Japanese chef Masahiko Saito puts Divya Kaushik through the paces
like an artist taking pride in leading people around his works, Chef Masahiko Saito was hovering around his sushis at le Meridien’s The One restaurant.
Saito, head chef of Mai, a joint at the Westin Hotels & Resorts, is here for the first time and serving various sushis. Explaining how it’s eaten, he remarked, “Whenever people cut sushi in half with a fork and dab soya sauce, I feel sad and think I have not done a great job.”
The chef says that even if you are comfortable with chopsticks, don’t feel shy having sushi by hand. But have it entirely in one bite, “you never break and eat it.”
The limitations Saiko faces while serving to Indians is that “some people are vegetarian. The secret of good sushi lies in its ingredients. But fresh seafood is not easily available.”
Working with available veg options, he has created sushi with shitaki mushroom, cucumber, eggplant and onion. “Whatever you use, remember that sushi is a work of art. Every ingredient should be used in moderation. And while preparing sushi, everything makes a difference — from the knife used to the rice. So you will notice the taste differs from one place to another. It is difficult to create brilliant sushi every time. When preparing, I slice ingredients myself. The rice is boiled perfectly. Neither too sticky nor too dry. Its fragrance also matters because it lends the scent to sushi.”
Saiko usually travels with his knife kit, but couldn’t bring it all here because he is on a travel visa. He demonstrated how to have sushi in one go. “Always hold it from the bottom, between the fingers. Then add soya sauce at the top and place it in your mouth. Eat it with pickled ginger.”
Saiko maintains that in Japanese cooking, presentation is of utmost importance. So he has to be imaginative. He told us he trained in making sushis over five years and every day since has been filled with experiments. “While growing up, sushi was sophisticated. You did not make it at home. I grew up on miso soup and rice, so I worked hard to learn the essentials of sushi making,” he said.