Savour it the Sushi way

If Maguro, Toro, Ebi, Saba, Ika and Tako are names completely alien to the set of words that define your preference for food then it's time for you to redefine your preferences a bit. And if all these years of trying out Chinese, Thai and Lebanese repeatedly has bored you to the core and you crave to try out some new fangled stuff, then here is a cuisine straight from the land of fishes and clams for you to sink your teeth into.

Though they have been in the city since long Japanese cuisine, when compared to its Oriental counterparts, could not make their presence felt earlier since as recently as five years ago, only one restaurant in the city served authentic Japanese food. Nainpal Sawhney whose restaurant Silk Routecame up with full course Japanese meal for the first time in Pune says, "The Japanese know over 10,000 types of marine animals. What’s more the major part of these sea animals is eatable. It is not done to fry fish and other seafoods. Usually they are braised, steamed or is served fresh. Japanese food is very rich in variety. Its taste ranges from extreme raw to tender. There is a whole lot to experiment with."

Recently Mauve restaurant at Koregaon Park added the Japanese cuisine to it's al la carte menu. The reason, explains assitant manager Kalyan Banerjee, was to provide Puneites with an excellent seafood platter. ``Cooking a Japanese dish involves the art of frying the fish the Japanese way and soaking it in sauce," he adds.

Dimchim Lama, chef at Silk Route restaurant elaborates, "Japanese food has a distinct flavour but more than that, authentic Japanese food has an aroma that is inimitable. You bring certain dishes, like Suimono (a clear soup infused with aromatics) up to your nose and inhale its fragrance before you consume it."

Harajuku the restaurant at Hotel O is dedicated to authetic Japanese food. "Japanese food though not very popular in Pune earlier, is now gaining ground due to it's unique taste. Sashimi and Sushi are two such delicacies that are most popular. Sashimi has a certain rawness about it and Sushi is a bit tender. Where Sashimi is thinly sliced raw sea food, Sushi broadly is a name reffered to a dish containing rice which has been prepared with Sushi vinegar," says chef Romel Paola.

Hosomaki christened as California Roll here is a popular starter. Served with Wasabi, soya sauce and pickled ginger it sets just the right mood to start a meal. Hibachi (Japanese style Teppenyaki with chicken with a side of shrimps or lamb) is a part of the main course. Teppenyaki comes with Miso soup as well as rice and noodles.

Well, given the novelty it's not too surprising perhaps that the Japanese cuisine is quite the new rage amongst food connoisseurs as well as the general public in the city who rate eating out high on their list of weekend priorities.

YAKITORI
Japanese barbeque
You will need:
• 300 g Chicken thighs, boned and skinless
• 1 large Red pepper
• ½ Tbsp Dried red chilli powder
• 100 ml Soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 50 ml thick teriyaki sauce
• 6 bamboo skewers

For the marinade:
Mix 100ml soy sauce, and about 2 teaspoons of sugar together in a bowl. Mix the chicken into the marinade and refrigerate for at least 5 hours for the flavour to be absorbed.

Skewer
Chop pepper in to 2.5cm square pieces. Thread the chicken on to the skewer, then add another piece of chicken, the red pepper and then add a final piece of chicken to cover the top of the skewer. Leave some space at the bottom of the skewer as a handle. Put the skewer onto the grill tray. Repeat until you run out of ingredients.

Cook
Preheat the grill to a high temperature, The chicken pieces should be cooked very quickly, or they will dry out. Check them from time to time, and turn them over once they're cooked on one side. They take about 10-15 minutes to cook, and when they are ready should look very slightly burned.

Sauce
Put the Yakitori on a serving plate and brush them generously with the 50 ml of thick teriyaki sauce. Serve

Curry Udon
It is a Japanese noodle dish in which Udon noodles are served in curry soup.

Ingredients:
• 4 servings boiled Udon noodles
• 7 cups dashi soup
• 2 chicken thighs
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 chopped green onion
• 2 tbsps soysauce
• 2 tbsps potatostarch/cornstarch
• 2 tbsps water