And so to London! A serendipitous last-minute spot came up in the fabulous Reiko Hashimoto‘s sushi and sashimi class on Saturday and I was there faster than you can say wasabi. There is a view that making your own sushi is a bit like do-it-yourself pasta - notionally fabulous but in practical terms a bit too much of a faff. But as I’m about to start work on a Japanese cookbook, and with not a single decent sushi joint in Bournemouth, it made complete sense to fly up the motorway.
Kyoto-born Reiko, very sensibly it seems to me, gave up life as an air hostess to turn her passion for and knowledge of Japanese food into a career. She has now been catering and teaching Japanese cooking for 12 years, and is the author of the beautiful Hashi: A Japanese Cookery Course, the huge success of which has taken this modest lady by surprise. That’s partly why she won my heart on the day; what could have been a daunting exercise was in fact a relaxed and chatty affair, but no less informative for it. Reiko holds the class around a large island bench in her south-west London kitchen, and with only six of us it seemed more like a dinner party than a formal lesson.
Sushi rice
She beganwith a masterclass in how to prepare Japanese rice - how to wash and rinse the grains at least three times - and then stir through the sushi vinegar to turn it into sushi rice. This, she pointed out, was the key to making perfect sushi. Sushi rice is prepared in a wide and shallow wooden bowl, crucial to absorb heat and prevent condensation, which would make the rice too sticky.
The freshest fish
Reiko stressed the importance of the quality and freshness of the fish, and the main reason why she doesn’t really bother eating it if she hasn’t made it herself. Helpfully she handed out a list of Japanese suppliers which included her own fish provedor Atari-ya, which has several branches in London. The salmon in particular was extraordinary - the most meltingly soft and buttery I’ve ever eaten.
Despite fears that I would make an utter goose of myself in the rolling department, Reiko gave such clear, sensible and intuitive instructions that the results were really pretty respectable. For what it’s worth, methinks the key lies in using the index fingers and thumbs to hold the top of the rice and seaweed, and the other three fingers to hold and tuck the toppings as you roll. But what would I know?
After the session we sat down to eat the gigantic sushi and sashimi feast that we had made. And we walked away with notes, a goody bag and enough leftover sushi for supper. Result.
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