Sushi Goes Nuts
The Japanese
classic gets a playful twist as sushi doughnuts and sushi burritos roll out
Last year, when Prashanth Puttaswamy, executive chef
of The Fatty Bao visited Bangkok, he came across a creative take on sushi — the
sushi doughnut. The core ingredients had been rearranged to take the shape of
the doughnut. This was topped with colourful ingredients, from veggies to
various kinds of proteins. “This was possibly one of the most innovative
interpretations of sushi I had seen,” he says.
The sushi doughnut took the world by storm in 2016
when Melbourne-based Sam Murphy shared a raw vegan version on Instagram. Since
then, eateries across the world have been experimenting with the dish with a
vengeance. California-based Project Poke, for instance, has been making
vinegared rings of rice with avocado, tuna, cabbage, cucumber, sesame seeds and
radish.
Giving the sushi doughnut, or the “doshi”, as some
cheekily call it, stiff competition is the sushi burrito — a stocky roll of
vinegared rice, protein and veggies. In the world of mash-up foods such as
cronuts, ramen pot pie and ramen burger, it was inevitable that the Japanese
classic succumbed to the hybrid food phenomenon. Now this trend has inched its
way into India as well. It has been extended to sandwiches, burgers, pita
pockets, tacos and more.
Chefs, however, maintain that these combinations are
created without compromising on the integrity of the sushi. The basic
ingredients and construction — cold cooked rice dressed with vinegar, shaped
into pieces, topped with raw or cooked fish, or formed into a roll with veggies
and other proteins — remain the same.
What these interpretations have done, in India, is
brought sushi out of the hallowed environs of fine-dining into a fun, casual
dining space. “It has democratised sushi. Now, you are getting it at a
reasonable price. But this affordable pricing hasn’t compromised the quality of
the product, as good tuna and salmon cost the same for both fine-dining
restaurants and casual ones,” says Junaid Daruwalla, founder of the
Bandra-based seafood specialty store, Off the Hook. Last summer, his store
served as the launch pad for Yugo Tokuchi’s brand of sushi wraps and burritos,
Yugo’s Maki Sushi. Tokuchi, a former gamer from Tokyo, who now lives in Santa
Cruz with his wife, tried to recreate the concept of a casual sushi roll that
is popular in Japan. To cater to Indian taste buds, he has created a tandoori
salmon wrap, packed with red onion, cucumber, pickled carrot, sushi rice and
chunks of freshly cooked salmon.
The idea is to create combinations that people can
relate to. For instance, Puttaswamy is showcasing 14 different sushi as part of
a special weeklong capsule — from Smoked Mackerel Sandwich Sushi and Hybrid
Vegetarian Pizza Sushi to Fried Eggplant Taco Sushi and Shrimp Pita Pocket. “I
respect Japanese traditions and techniques, and am not trying to fuse cuisines.
I have just broken the sushi down to its ingredients and given it a more
approachable form. For most people, the idea of sushi is intimidating, they
only associate it with raw fish. But there’s so much more to it,” says
Puttaswamy. For instance, in the pizza sushi, the base is vinegared rice, which
has been pan-seared and made into a paste. Then, the team adds tuna, along with
jalapeno mayo and toasted nori sheet. No flour or cheese is used. The taco has
a nori sheet tempura mimicking the crunchy shell. This is then filled with
vinegared rice, salmon, Sriracha mayo, yuzu salsa, tobiko and avocado.
At Pa Pa Ya, in Delhi and Mumbai, which offers a
reinvention of authentic Asian cuisine, one can find sushi burger and sushi
doughnut, which make the classic more lively and fun. Original ingredients —
preserved vegetables like taukan and gobo for vegetarians, and seafood for
non-vegetarians — are used, but with a twist. The spirit of sushi is maintained
in the quality of seafood, the cooking of rice and the proportion of the rice
and vinegar.
Yet another interpretation — the Spicy Samurai Roll —
can be found at Umame, near Churchgate in Mumbai. “The shape resembles a
volcanic mountain, which represents the pungent and sweet daikon inside the
roll and the shichimi-laden rice. This is then rolled along with white asparagus,”
says chef Farrokh Khambata What is the difference between the classic and the
contemporary? “Classic sushi combines seasonal ingredients and sophisticated,
age-old methods. In the innovations, we use local ingredients, typical to
India, with techniques that are a combination of traditional Japanese and
modern world cuisine,” says Yogen Adep, chef de cuisine, The St Regis Mumbai.
At the hotel’s restaurant, Yuuka, seasonal local ingredients, such as mango,
are incorporated in the sushi roll and in appetisers like Crispy Mango Maki,
Truffle Mango Maki and Mango with Baby Ginger. “At a time when people are
conscious about their health, we reduce the quantity of starch and, in its
place, use more protein and other healthy ingredients,” he says.
Purists and sticklers for tradition might still
scrunch up their noses at the mention of a sushi pita pocket, but chefs say
mindsets are changing. “It has been a challenge to convince and convert people.
But many are also curious about new combinations. Today, we get clientele from
Southeast Asia and Japan, who are initially hesitant about these versions, but
like them once they try them,” says Puttaswamy.
Chefs are hopeful of taking these innovations
further. Daruwalla wants to see more chefs using local seafood, instead of the
conventionally used ones, like tuna and salmon, sourced from abroad or farmed
in Indian waters. “No one is taking local produce for sushi such as snapper,
prawns, barramundi or octopus. Any white meat fish can be used for this,” he
says.
Avantika Bhuyan
ET1APR18
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