Sushi Demonstration at Texas Chef Association Meeting: May 6, 2009

I had the opportunity to volunteer for a TCA meeting held at the school. Chef Bobby Garza from Piranha Killer Sushi in Ft. Worth did a sushi demonstration and Chef Kurima asked for students to assist. Sign me up! Sushi is my favorite food and I have always admired the unique and beautiful creations at Piranha. The above photo does not do the sushi justice as most of it was gone by the time I could get my camera out. Everything he made disappeared instantly because it was not only beautiful but also delicious. I was able to make some things for him before the demo. He asked me to fry some corn tortillas cut into 6 wedges, put salt & pepper on them while they were hot. He showed me how to scrape tuna off the fish in such a way that the sinew and tough areas were omitted. He even allowed me to make it my own way which included mayo, sriracha, a chopped jalapeno. I tasted it and it was pretty bland but then Bobby added his touch to it--some finely chopped chives, more sriracha, and some tobiko (flying fish roe). It tasted fantastic after he was through.

Later, during the demo, he placed a spoonful of spicy tuna mixture on a tortilla wedge and added a squeeze of sriracha mayo. Out of this world! He gave us so many useful tips and new ideas I started taking notes so I wouldn't forget. He demonstrated how to hold a hand roll together by using a piece of rice as glue at the end. I have tried to make hand rolls and always struggled to keep it from unrolling. He had ideas for making a salmon tartare and using it on the chips like the spicy tuna or served alone. He had so many sauces in squeeze bottles that were made by mixing mayo with sriracha, mayo with wasabi, cilantro with rice wine vinegar, garlic and ginger, reduced soy sauce with sugar, and he had a few different tins of sea salts. He would take thin slices of sashimi, lay some thinly sliced Fuji apples on the plate and squeeze lime juice or one of the sauces on the plate, with a sprinkle of one of his sea salts. He took a plain tuna thin roll, placed several on the plate cut side up and sprinkled tobiko, some sriracha mayo, chives, then plain sriracha--a twist on spicy tuna roll. He showed us how to make a rainbow roll, then laid plastic wrap on top of it and cut through the plastic wrap which keeps the thinly sliced avocado and fish from moving around.

He demonstrated shaving a daikon and turning the thin spirals into shredded diakon for garnish.

I was so energized by watching him and learning his techniques. I can't wait to make sushi and try them out.