Maki-making at The Westin: Give fish a chance

Did you know that you can make maki sushi (raw fish wrapped in dry roasted seaweed or nori) at home? That is, of course, if you have the right cooking tools – and, yes, the motivation. (Okay, you want to add a dash of excitement to your otherwise staid everyday fare and find out what makes sushi bars sizzle.)

This – and more oh-sooo-delicious sushi secrets – you’ll find out at The Westin Philippine Plaza’s "Turning Japanese" food festival ongoing until Nov. 30 at the Cafe Plaza Too.

Japanese master chef Yoshimi Igarashi whips up an array of all-time Japanese favorites, from cold appetizers to hot and grilled dishes. With 28 years of experience under his toque, Igarashi’s popularity has spread simply by word of mouth – surely, contented mouths! He has cooked for royalty like Emperor Hirohito, Prince Charles, and the late Princess Diana; heads of state like French President Jacques Chirac, and celebrities like Janet Jackson, Julio Iglesias, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who must have declared with a robust burp, "I’ll be back!"

Igarashi shares the intricate secrets of Japanese cuisine as he teaches guests how to make sushi and sashimi during a live cooking demo on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday brunch.

For starters, you learn that to make maki sushi, you’ll need a small bamboo rolling mat (makisu), sheets of seaweed (nori), a bowl of vinegared water (find out why later), prepared rice, wasabi (you know, that bright green horseradish paste), and strips of vegetables and fish. Yes, do give fish a chance!

Igarashi takes your hand as he walks you step-by-step through the (sometimes sticky) world of maki-making:

• Place a sheet of nori – shiny side down now – on the bamboo mat, lying flat with its slats parallel to you.

• Wet your right hand in the vinegared water (now, you know what the vinegar is for)‚ then spread a thin layer of rice on an even layer over half of the nori sheet. Spread some wasabi on the rice.

• Put the strips of fish and vegetables (or whatever the desired ingredients are), arranging them neatly along the wasabi.

• Lift the end of the mat and gently roll it over the ingredients, with your thumbs on the bottom of the mat and your fingers pressing gently to tuck the ingredients into place.

• Keep rolling (the mat, that is) until you get a tight roll.

• Using a sharp knife – and keeping a sharp eye on what you’re doing – slice the roll crosswise into 3/4" slices.

Of course, if your knife starts to get too sticky – and perhaps your perspiration, too – wipe the blade, not your perspiration, with a paper towel dipped in vinegared water (ah, the wonders of vinegar!) to eliminate the gooey problem and make it easier to slice your maki cleanly.

Enjoy your maki – please!

We did enjoy chef Igarashi’s maki and more. He certainly does it with rocket science precision. To delight the native palate, he’s even come up with a Philippine maki – rolled rice with mango, crabstick, mayonnaise, and kang- kong, among other special dishes he’s prepared for this monthlong Japanese food binge.

First, warm up your taste buds with the hot dishes: yosenabe (assorted vegetables and fresh fish cooked in Japanese special broth served in a hot pot), unagi yanagawa-fu (Japanese eel) with gobo (Japanese vegetable) topped with egg; ebi umani (prawns cooked in Japanese light sauce); sakana no sakamushi (steamed fish with Japanese sake); nabeyaki udon (Japanese hot pot with sanoki udon (Japanese white noodle).

With your apathetic taste buds now awakened, roll over to the grilled dishes station where the following await: gindara teriyaki, unagi kabeyaki, sakana saikyoyaki (marinated fish in Japanese saikyomiso sauce (miso paste), shake asparamaki (asparagus rolled in marinated salmon slice), and yakimatsutake (grilled Japanese mushroom with Japanese lemon sauce).

Rice eaters (or those who are not on the Atkins diet) have a choice of Japanese curry rice, Japanese fried rice, and takikomigohan (steamed rice cooked using chicken broth). Yes, rice to the occasion!

Go ahead and bring the whole family (minus the pet dog) as even kids are bound to enjoy the cream anmitsu station, the Japanese version of our halo-halo. Cream anmitsu is a blend of Japanese jelly and fruits with a choice of vanilla or green tea ice cream. Cool!

Or try the fruit sushi for a healthy dessert.

To cap your "Turning Japanese" experience, try some de-stressing Japanese shiatsu at The Westin’s 24-hour Medi-Spa.

Hai!

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For reservations or inquiries, call Cafe Plaza Too at 551-5555 local 1529 or 1531 and The Westin Sports Club at 832-6904.