Dexter. As of this week, Dexter is our new favourite person. This is because he taught us how to make Harbour Rolls. Before we explain what Harbour Rolls are (though you may already have guessed) let us introduce Dexter. Hailing from the Philippines, chef Dexter Saludar is the man who took the gauntlet from Sushi Samba chef Koji Kagawa and is currently keeping the fire roaring at the Yacht Club. (Who’s Koji Kagawa? Shame on you, get thee to Google!) And in case you still want to know, Harbour Rolls are cucumber, tuna and salmon maki that look like a stained glass window panel. The first time we met them (over a sushi feast at the Yacht Club) we thought, ‘hello, please!’ And then we wondered how they’d been put together.
As serendipity would have it, barely a month had passed when a sushi roll master class came along and begged to be tried. Little did we know, when we ventured into the kitchens of the Yacht Club that glorious day, that Harbour Roll would be on the menu. Lo and behold, how the universe doth conspire in wonderful ways!
But let us come back to chef Dexter who wanted to talk about rice. This is, after all, the trickiest part of sushi. Get it wrong and you might have to chop off a pinkie to make amends. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to actually make the rice, but chef Dexter explained the water-rice ratio, gave us some tips, revealed the secret ingredients of his rice-vinegar and even showed us how to mix it into the cooked rice. Step one out the way, out came the nori (seaweed), and we tried our hand at spreading our rice over it – which is trickier than you might think because it’s awfully sticky stuff. Next we were told to wrap an entire cucumber (that’s right, unsliced or skinned). We did as were told, and a good thing too, because when we found out how it all came together in the end it was one of those eureka moments; where it seems so simple you’re surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner. And no, we’re not going to tell you how it all comes together. You’ll just have to attend the class.
Once the Harbour Rolls were done, chef Dexter then took us through the process of making the Sunrise Roll (also a favourite), the Spider Roll and the Kamikaze – which was a combination of a maki and a prawn nigiri with crispy potato fries. Sounds crazy, but you’ll be surprised how well it works.
What makes most of the Yacht Club offerings so good though are the sauces that go in them. These are all mixed in-house, using other sauces and condiments that can be found easily at grocery stores throughout the city. Chef Dexter let us use the ones he’d made earlier, but he also showed us how to make them and even gave us a recipe print-out, which included a list of ingredients for the sushi too.
Admittedly, we weren’t complete beginners to this sushi making business. However, we are mostly self-taught (and partly YouTube taught). We could whip out the odd salmon and avocado roll, to the amazement of guests and Japanese food-philistines. But our maki was never quite up to scratch, and we always longed to make ones which were inside out and in shapes other than round. Chef Dexter not only taught us how (it mostly comes down to using the bamboo sushi mat correctly) he taught us how to take that knowledge and run with it. Now, we’re not only convinced we can make the mind-blowing Sunrise Roll, and the great looking Harbour Roll, at home we’re so cocky we might even invent our own.
Our sushi roll master class was possibly the most enjoyable and inspiring class we’ve had to date. And it rounded off nicely with a meal by the yacht bay, which involved scoffing our culinary creations. Gochisosama deshita (‘Thank you for the meal!’).
The next sushi roll master classes at the Yacht Club take place at 11am on Saturday June 9 and June 23. the class costs Dhs215 and includes a two- course lunch when you’re done. The Yacht Club, InterContinental Abu Dhabi (02 666 6888).
