Learning to Make Kyoto-style Sushi from Chef Tanigawa

About Helena Chlepnac and Sushi Fusion
Helena is lives in Switzerland and does Sushi Fusion, a sushi catering company and now offers sushi classes which are very popular. Helena has over 300 students learning to make sushi in Switzerland!

Prelude to Sushi Lesson: Furosen Sake and Funazushi Day Trip
Before learning to make Kyoto-style sushi from the Iron Chef defeater, we went up to Shiga Prefecture for a day to experience a bit of Shiga’s culinary culture.

First we visited Uehara Sake Brewery to see the how they make the world’s greatest sake: Furosen. We were given a tour of the brewery and a generous tasting. Uehara Sake Brewery revived the tradition of using wooden barrels for brewing sake and Helena remarked that her favorite champaign maker is the only one that continued to use wood while everyone else changed to stainless steel. Now, how is that for good taste!

Uehara Sake Brewery and Sixth Generation Owner Mr Uehara

Uehara Sake Brewery Tasting Furosen Sake

This is the greatest sake in the world.

Two Year Old Funazushi

In the afternoon we visited a tsukemono maker called Marucho that has been making tsukemono with Shiga vegetables since the Edo era to see how they make their pickles and Shiga’s meibutsu (famous product): funazushi. Funazishi is made from a special variety of carp from Lake Biwa that has been salted and fermented with rice for 2 years. It is a variety of narazushi (fermented fish ‘sushi’) which is the origin of modern-day sushi. Fermented fish is not popular even among many Japanese foodies for reasons that you can imagine. It is not bad though.

At Marucho they make the real deal; funazushi that has been made with the finest wild carp from Lake Biwa and fermented for 2 years. (The cheaper funazushi is made with aqua-cultured carp and only fermented 1 year.) This proper way of making funazushi is called hon-jikomi (authentic production). This requires frequent washing and changing of the rice. This is what separates the good funazushi from the bad. Additionally, the bones of the carp are quite robust and the two year fermentation process softens them to nearly the same as the meat.

Marucho generously offered us a sample of their best, hon-jikomi funazushi. Helena remarked that if she didn’t know that it was fish, she wouldn’t have known from the taste. Funazushi made the old-fashioned way is not fishy and is surprisingly sour. If you like cheese, you would probably like funazushi. The best funazushi is nearly bursting with eggs. The taste of the eggs really reminded me of mimolette cheese, both in flavor and in texture.

It was a fun and interesting day, but I sensed that Helena was really looking forward to her sushi day!

The Main Event: Sushi Lesson at Kichisen

Helena went to the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market with Chef Tanigawa bright and early and selected fish with him. From mid-day the lesson began in the kitchen. Helena learned how to make most all the summertime Kyoto sushi styles from Chef Tanigawa. Miwa translated and I only joined the party late in the afternoon, just in time to eat.

This is what Helena learned:

1. How to Clean and Prepare Fish

• Ayu (Sweetfish)
• Tai (Sea Bream)
• Saba (Mackerel)
• Hamo (Pike Eel)
• Ika (Squid)
• Akagai (Red Shellfish)

2. How to Make Kyoto-style Sushi

• Hamozushi
• Sabazushi
• Sasamaki Zushi
• Ayuzushi
• Isomaki Zushi
• Ryuhimaki
• Temarizushi (ball-shaped, similar to nigiri sushi)
• Kikuzushi (chrysanthemum flower-shaped, similar to nigiri sushi)
• Komakizushi (Kinzanji Miso, Shiso and Cucumber)
• Tsukemono Sushi (also nigiri sushi)
• Inarizushi (deep fried tofu pockets stuffed sushi)

Cleaning Fish at Kichisen

Sea bream ‘tai’ for several kinds of sushi.

Cleaning Fish at Kichisen

After cleaning the tai for sushi, the head is split for soup or rice. Nothing is discarded.

Making Sushi Rice

Chef Tanigawa kindly gave Helena his recipe for sushi rice — I got a copy of it too.

