Japan on your platter

Wasabi by Morimoto, The Taj Mahal Hotel’s contemporary Japanese restaurant in Delhi, is the place to be if you want to be in step with the times. The internationally acclaimed chef, Morimoto, has given a new twist to Japanese cuisine here by fusing it with an American accent. So, his signature tempura (a batter fried Japanese dish) gets a makeover with a Danish blue cheese sauce. Then again, a vegetarian pizza appears in a new avatar as crisp tortillas topped with mushrooms, onion and wasabi mayonnaise.

The 27-year-old Vikramjit Roy, chef de partie at Wasabi by Morimoto, has his own tricks to woo the New Age foodie. Roy has, in fact, had extensive training sessions with Morimoto at Wasabi in Mumbai and learnt the finer nuances of Japanese cuisine. Before joining The Taj Group, Roy worked for The Oberoi and the InterContinental, both in Delhi.

His own little touches are adding zing to the Wasabi menu. Roy uses the yama momo or Japanese peach as a palate cleanser. “I have also tried to place the fruit in a modern context by serving it with tofu cheese cake,” says Roy.

Here are three interesting Japanese recipes that you can try at home.

Assorted sushi platter

Ingredients: 10gm Hamachi (yellow tail fish), 10gm Saba (mackerel), 10gm Hirame (a white-fleshed fish), 10gm Ika (squid), 10gm Hotate (scallop), 10gm Ebi (shrimp), 10ml sake, 10gm -toro (fattiest part of the tuna), 1 nori (seaweed), 2gm roasted sesame seeds, 2gm wasabi paste, 200gm sushi rice, 5gm Gari (ginger)

Method: For the gunkan or battleship sushi, cut or tear the nori into 1 1/2 x 4-in strips. Form a little ball out of 2tbs of rice and flatten it out a little bit. Wrap the nori around the rice, giving it a boat shape. Add the toppings inside and enjoy.

Pork Kakuni (18-hour braised pork belly)

Ingredients: 220gm pork belly, 100gm Negi (Japanese green onion), 400ml water, 200ml sake, 50ml soy sauce, 50ml Tamari (a variety of Japanese soy sauce), 100ml Mirin (sweet cooking wine), 100gm sugar, 100gm ginger, 20gm sweet miso (traditional Japanese seasoning), 5gm Colman’s mustard (a UK-based mustard brand), Pepper juliennes

Method: Sear the pork belly in a very hot, cast iron pan. Boil for about 3-4 hours and keep scumming. Take it off the gas and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Mix water, sake, soy, tamari, mirin, sugar, ginger, negi and put the pork in this. Cover the container with a cling wrap to prevent dilution of the stock. Steam it for 18 hours in a bamboo steamer. Then let it cool and store along with the stock in a refrigerator. Heat it the following day with the stock and let the sauce reduce by itself. Take out the belly, slice it and place it on a plate. Pour the hot sauce over it and garnish with peppers. Mix the sweet miso with mustard and set aside. Put miso dots around the pork belly on the plate as garnish.

Shira Ae (marinated tofu, fungus and asparagus with garlic sauce)

Ingredients: 80gm tofu, 20gm asparagus, 20gm carrot, 20gm Kikurage mushroom, 900ml sesame paste, 680ml Shiragiku rice vinegar, 340ml light soy, 170ml sesame oil, 315gm castor sugar, 1gm Aromat (a German brand of seasoning), 1ml ginger juice

Method: Mash the tofu and mix all the juliennes of vegetables with it. Make sesame sauce using sesame paste, Shiragiku rice vinegar, light soy, sesame oil, castor sugar and Aromat. Mould the mixture into a bowl and pour the sauce on the sides. Garnish with sesame seeds, sesame oil, an orchid and serve.


The Personal Telegraph
As told to Susmita Saha