use of olive oil, Parmesan, and foie gras. The influence goes the other way, too. Frank McClelland, chef and owner of L'Espalier in Back Bay and Sel de la Terre on the waterfront, says the simplicity and purity of Japanese food have inspired his cuisine. His former sous chef Ryan Becze, who is now at Masa in New York's Time Warner Center, helped to distill McClelland's interest in Japanese food. Kenneth Oringer, chef at Clio in Back Bay, is so enamored of Japanese cuisine that it not only colors his dishes in the restaurant but he also opened Uni, a sashimi bar. Oringer calls his creations sushi but the style is highly inventive and he uses ingredients such as caviar, beets, and foie gras. Other local sushi chefs also push the boundaries. Ting San at Oishii in Chestnut Hill and Kenichi Iwaoka at Osushi stick more closely to the standard sushi model but add unusual ingredients and shapes to their dishes. In New York, chef Siggy Nakanishi at Aki pours the influence of years working for a Japanese ambassador in Jamaica into artful and delicious appetizers. In this tiny sliver of a place in the West Village, eel is layered with fried tofu, mashed pumpkin, and a crispy wafer of wonton. Jerk chicken is rolled with shrimp paste and gets a Caribbean-inspired sauce of mango teriyaki and embellishments of tempura-battered banana slivers. A spicy tartare boasts jewel-like nuggets of tuna with raisins, pine nuts, and coconut flakes, along with a spicy mayonnaise sauce. It's not that Nakanishi neglects sushi and sashimi -- that might put off his customers. But he is a chef, he says, not just a sushi chef, and he finds pleasure in creating ''my foods, my tastes." EN Japanese Brasserie, another West Village restaurant, is a soaring space, dramatic and stylish, with big windows, a long communal bar, an open kitchen, and a hip clientele who crowd in for izakaya food, the Japanese version of tapas. EN, the first US restaurant of a sister and brother team who own more than 20 restaurants in Japan, shows another trend: modeling the menu on what's popular in Toyko right now and banishing forever the slightly dim spot filled with dowdy decor and straw mats. Although some sushi is offered, the point here is casual, home-style food, freshly made tofu, and reasonable prices. Oga's, with its blond wood, sleekly designed sushi bar, and unusual plates, also doesn't follow the old style of ethnic dining. The chef enjoys improvising for the customers who want something different, and his real passion is to cook beyond anything expected. Oga, who came to New York almost 20 years ago as a sushi chef and later moved to Sakurabana in Boston's Financial District, helped open the first Ginza in 1993. Now that he knows his customers are willing diners, he's drawing on all kinds of cuisines for special menus. At a sake dinner recently at Oga's, he served shrimp wrapped in vermicelli with a gazpacho sauce, paired Kobe beef with foie gras, and ended with a delicate wasabi and mustard ice cream that lilted sweet and then pricked hot on the tongue. Conventional notions about Western and Eastern ingredients don't stop Oga, who not only sprinkles raw fish with olive oil, but adds a flourish of Parmesan to a salad of soba noodles flanked by fresh octopus with smoked salt. When a visitor mentions that the starting point for the chef's omakase at Masa in New York is $350, Oga just laughs. He talks about friends of friends who reportedly spent $7,000 there for a dinner for three. That sounds excessive to him; he wants his food to be accessible. To that end, he and manager Fujine have been looking for a location in Boston to showcase Oga's creativity. Because to this Japanese chef, the sky's the limit. Breaking though the boundaries of sushi and all the other rules of his native cuisine means reaching for ingredients you never imagined you'd see beside a glass of sake. |
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Siegfried Kemper wrote:
> http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articl...hen_the_world/ Thanks for pointing that out. I've been interested in trying Oga's. I'm not sure it will be a favorite, but it's probably worth a try. I'm looking forward to his new location in Nashua, a more traditional style sushi. -- Dan |
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Interesting - feel the same as Dan - like to try it, doubt it will be
my favorite. olive oil and raw fish..hmm. Don't know. ww |
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Well olive oil, capers, and raw meat/fish is carpaccio ya? With rice
maybe that's kinda sorta new, but not terribly original. My local itamae has done more interesting things....recently a white board specials had a seared black cod nigiri (gindara), normally served with a sweet miso sauce, but last time I went he didn't do that and put small slices of kiwi on top. The effect was somewhat similar, and really nice. Nothing beats good value old school sushi with a light twist. Once too much fusion happens the guts of it is gone, just like those who want to use brown rice for sushi at this restaurant in Berkeley CA..... |
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![]() > wrote in message ups.com... > Interesting - feel the same as Dan - like to try it, doubt it will be > my favorite. olive oil and raw fish..hmm. Don't know. > > > ww Italian style tataki....chopped fresh hikarimono, olive oil, drop of vinegar or lemon, salt & pepper. Will work well with Aji. At least one top restaurant in NY does this with fresh bluefish. M |
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