WINE & DINE

WINE & DINE
THE DISH
Hatsune's chefs
go through intensive
knife training for this
School of Fish
A look into the complex craft of sushi-making
While I’m no Julia Child,
I’d consider myself
fairly adventurous in the
kitchen. Cooking Mexican, Thai
or Indian flavors No problem.
Sushi, however, is a cuisine I’ve
always left to the experts. Despite
my decent knowledge of fish and
love for wasabi, I have a feeling
that there’s more to a tuna roll
than meets the eye.
Bei’s new hands-on sushi
class, however, introduced
me to the ins-and-outs of this
culinary challenge. Instructor
Chef Max Levy, who trained in Japan,
likens sushi to bespoke shoes.
“The easy way to think about
making sushi is that it’s not an art
so much as a craft. Think about
guys in Italy who make handmade
shoes. They don’t say ‘oh you’re a
7, you’re a 9,’ but they look at the
individual shape of each foot, each
toe. The same is true for a particular
piece of fish.”
It may all seem a little intimidating
for a novice, but Levy
guides students through the steps
so that they leave knowing how to
assemble sushi and several styles
of rolls. For those who would still
rather have their sushi prepared
professionally, however, the class
aims to teach people more about
sushi appreciation so that you’ll
be able to better understand the
Even wasabi can
become an art
techniques behind that little piece
of raw fish.
Captain of the venerable
Hatsune Alan Wong also has interesting
insights about the skill
that goes into sushi. “Even simple
sashimi slices all have to be cut
a certain way,” he says. “The size
and shape has to be exactly the
same. It’s all about perfectionism.”
Wong also explains that just
learning to properly make the
shredded radish that accessorizes
sushi, “takes about a year and several
scars on your thumb.” Even
wasabi can become a complex art.
Jane Ji of the Grand Hyatt, home
to sushi bar Redmoon, told me
the chefs there “don’t use wasabi
glue or powder but grind fresh
[wasabi root] on shark skin” as
per Japanese tradition.
While it may not be possible
to recreate the identical rolls
and slices of an expert chef, and
those of us without shark skin
will have to make do with wasabi
out of a tube, I’m sure my avocado
and cucumber
rolls will impress
dinner guests all the
same.
Emma Starks
CW’s sweet-toothed dining columnist
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WINO
Barreled Over
Oak barrels have been used in
the production and storage of
wine for more than two thousand
years. The advantages
of oak for making barrels are
many: oak is relatively malleable,
producing watertight containers
that impart a range
of desirable flavors. During
the production process, the
barrel-maker uses fire to
“toast” the insides of the
barrel. The amount of
toasting helps determine
the range of flavors that
the barrel will then bring
to the wine. Oak-derived
flavors found in wine can
include caramel, cream,
smoke, spice and vanilla.
IN THE KITCHEN
Sahra Malik | Founder of Shangrila Farms Coffee
Green Caffeine
How did you start Shangri-la Farms My mom was working in
Shangri-la for an eco-tourism and community development
NGO, so I started traveling a lot in the region and met this coffee
roaster. I’ve been doing pieces of it for two years and then I started
full-time two months ago. So there was already coffee growing
in the area Yeah, the British imported coffee to Yunnan 50 years
ago. It’s really good quality and green-certified. They only use the
best beans, and the roasters are really well trained. And what do
you do for the local community We buy at fair trade prices. We
also donate 20 percent of our profits to the Yunnan
Mountain Handicrafts Center, an
NGO. Where can we get your coffee in
Beijing Every April Gourmet carries
it, as well as Jenny Lou’s in Pinnacle
Plaza. You can also drink it at Kocoon
Spa and at Red Capital Club.
How much coffee do you drink
Around two cups a day. I try to
limit myself, but I’m really addicted.
True or false: decaf is
for losers. True. We don’t sell
any decaf. Even from a health
point of view, decaf is not
good for you—it’s chemically
processed.
Find it: Taste Shangri-la Farms’
coffee yourself on Sep. 12, 2-5pm
at Face Bar (see p. 39 for details),
or visit
www.shangrilafarms.com.cn
The vanilla and spice flavors often
found in chardonnay are some
of the easiest to recognize.
One way to experience the impact
of the oak yourself is to
try an unoaked wine alongside
a similar wine that is made
with oak. Try the following
two wines from Xanadu in
Australia’s Margaret River
region: ‘Dragon’ Unoaked
Chardonnay 2006 (¥137)
and the Xanadu Estate
Chardonnay 2005 (¥260)
from The Wine Republic
(Tel: 5869-7050, orders@
thewinerepublic.com).
Campbell Thompson
Managing Director of
The Wine Republic
38 | September 3-16 ▪ www.cityweekend.com.cn