Rarely a day passes when I am not faced with questions: How did you choose to become a sushi chef? How did you learn to make sushi? What is it like to be an African American female sushi chef? When asked politely, I am happy to answer. I made the decision to pursue a career [...]
Furikake (say foo.ree.ka.kay)
Furikake is a blend of seasonings often used as a topping for rice. Each blend varies depending on the brand, but most include seaweed, dried bonito (fish) flakes and sesame seeds. If you’re looking for a way to jazz up steamed white or brown rice, furikake will give your grains just the right amount [...]
Would you eat this guy raw? Or are you too chicken?
I admit that when the idea of chicken sashimi was presented to me in sushi school, I was a little grossed out. As a Southerner I love my chicken fried. Grilled, okay. Broiled or steamed, passable. But raw? I wasn’t so sure. Weren’t chickens supposed [...]
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’ve been thinking of holiday inspired ingredients such as green beans in butter sauce and butternut squash as components for sushi rolls. Apparently, I’m not the only one thinking of Thanksgiving inspired sushi. Thrill list discovered this restaurant serving up sushi with a Thanksgiving twist. Takami sushi bar is featuring a sushi roll with roasted turkey, avocado, [...]
I was just thinking the other day how president-elect Obama’s presence as the leader of our country could potentially change the way people view sushi chefs in this country. Was it a stretch to think that if people could accept an African American as president that accepting a black female sushi chef or of any background [...]
With the holiday season upon us, entertaining is the focus of many. If you’re making sushi at home, chances are you will share it with friends as most sushi rice recipes yield more rice than most can consume alone in one setting. Sharing your home made sushi with friends makes the process festive and even [...]
Does this plastic make you hungry?
When flipping through some vacation photos, I ran across this photo I took in front of a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. And just like the day I took the photo, my mouth began to water looking at the perfect display of food items that look deceptively real. In fact, [...]
I’ve never been to Canada, but I hear from friends that the sushi is fantastic and superbly fresh. Canadian sushi houses are always of great interest to me. I enjoy reading on-line reviews of sushi bars in Toronto as I imagine that I’ll soon be on my way to vacation and enjoy sushi there. And [...]
Love sushi? Love wine? Join us for an online tasting!
Every Thursday night, The Commercial Appeal’s (Memphis, TN)food editor, Jennifer Biggs, hosts a virtual wine tasting on her blog. Each week, a wine is selected and a local chef and/or wine expert logs into a live blog feature to talk food and wine.
This Thursday, October 30, I will [...]
For the past few months, I have been training an apprentice. But he’s a little elusive and has managed to dodge nearly every photo I’ve tried to take of him in action. In this picture he couldn’t dodge because we were locked into our station and busy preparing sushi for a party of about 200 [...]
