The Dish on Fish: Talking with Chef Nobu

Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa was in town last weekend for a one-day course on sushi-making at his restaurant, Nobu. We had the chance to sit down and talk with the sushi master about modern trends in sushi, his buying habits – or more accurately, scavenging – at Sanyuanli Market and what he might take with him to eat on a desert island.

What's the greatest misconception people still have about sushi today?
People understand it more than before. Sushi is very global right now. Lots of countries are making sushi. The Philippines, Korea, even Chinese, but they learned from the United States. Sushi-making in Japan has completely different basic training. It's more about how to clean the fish, how to sharpen the knife.

If you could drill home one rule about sushi-making that your students would remember forever, what would that be?
Choose fresh fish. Make the perfect rice. It's all about how much vinegar and how much salt is the right amount. Even with the fresh fish – how to slice it, how thick, how thin is critical. It's all in the details.

When it comes to sushi-making, what do beginners have the most trouble with?
Well, sushi means fresh fish and rice together. The rice is sticky and you have touch the fish with your fingers. It's messy.

Have you ever eaten sushi from 7-Eleven?
Um, no.

From the supermarket?
No. Because I am a professional sushi chef, I can't eat this kind of sushi. But a lot of people want a quick lunch. It's very difficult to comment about. Sushi being popular is very nice, but sushi made to eat immediately, this is the best way. But that sushi in the store is made a couple hours before. For me, it is a different flavor. But if people understand more about sushi, that is a good thing.

What do you think about cream cheese in sushi?
It's like a California roll with avocado. In the beginning, people were saying "this is not sushi" but now even in Japan, they are making the roll with avocado. Cream cheese for me is a little too much. But people like cream cheese. It's not my sushi, but people can eat it.

What are you most popular dishes in LA versus NY versus Las Vegas versus Beijing?
Well, Chinese people like rice and noodles so they like the crispy rice and noodle dishes here at Nobu. But the New York and Los Angeles branches don't have these dishes. People there are looking for the healthy food. They eat more sashimi than rice.

Are there food trends you despise?
I don't like strange ones. Fish is nothing strange. I don't like intestines.

Can you tell us a little about your partnership with Robert DeNiro?
The first time he came to my restaurant in Beverly Hills, he liked the black salt cod. It's a funny story. He played the Godfather, right? And after 25 years, people said to me, it's Codfather, C-O-D.

And what's your favorite fish?
I like white fish, but really I like it all.

How has sushi evolved since you started working with it?
Food is like fashion. It used to be that nobody knew about black cod, then I introduced it and now it's used all over the world. The price is very high now and I said, "my fault!"

So you went to Sanyuanli Market this afternoon with China Daily, what did you get?
I saw the broccoli stems, the bottoms of the asparagus and the carrot tops which were going in the trash. I said, can I take these? And they said sure. All the vegetables have umami and enzymes. I brought them back here to Nobu and included garlic, ginger, fresh chili, salt and kombu to make a paste. Then I used that to marinate red snapper before grilling.

When you're in different cities do you go to a lot of different markets?
Yes, yes, it's the first step. I go to the market because I like to see what kind of food and vegetables people are eating there to understand what kind of city it is food-wise. I also see what restaurants are most popular.

What do you think will be the next food trend?
One of the Japanese ingredients is miso with the flavor of umami. Japanese people drink miso every morning. Now French chefs have been using miso. You know when babies are born what their first taste is? Umami. Because mother's milk has umami – not salty, not sour, not sugary. It means all the Jewish people, British people, Japanese people, Chinese people, all the babies taste umami.

If you were headed for a desert island, what one meal would you take with you?
Maybe rice. You know Asian people cannot live without rice.

For more on the craft of sushi-making and one of the masters behind it, check out Jiro Dreams of Sushi at The Hutong on March 31.

Photo: www.bonappetit.com