The way to Sushi

Making sushi is a hands-on job. There’s no way to do it but to roll the sleeves up and quite literally,dig in to the rice,the fish and the vegetables. For armchair foodies like us,common wisdom dictates that the cooking is best left to the experts. But the scene was very different on Sunday evening,when a bunch of men and women watched on avidly as Alex Calidguid demonstrated the perfect sushi-making technique at Harajuku,The O Hotel,Koregaon Park. Calidguid was like a sushi ninja,his actions were quick and smooth,hands flying to pick up rice from here,avocado from there,and rolling it all together before you could say wasabi. Wielding a terrifyingly long and sharp knife,he explained some classic combinations of ingredients,like salmon and wasabi,or prawn and tempura.

Soon it was the audience’s turn. The chefs had designed a menu for the day from which the participants could choose to make whichever sushi caught their fancy. A participant picked the salmon maki and looked at the orange-pink sashimi (thin slices of salmon) nervously. She placed the nori (seaweed wrap) on the counter,and reached for the rice. “Remember to wet your hands. It’s the only way to keep the rice from sticking to your fingers,” said chef Calidguid. She dipped her fingers in a bowl of water,and then scooped handfuls of rice out and flattened them on the nori. With a little more hesitation,she reached out for the sashimi and placed it in the center,and dabbed some wasabi (horse radish paste) on top. The chef showed her how to roll the sushi in the bamboo mat. “This is much harder than the chef made it look,” she said,when she pulled her roll out of the mat. He showed her how to cut the sushi evenly,taking the knife to the roll tip-first,going in both downward and forward.

One after another,the guests came forward to try their hands at it. Some managed firm and pretty rolls,neatly plated with carrot florets and dabs of wasabi,while others’ rolls fell apart. But they all posed with big,proud smiles and held out their handiwork as a photographer clicked away.

One participant asked whether she could combine avocado with shrimp and the chef said it was fine as long as she ate it. “Oh,I have to eat the sushi I’m making?” she asked,and her friends broke into giggles. Another participant drew quite a few glances when she announced that she was going to make the California maki,which is rolled with the rice outside the seaweed,making the process even harder.

Towards the end of the evening,the noveau sushi-makers sat and and compared their creations with everyone else’s. They tasted different combinations and commented on them,shifting into a relaxed bonhomie you can only get from enjoying the fruits of your own labour. No more were they armchair foodies.