The Art of Japanese Cooking: A Journey Through Sushi and Beyond

As I began to prepare my sushi ingredients, I couldn't help but think about the importance of tail cases in Japanese cuisine. The kampachi tail, for instance, is often considered a delicacy due to its unique flavor profile, which is enhanced by a strong muscle that allows it to be cooked to perfection. To showcase this feature, I decided to make Kampachi Kasuzuke, a dish where the tail is cured with kombu and sake to bring out its full flavor.

To start, I marinated the kampachi tail in a mixture of sake and mirroring liquid for half an hour, taking care not to overdo it. The resulting paste was rich and flavorful, with a depth that would complement the dish perfectly. Next, I used a skewer to roast the meat at a lower temperature, around 350-400 degrees, to prevent burning and ensure even cooking. This process is similar to cooking human, but the flavor and results are distinctly different.

For my third dish, Kampachi Maki Roll, I focused on preparing sushi rice ahead of time to allow it to rest while I worked on the ingredients. The key to making great sushi rice is to season it well, so that it can be spread evenly and create a harmonious balance with the filling. I added cucumber and kombucha belly, which added a nice crunch and freshness to the roll. To assemble the makiro, I carefully placed the Nori seaweed onto bamboo, making sure to apply even pressure to ensure a tight seal.

As I worked on my Kampachi Maki Roll, I couldn't help but think about the importance of cutting techniques in Japanese cuisine. The Yanagi knife is an essential tool for any sushi chef, allowing for precise cuts and delicate handling of ingredients. For my niri, I used this knife to score each unita slice, creating a beautiful presentation that showcased the fish's natural beauty. Shari, or sushi rice, was also carefully cut to create a perfect balance between Neta and study.

Shabu-shaba salad is another dish that showcases Japanese cooking techniques. To make it, I took thinly sliced kampachi and cured it with kombu for half an hour, allowing the natural salt remedy to bring out its full flavor. Then, I cooked the slices in hot water, using a shabu-shabu method that required just two or three seconds per slice. Assembling the salad was a breeze, with a combination of scallion, micro greens, and colorful tomatoes adding color and texture.

Finally, I finished off my meal with Shabu-Shaba Salad, loading up the dish with sliced kampachi, scallions, and microgreens. A drizzle of dressing brought everything together, finishing with toasted sesame seeds that added a touch of crunch and flavor to each bite. Throughout this culinary journey, I was reminded of the importance of attention to detail and technique in Japanese cooking. By mastering these techniques, even the simplest ingredients can be transformed into something truly special.

As I sat down to enjoy my meal, I couldn't help but think about the versatility of kampachi and its ability to be transformed into so many different dishes. Motanai is a mindset that encourages experimentation and creativity in cooking, and I believe that this approach can be applied to any aspect of life. Whether you're a seasoned chef or a novice cook, the key to success lies in embracing new techniques and ingredients, just as I did with kampachi today.

