Sushi, sliced and diced

Yoursquore dining at a nice restaurant Maybe yoursquore with a date with friends or coworkers The server places a platter of assorted sushi on your table and you dig in like yoursquove done this a thousand times before So far so good But if yoursquove picked up a slice of the pretty pink ginger from the side of the plate and placed it atop your selection that right there is a dead giveaway Now everyone knows yoursquore a sushi novice If you know enough to not confuse the hot Japanese mustard Wasabi for some mild chilli sauce therersquos hope for youu00a0 All you need to do before that date with your sushi sorority is to read this gtgt Oh Fish The pickled young ginger or Gari that accompanies portions is neither to be consumed like condiments with Chinese food nor to be appreciated like you would garnish Itrsquos meant to cleanse your palate between samplings of different cuts of fish You should also know it has a potent flavour So if yoursquod prefer to keep from turning pink in the face yourself itrsquos probably best to just avoid the ginger altogether Another common mistake is to drown your choice of sushi in Shoyu mdash the type of soy sauce sushi is served with Remember the idea is to savour the delicate flavours not mask them gtgtu00a0Roll with it Though at most sushiyas places that serve sushi in Japan you could opt for Okimari which put in a nutshell refers to a set sushi menu Okonomi which allows you to pick the variety of fish yoursquod like or Omakase which means the chef decides for you here in the city yoursquoll recognise therersquos no choice to grapple with However at some restaurants in Mumbai you can now at least pick what kind of sushi yoursquod like though the variety thatrsquos de rigueur here is Makizushi cylindrical pieces rolled with a bamboo mat Under that label you may find Hosomaki thin rolls Futomaki fatter rolls Uramaki in which the vinegaredrice instead of seaweed forms the outer layer and on the rare occasion Temaki coneshaped rolls You may also occasionally find Nigiri on the menu which is a small mound of rice topped with seafood gtgtu00a0All about size Sushi expertly made will always be bitesized This is because an Itamae eetamaay or qualified sushi chef knows that biting into these parcels wonrsquot just be messy it will also disperse the flavours which must ideally bombard the palate together So you want to eat the whole piece rather than nibble on it and while the Japanese would tell you therersquos absolutely no reason not to use your fingers unless yoursquore eating sashimi which are plain cuts of raw fish using chopsticks would spare you from the reprimanding stare of bourgeois Mumbai diners gtgtu00a0Raw delight With over a hundred varieties of sushi available in the Land of the Rising Sun and new recipes and combinations being devised constantly by sushi chefs around the globe itrsquos almost impossible to lay down a permanent list of ldquoauthenticrdquo recipes Despite the dishrsquos reputation only a handful of fish can be served raw so cooked sushi is not blasphemous Neither is drinking your Miso soup directly from the bowl by the way mdash that is in fact custom Now that yoursquore ready to enjoy your soup sushi and sakeacute herersquos a toast to remember ldquoKanpairdquo It means mdash ldquoEmpty your cuprdquo and if yoursquore dining at a good sushi place we have no doubt you willu00a0 Must try in mumbai gtgt u00a0Nariman Pointrsquos PanAsian restaurant Vongwong has just launched a ldquocookedrdquo sushi menu which will package the restaurantrsquos specialities such as Wasabi Prawns and Wasabi Broccoli Thai Steamed fish Tofu Tempura roll with Thai spices and their Spinach and Spicy peanut roll in sushi parcels Nonvegetarian rolls are priced at R550 while Vegetarian Rolls are for Rs 450 taxes extra gtgtu00a0Fenix the alldaydiner at The Oberoi Hotel Mumbai has Chef Augusto presenting a contemporary Sushi and Sashimi menu until March 4 but only for lunch and dinner not through the day Japanesecuisine aficionados can therefore look forward to IkuraHotate Salmon eggs mdash scallops with ceviche dressing Seared Maguro tuna with sesame dressing Shake Sashimi with Wakame seaweed in Yuzu Miso dressing and Nigiri specials which include salmon tuna yellowtail scallops sweet shrimp and unagi eel Therersquos Shojin rolls borrowed from the cuisine of Japanese Buddhist monks too made with cucumber asparagus enoki mushrooms mizuna Japanese mustard and spinach and the caterpillar freshwater eel crabmeat cucumber and avocado with sesame seeds