Helena Shaping Rice for Hamozushi

Chef Tanigawa Demonstrating Cutting Hamozushi

Chef Tanigawa Demonstrating Cutting Sabazushi

Finishing-up in the Kitchen

Epic Sushi Plate One

From top to bottom; hamozushi, sabazushi, inarizushi, sasamaki.

Epic Sushi Plate Two

From top to bottom, left to right; ayuzushi, kikuzushi, temarizushi, isomaki, komakizushi, tsukemono (nigiri) sushi, ryuhimaki sushi.

Assortment of Kyoto-style Sushi

My fav was the one on the bottom right, it is called ryuhi maki. It is a ‘bozushi’ made with tai on rice with sansho leaves wrapped in soft and chewy kombu and has slices of raw green yuzu between each piece. At the back right is one of Kichisen’s exquisite homemade umeboshi. On the lower left is ayuzushi.

Hamozushi (Pike Eel Sushi) – detail

Hamo is only eaten in Kyoto.

Sabazushi (Mackerel Sushi) – detail

Sabazushi is perhaps Kyoto’s most common and popular sushi.

Sasamaki (Sasa Bamboo Leaf Wrapped Sushi) – Wrapped

Sasamaki (Sasa Bamboo Leaf Wrapped Sushi) – Unwrapped

This is kodai, literally ‘small tai’ (young sea bream).

Temarizushi (Ball-shaped Sushi) – detail

This is squid (ika), notice the sprig of green kinome sansho leaf under the squid.

Q&A with Chef Tanigawa after the Feast

Chef Tanigawa said that he is open to doing such lessons occasionally for chefs from abroad. If you are a chef and going to be in town and want to learn from a Kyoto master chef, feel free to send us an email.

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The other day I was up in Shiga Prefecture, just over the East Mountains from Kyoto, on the shores of Lake Biwa and I was given a package of whole sugatani ayu, a trout-like sweetfish from Lake Biwa as a gift.

Itadakimono: A Gift Humbly Received
The giving of small gifts in Japan is an important part of the culture and gifts are very often food. Ayu, the sweetfish that inhabit rivers in Japan and Lake Biwa are prepared in a myriad of ways. Ayu Sugatani 鮎姿煮, is whole ayu simmered in sweetened sake and soy sauce with sansho. The small, 15 cm fish have been simmered a very long time, so you can eat everything; the head, bones, fins, internals. There is no bitterness from the internals and I didn’t even notice that I was eating bones. In Japan it is said that eating the bones of fish is very nutritious.

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai ’10 Grain’ Rice

Jukkokumai Rice
I made some rice (also some itadakimono) with jukkokumai 十穀米, literally ’10 grains rice’. Jukkokumai comes in small packets and contains 10 kinds of grains that can be added to the rice cooker to make white rice more hearty and nutritious. There are lots of variations, 5, 10, 15 grain, and each company’s mix usually contains a unique assortment of grains.

I was intending the jukkokumai to be for breakfast but as I hadn’t eaten much today I decided to have some with my simmered ayu itadakimono for a midnight snack.

It just took a minute to prepare and tasted wonderful. I took one ayu out from the vacuum pack and cut it into thin sections. I simply placed it atop the rice and voilà! The gokokumai would have been a little bland all by itself and the simmered ayu would have been too salty alone. This was the perfect combination.

Oyu-wari Imo-jochu
I washed it down with some sweet potato shochu (imo-jochu) in hot water (oyu-wari). On a cold winter night, just before bed, shochu with hot water really hits the spot! The imo-jochu variety has a very strong and peculiar taste and bouquet. Imo-jochu is popular with older men in Japan. Women, as a rule, can’t stand the stuff.

Whole Simmered Ayu – In the Package

Whole Simmered Ayu – Sliced

The left side is the head and the right is the tail.

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai Rice

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai Rice – detail

Whole Simmered Ayu on Jukkokumai Rice – How to Eat

Sorry about the horrible photo, I was eating with one hand and photographing with the other. So, you just scoop up some rice with a piece of ayu.

Other Ayu Related Articles on KyotoFoodie
Wagashi: Ayugashi or Waka-ayu Sweetfish Shaped Confection
Wagashi: More Kawaii Father’s Day Wagashi