Sushi Classes in Montreal, and Flying Through Tokyo

What better time to write about my last sushi class than when stopping over in Tokyo on my way west? I’ve never been to Japan before, and I’m barely dipping my toes in the water (the airport hardly counts), but I’m more than happy to talk for 3 hours about how to carefully swirl the polish off glutinous sushi rice, how to pour the rice vinegar dressing over a wooden paddle onto the rice to distribute it evenly, how to shape rice for nigiri using just the right hand and then carefully mold the fish onto it, how to slice sashimi properly on an angle, how to not make wasabi soup out of your soy sauce, how to dip the fish-side into the sauce (lightly) and not the rice…

…which  are all topics I cover at my sushi classes. From Poissonerie La Mer for my last class, I’d purchased sashimi grade tuna (I usually don’t because it’s not the most sustainable fish, but my sashimi options were limited), cooked crab meat, and a sashimi-quality sustainable striped bass.

I always ask the staff there for recommendations and to make sure everything’s sashimi quality if I’m buying raw. That means it’s pre-frozen to kill a number of pesky parasites or it’s incredibly fresh. But some sushi purists say frozen fish is blasphemy, as it changes the texture of the flesh. And some pre-frozen fish just doesn’t work. For example, I’m in love with scallop sashimi and nigiri, but Poissonerie La Mer only has defrosted scallops this time of year. So I skipped it and went with the cooked crab instead.

Speaking of crab I’m sitting next to Simon on my first flight of the day. He happens to work with Capitaine Crabe, my Montreal fishmonger of choice. The company only sets up shop at the Marché Maisonneuve and the Atwater Market from April to May every year. They sell fresh crab, steamed crab (learn from the masters how to boil it and shuck it), as well as bourgots (sea snails, long-boiled until al dente, about 45 minutes), and my all-time favourite: sea urchins. There’s nothing like sea urchin sushi. Uni is a specialty and in sushi restaurants it’s most often bought frozen in little single sushi serving packets of 4 or 5. Defrost and serve. The fast food of gourmet sushi. But when it’s fresh…You take the prickly outer shell off and shuck out the yellow, sweet, creamy insides. It’s definitely an acquired taste.

Unlike the crab, avocado and cucumber maki we made at my last sushi class. Unlike the tuna inside-out rolls. But very much like the natto handrolls, in fact.

Another acquired taste, the Japanese fermented soybeans have strings that stick to everything. Just try pulling a spoonful from the container (also sold frozen in Asian grocery stores, and sold fresh and homemade by the same man who makes miso at the bi-annual Japanese Cultural Centre bazaar by metro Jarry) and you’ll feel like something has gone wrong with beans. Fear not; they’re fine. They’re supposed to have strands like spun sugar but more disgusting.

Traditionally you take a scoop of this fermented beans, mix it with a seasoned soy sauce, place it on rice, and take a big scoop of it all into your mouth at once. Breakfast of champions. It’s probiotic as the soybeans are fermented. It’s savoury. It’s salty umami. And it’s vegetarian. I personally believe all beans we eat should be fermented for easier digestibility.

I also think we should be eating more wasabi—real wasabi, not coloured, preservative-laden frozen wasabi paste or powder that’s actually more horseradish than expensive wasabi anyway.

And pickled ginger is really just a palate cleanser, but it’s good for immunity, so pickle your own and avoid all the fake sugar and preservatives in the dyed pink version of that, too.

Boy you must be tired of me going on about parasites and fermentation and preservatives. Don’t you just want to eat sushi?

Fortunately, that’s exactly what we do in my monthly classes. We eat a whole lot of sushi. I whip out my sashimi knife and we slice fish, and with my chef’s knife we carefully sculpt properly sized pieces of cucumber, reserving mistake pieces for the reject pile (for maki and handrolls.) It’s the best all-you-can-eat sushi in town, and if I happen to have a bottle of unpasteurized sake (more healthy probiotics in an almost healthy alcohol), then you’re really in for a treat.

Of course Simon and I are talking about Vietnamese fish sauce as he’s on his way to Ho Chi Minh City, where I’ll be in a month, but as we’re both flying through Tokyo, our seafood-loving Montreal connection is so serendipitous that I hope you’ll forgive me not writing about Vietnamese rice noodles, pho’ soup, and nam pla dipping sauce for salad rolls. That’s probably the next cooking class, once I’m back.

To book a class, email me at watson dot amie at gmail dot com. I give classes when I have enough interested participants, and a minimum group of 4. I’m away right now but classes will start again in April, 2014. Book now to reserve your spot. Classes are $35 per person, or $40 per person including a glass of quality sake.