Throughout my culinary journey, I was reminded of the beauty and simplicity of Japanese cuisine. Each dish is a reflection of the chef's attention to detail and commitment to quality ingredients. By exploring these different techniques and ingredients, I gained a deeper appreciation for the art of Japanese cooking and its ability to bring people together through food. Whether you're a food enthusiast or simply looking to try something new, I hope that this article has inspired you to explore the world of Japanese cuisine.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enforeign and use the pieces to make six unique dishes today I'm making six different dishes with this whole kombucha it's based on my business philosophy called multainai No waste in Japanese the first step is to remove all the fins for safety sometimes the fins are really sharp and it can have some germs and also some poisons too fortunately that's not the case of this kampachi so I'm safe I'm going to start taking off the scale I'm using Yanagi knife which is usually used for slicing sashimi and sushi I'm starting from the tail to the front because that's the opposite direction nobody how scale runs this technique is called skippiki this is the best way to remove the scale completely in this way scales are all attached like a strings and then you can discard it very easily what you see is actually the skin right underneath the scale so I was putting a knife right between scale and skin the fish is fresh the scales are strongly attached to each other if the fish is not fresh I'm not able to this technique and also if you like to deep fry it creates a really nice almost like chips scales are completely removed now I'm going to clean the kampachi cleaning means removing the Gill and cotton blood for this process I'm using Deva is a single edge blade really sharp and also makes it easier to Flay the fish so I'm putting the bone right next to where the color bones are separating the color from the rest of the body I'm trying to be very careful not to damage or separate the organs you don't want any blood to penetrate into the rest of the body so I want to remove other one single piece and then the removal will be much much cleaner I'm using just a kitchen brush to scrub the bloodline the vein that runs underneath of the spine it is important to get the blood out of the fish because blood is where it deteriorates first and then the germ grow much quicker if there is a blood left now kampachi is completely cleaned I can break it down to individual pieces the first step is to remove the head and color of the one piece from the rest of the body I'm just using scissors cutting two colors from the head to Flay the fish open up the skin then cut around the spine so that I won't leave any meat right next to the spine something right here opening up the fillet by cutting the skin first foreign all separated but the fillet is kept just by the tail and in the ribs I'm taking the tail part off first then I'm going to switch it to scissors again separating the ribs same thing here opening the skin for the belly side and Top Line side first flip it so that the meat is on the bottom side in this way I can actually see where the knife is cutting the first fillet is a little bit easier the other side is a little bit more difficult to see what you're cutting it requires some practice now the second delay is removed I'm gonna put the bone aside with the head each filet will be broken down into three parts the top loin the belly and the tail when you're working with filet it is important to notice how pink or red the fillet itself is if you don't see this nice pink colors all around that means the fish is a little bit old when you poke it the meat should also bounce back to you what I'm doing right now is that separating the ribs are from the fillet for this I'm using my slicer it's a long skinny knife that is a little bit more flexible it is important to know the rib it actually ends in the middle of the belly removing the pin Bones from the ribs they're actually attached to each other like a triangle so by separating those I can put my knife much much easier I'm removing the very end of the fillet it just has a little bit of bond and not so much meat I'm going to separate the tail for this process I'm using Deva and Deva is a lot sharper and it has more weight he makes it a little bit easier to portion so I'm going to separate the fillet into the top loin and belly by removing the pinball pin bones run from the head to the middle of the fillet between the top loin and belly it is very difficult to remove unless you trim it the my favorite part of the kampachi is the belly part it is very crunchy and also fatty and a very pretty when I take off the skin so that's the part that I would save it for myself General the pin bones parts are removed and discarded but I'm going to combine these parts together with the head and the bone to make the ramen broth this kampachi is entirely broken down I can say that I did a good job here because I can see each individual line of the bone now I'm going to use all different parts of the kampachi to make six unique dishes let's click first I'm going to use kampachi head and Bones to make ramen the broth going to be made with the water and in a combo seaweed what's unique about this Ramen is the broth is entirely made with roasted kampachi bones and head I'm pressing the head down so that the entire head can be roasted evenly along with the bone pork and chickens are used for ramen because of its high collagen a patch a great collagen that can turn into delicious Ramen you don't want to over roast the bones because you actually lose the collagen if you roast them too much I'm removing kombu out of the water and then adding the pin bones head and the bone you can kind of see collagen right in the spine it's kind of like a Jello that will become really good part of the broth and then I'm adding some aromatic vegetable leek and Ginger this will kind of balance the aroma and then the broth won't be as fishy while Ramen broth is boiling I'm going to use a part to all the kampachi loin to make chashu chashu is usually braised pork sliced thing but today I'm going to do my original twist with kombucha so I'm going to just let this top loin block marinate in original sweet soy sauce Joshua is marinated for about a half hour and I'm gonna just torch all around it but also known as taraki Style this is kind of my own ideas of creating similar visual look as a chashu the inside is completely rare the chashu will be slowly cooked with the heat from the broth as well after a few hours the broth is very nice