Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

THERELUCTANT GOURMET

Sushi takes a bow

Colourful, and healthy Sushi

Chef Frank and I politely elbow each other over the sushi counter. I smile firmly and step in front of him to fiddle with the sticky rice. He smiles back, and politely shoulders me out of the way, so he can spread it on a seaweed wrapper.

I re-emerge from beneath his elbow, blocking him with my foot and start thumping the rice enthusiastically. Executive Chef Samir S. Mulaokar, who’s playing referee, closes his eyes in pained horror, gasping “Not so much pressure. You’re not supposed to mash it.”

Fortunately for the diners, Frank’s no quitter. He bobs up again, with a determined grin, and fixes my bumpy sushi roll with a few deft prods, pushes and pokes. There’s a reason he’s so obsessive about details.

Good sushi requires fanatical ingredient control and deft, practised handling. Made with a sticky Japanese rice (soaked overnight and cooked with vinegar, sugar and salt) and a gorgeous array of toppings, ranging from fresh fish to crunchy vegetables, Sushi was the domain of the champagne and Louis Vuitton set for far too long. Now, with a cheerful rapidity, it’s moving down to the masses.

So, while over-privileged Indians still swank about swish Sushi dinners between air kisses and gushes of Chanel No. 5, in other parts of the world you can grab a roll of sushi at the railway station, or munch on it while you shop for buckets and bananas at supermarkets.

In Australia, for instance, sushi is the quintessential fast food. Cheap and compact, you can buy it at the metro stations — between the ubiquitous ‘Lord Of the Fries’ (specialising in French Fries of course) and buzzing vending machines — and eat it anywhere.

How does exotic food turn into everyday fare so easily? Well, sushi’s actually a brilliant idea for gobble-on-the-go food. Maki sushi (the roll) is an unbelievably neat container for rice, meat and vegetables. There’s plenty of colour. And, variety is never a problem. One tiny restaurant alone can offer at least dozen variations, with something for the vegetarians, fishitarians, meat eaters and people craving something exotic.

Contrary to popular perceptions, sushi doesn’t have to be all about raw fish. A roll can contain smoked salmon, tuna, egg or chicken teriyaki, as well as salmon roe, octopus, tuna belly, clams, scallops or abalone.

And although Indians are probably the most squeamish about Sushi, it’s actually a perfect Indian fast food. It’s got rice. It’s got meat, fish or vegetables, depending on what you eat. (If strips of fresh tuna make you queasy, you can just opt for a filling of prawn tempura instead.) It’s healthy. The future could be filled with mutter-paneer and chicken tikka sushi. And there always wasabi (a eye-watering powerful green mustard) if you want to spice things up. Which brings us back to Hip Asia, at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai, where Chef Frank and eye are both warily eyeing each other, and the gleaming sushi knifes. I’m trying to figure out how difficult it is to make, and whether we’re going to soon see sushi home parties erupt across the country. I’m also trying hard to look dignified in a dreadfully unflattering cap they’ve given me before allowing me into their display kitchen. (Why can’t they make these things in pink?) Turns out I’m not throwing a sushi party anytime soon. By the time Chef Frank and I get down to rolling out the maki sushi with a bamboo rod, he’s also rolling his eyes at my handwork, which incredibly enough manages to make the roll look a little like the map of India.

We move on to Nigiri sushi, where you shape little cylindrical rolls of rice in your palm and then add a topping of marinated eel. His nigiri is perfect of course. (Bah!) Mine looks like a rasgulla that’s been through testing times.

Nevertheless, it’s certainly fun. (For me, at any rate). And the results are delicious. Even if my handiwork does fall apart in the soya sauce dip!

( shonali@thehindu.co.in)

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail