There’s something extremely daunting about making your own sushi. Maybe it’s the fiddly appearance of the precisely packed rolls, precariously stacked fish eggs and complicated wraps of seaweed that make the clumsier cooks among us back off in sheer terror.
But since the new classes at Soba promise to teach novices the very basics – slicing the fish, where to dab the wasabi, how to roll up the rice – and leave you with a box of sushi to take home with you, it seemed like an offer too good to pass up.
Classes are small – just six to eight people – so the tutor, speciality sushi chef He Cheng, is able to be as hands-on as possible. Each of us was set up with an individual station of sliced vegetables, pickled ginger and yellow radish, a bamboo rolling mat, and of course a generous slab of fresh raw fish. A dish of vinegar and water was also provided because a quick dip of the fingers or knife stops the rice sticking to everything when you are preparing the sushi.
Before we could get stuck into the fun ingredients though, there was some serious business to get out of the way – the rice. Think it’s just a bland platform to hoist that yummy fish roe a little closer to your mouth? Think again. Getting the right flavour, consistency and stickiness is a fine art, and, according to Cheng, takes lots of practise. Fortunately for us, this was the one ingredient he had already prepared with sugar, rice vinegar and seaweed. ‘Eat some’ he urged us. ‘There should be three flavours: sweet, salt and sour. Can you taste them?’ We most certainly could; Cheng had 14 years of experience in sushi preparation, the flavours were perfectly balanced, and the texture good and sticky.
Then it was time to master the art of fish slicing, which is quite a feat to get right, requiring a sharp blade and single strokes. ‘Don’t saw it!’ Cheng exclaimed when chunks of our premium salmon ended up looking like we’d torn them off with our teeth. He showed us how to expertly slide the knife through the fish instead, using two fingers to measure the sizes and keep them consistent. We stuck the fish pieces on to the little oblongs of rice with a dab of wasabi and found ourselves all of a sudden with a dainty line of nigiri sushi.
The maki rolls were slightly more complicated. We stuck a layer of rice to a sheet of seaweed, then placed soft cheese, strips of salmon and vegetables in the middle. Placing the whole lot on a bamboo mat, Cheng showed us how to roll it tight, slice it up and cover it in wasabi fish eggs.
By the time we’d finished the class, we had a full container of respectable-looking sushi. It might have been a little bit lopsided, but at least that doesn’t matter once it’s in your mouth. Cheng let us in on his favourite place to buy good quality fish (Lulu Hypermarket in Khalidiyah in case you’re interested, because the fish is fresh and the prices reasonable), as well as where to pick up all the sushi-making basics, including seaweed, rice vinegar and sushi rice, which can be picked up in plenty of outlets, including Spinneys in Khalidiyah.
Best of all, though, the two-hour session only cost Dhs87, very good value since the amount of sushi you leave with is worth almost that by itself. Cheng even gave out his mobile number at the end of the class, inviting everyone to give him a ring if they ran into any sushi disasters in future. So it’s official – there’s no longer any excuse for spending a fortune on restaurant sushi when you can just recreate the Japanese magic by yourself at home.
Dhs87 per person. Sushi classes are held every Saturday from 10am-noon, 4pm-5pm. Soba, Le Royal Méridien, Khalifa Street (02 674 2020).