and creamy color that you also see from your uncle to Ramen or regular Ramen this is the sake kasu the by-product from sake fermentation process flavor unique to sake since it has some rice the broth itself becomes a little bit thicker without titling the flavor kind of balances all their flavors especially with the fish broth is usually sliced thing on top of the ramen I can cut it straight down and then becomes almost like a same shape as the cheshu this particular type of ramen noodle it's not azut chewy the noodle will soak up the broth much better than the chewy noodle so that you will taste the broth really well in the noodle I'm lifting the noodles so that the noodle will all separate the noodle will soak up the broth as evening as possible this is scallions adding a drizzle of chili which is a chicken fat black pepper for spice and Heat this is our first dish kampachi Ramen with kampachi next I'll be using kombuchi colors to make kimono kimono is a traditional fish preservation method curing with a salt and dry aging this is such a simple dish it just takes time company colors are very tasty because it's very you can get multiple flavors from a single piece of color put it in the fridge and don't cover it you want to just let it dry out after a week or so this is what it looks like the surface is super dry and it becomes kind of glossy it's almost like leather so I'm using the skewers and then using this pen to make the colors kind of float in the air so that the fridge will be cooked evenly and then entire color will have a nice crispy finish the temperature is about 450 I'm going to cook for about seven minutes while my colors are roasting I'm going to prepare some garnish grated thaikon radish as a really nice bitter flavor to it and it also cleans the palette you can kind of see the fat sizzling right underneath the skin the entire color it has the same surface texture because of the way it was cooked floating with the skewers plate it nice and simple with the Daikon radish and a little bit of soy sauce this is the finished kampachi kimono where the kampachi colors so I'm going to make kampachi kasuzuke with the kampachi tail kasuzuke is marinating anything with sake Castle the first step is to Salt some fish what's special about the tail case it has a strong muscle and then has more flavor compared to the rest of the body with mirroring and I'm making to really thick paste compatrielle has been marinated at half hour take out just a little bit of excess sake of the meat use a skewer again to roast it otherwise the bottom part will be steamed I usually cook at a little bit lower temperature 350 400 and you're gonna cook it a little bit longer not to burn a castle the process itself is a very similar as a humano but the flavor and the results are completely different that's why I like to work with those two different methods that's our third dish kampachi kasuzuke with kampachi tail for my neck dish I'm making kampachi Maki roll with the kombucha belly I'm sitting in the rice with a sushi vinegar want to make sushi rice ahead of time so that there is time for the rice to rest while rice is resting I'm preparing the ingredients cucumber now I'm preparing belly for makiro first I'm removing the skin I'm using the knife slicer so that removing the skin is a little bit easier since it's a narrower and also it's more flexible and bendy so I'm making a strip based on the size of the seaweed foreign because of the thickness you can just simply cut that into ships without any trimming or anything I put the Nori seaweed half cut onto bamboo roll it is important to season rice well so that I can spread rice evenly and then make sure that the rice meets with the rice the other side and then press it lightly and then make sure there is a little hanging from the seaweed you're gonna cut it we do one stroke as much as possible it's helpful to have a little bit wet knife so that the rice won't stick to the knife as much and it makes a cut a little bit more Sharp finishing with toasted sesame seed this is my kampachi Maki roll made with kombucha belly traditional raw hosomaki is very simple and people actually eat it as a snack so that's my perfect snack next I'm making niri with a kampachi Loi nigiri is a term that two are put together Neta and Neta is a term for slice of fish Shadi is basically sushi rice I'm using my Yanagi knife to cut Neta I'm scoring each Unita so that the Neta will bend over Shari much nicer making niri itself is not difficult to do but difficult part is how to cut Neta forming Charlie you want to make nigiri in a way so that the Neta will cover the rice completely so it's almost like an umbrella shaping the rice making an air pocket so that it'll be a nice mouth feeling when you eat it's very important to have a perfect balance of Neta and study for toppings I have two ingredients umeboshi is a salt fermented Plum we add a really unique salty flavor from the plant and a kinome would add really refreshing almost like a minty flavor I love these colors and also the flavor combinations it is simple but simple doesn't mean easy that's why you often see this type of sushi only at a sushi restaurant finally I'm making shabu-shaba salad shabu-shabu is a method of cooking thin sliced meat in a hot water so I have these kampachi slices from before I'm taking some of these slices to cure with kombu kombu is a dry kelp the natural salt remedy kelp will cure kampachi taking the water out from the fish but at the same time adding extra Umami which is the glutamic acid into the fish I like to cure for at least half hour now curing is finished and then I have hot water waiting for some Shabu you can kind of see that the kombu is flexible it's not like a dry piece of paper shopping is such an easy method you just have a hot water dip it with the Chopsticks and then make sure the outside is completely cooked and then quickly chill it in an ice water is a really quick process to this Shabu sharp motion for two or three seconds now I'm just gonna assemble my sharp sharp salad and the bottom scallion and a micro green and some nice colorful tomatoes bring back the Shabu Shabu I load them up a little bit so that it looks nice and drizzle the salad dressing over everything just finishing with toasted sesame seed this is my shop salad with kombatiloy I hope you enjoy watching me break down whole fish and then make these six different dishes kampachi is one of my very favorite fish in America with just thought you can make one whole fish into so many different amazing meals motanai is just more of a way of thinking and this thought can be applied for any aspects of your life\n"