How to Become a Sushi Chef
When most people think of sushi, they picture raw fish prepared in Japanese restaurants and considered a delicacy by many. However, a sushi chef trains to prepare not only the fermented fish but other traditional Japanese cooking specialties as well. If your heart is set on becoming a sushi chef, some cuisine study is in order.
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Instructions
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Learn the culture and history behind today’s popular Japanese cooking. In Japan, sushi chefs train for years to learn the traditional discipline but in the United States, a prospective sushi chef can enroll in courses that last 3 to 6 months before working in a sushi restaurant.
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Focus on using Japanese ingredients in cooking and sauce making. Different kinds of fish are prepared fermented, along with clams, crab and sea urchins and a sushi chef must be knowledgeable in the preparation of all of them. In addition, you will master the use of pickled ginger, sesame, lotus roots and other ingredients used in Japanese cooking.
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Prepare Japanese side dishes to accompany the many varieties of fermented fish. A sushi chef traditionally prepares rice, noodles and soba and he will recommend which side dish goes well with a specific entrée.
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Know your Japanese mushroom preparation. Next in importance to the preparation of the fish, is the making of mushroom dishes, which are viewed as sacred in some traditional Japanese cooking schools.
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Hone your flash cooking skills if you want to compete for a job in a high-end sushi restaurant. Often, sushi chefs prepare the guest’s food at the table and will chop, flash fry and serve the guests right from a table-side grill. Many sushi chefs learn to chop, dice and flip food accurately onto the guest’s plate.
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Find a good sushi school where you can study the art of Japanese cooking in order to become a sushi chef (see Resources).
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Tips & Warnings
The word "sushi" means the process used to ferment raw fish to make it safe to eat. Different kinds of fish are used. A sushi chef learns to cut and serve the fish as only one of his many duties.
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Comments
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eleison
Oct 27, 2009
"Sushi" means vinegar rice. While this initially referred to fermenting fish to preserve it (which also made the fish sour, with the rice being thrown away), modern sushi almost always does not involve fermenting fish, but rather in bringing out the essence of the natural flavor of raw fish.
