Japanese cuisine - Sushi

          Before I started making sushi for this project, I assumed that cutting up a piece of fish and placing it on a ball of rice would be simple. But as I finally got hands on experience with creating sushi, I was wrong. Many knife techniques are contributed into the making of sushi. The technique I chose to use was Sogi-Zukuri which is "a technique for thin sushi tops" (Dekura 149). Whereas the Hiki-Zukuri technique is used for thicker pieces of fish. In order to perform the Sogi-Zukuri technique you must slice the fillet at a 45-degree angle and slice approximately 1 cm (Dekura 149). My first couple slices didn't work quite as planned. The angle was slightly off causing my fish to be chunky and unappealing.

         After a couple more tries I finally acquired the skill of Sogi- Zukuri. I wouldn't consider my skill to be perfection because, I can consistently make good cuts, but I still mess up at times. Cutting the fish wasn't the only thing that was challenging. Creating the rice was also challenging. The correct way of creating a ball of rice is by "Combine water and vinegar in a bowl. Wash your hands well, dip your fingers into the bowl of vinegared water, then clap your hands together to remove any excess water" (Dekura 92). On my first attempt my hands were too wet, disallowing the rice to form into a ball and causes it collapse. On my second attempt i used less water on my hands but that made the rice stick to my hands. On my third try it seemed better but i still cant get the right amount of water on my hands to where the rice will form without sticking.

         Assembling the sushi was probably the easiest part of this process. I held the fish on my left hand and slightly cupped my hand. Then, I grasped the ball of rice with my right hand and rested it above the piece of fish. Using slight pressure I folded my fingers causing the fish and rice to stick (Dekura 92). All in all my experience with making sushi taught me a lot about cooking. I learned new knife techniques which can be used in other foods that I make in the future. 

How have you used a knife in your cooking?

Dekura, Hideo, and Danny Kildare. Contemporary Japanese Cuisine: Classic Recipes, Fresh Flavors. New York: Weatherhill, 2001. Print.