Updated on Monday - Japanese Menu Days 6 + 7 and Prep for Vietnamese Menu

Please read this entire post! There are updates and add-ons to each station and you'll need to know what each other person is doing in order to work cooperatively. Message me if something doesn't make sense. 

In advance of the Vietnamese Menu for Days 8+9 you should watch the videos on how to prepare tamarind, lemon grass, and herbs, in the side bar in the Vietnamese section of the website. If you do not, you'll be unprepared for several techniques you'll need to know.

For day 6:

Sous Chefs - Victoria and Hermez - Make sure to review the Day 1 material for sous chef duties and how to do the organizational paperwork, include those things in your time lines so you don't forget.

YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING UP THE PLATING AREA FOR SUSHI. On station 3, same as chef did today, but there will be larger quantity.  Rin will prep garnish and portion ramekins of soy sauce for 60 plates.


The only things coming off of the steam table today will be the steamed long grained white rice and the Braised beef, You only need to use 1 steam table.

Making Sushi Rice is key. You will find the recipe for Sushi Rice under the Sushi Maki heading in the on-line menu,open the Sushi Maki link and then look for another hyper-link to Sushi Rice. Make 8 cups of sushi rice for Day 6 and 12 cups for Day 7 (be sure to adjust the seasoning liquid accordingly)

 There is also a video,  Watch it and read the step by step instructions here. You'll need to be prepared  to start the process as soon as you come in at 7:00 am. Remember that we are using the Rice Cooker instead of the Steamer.
- Rinse and drain rice until water is clear - the more clear the water, the better the rice. Anticipate spending 15 minutes or so washing rice - be sure to handle the rice GENTLY so that it does not crumble as you rinse it.
- Soak rice for 1 hour in fresh, cool water
- Drain and Air Dry rice on lined sheet tray from 30 minutes
- prepare vinegar solution while rice dries
- Steam rice in Rice Cooker - CHECK WITH CHEF FOR DONENESS OF RICE BEFORE REMOVING FROM RICE COOKER.While rice is steaming, fill hangiri with cool water, when rice is finished cooking and while it's resting, dump water from hangiri, towel excess water out and then put rested rice into hangiri and add vinegar solution while "cutting" and fanning. Ask me for additional demo on this - I want to bring everyone in on it to watch.

- When rice is cool to the point that it's no longer steaming, stop "cutting" and divide rice into 3 1/3 hotel pans - one pan for each type of sushi. Cover rice with damp towels to keep from forming a crust and hold at room temp - don't refrigerate it.

Once the sushi stations are set up, I'll demo each type of sushi to get you started - if you're set up for demos by 10:00 am you can make all of the sushi slightly ahead hold it. It works best to set up all 3 sushi stations on the same table so you can share ingredients. Use stations 1 and 2 (because they should be finished their other prep by 10:00). When the sushi is made and the garnishes (from station 6) are all together, you can plate on small plates and hold for service on the shelves under station 5.

Sushi Plate:

Sushi Station Set ups

Maki Station:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Nigiri Station:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Inari Station:

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Make 3 gallons of Dashi for Days 6 + 7 on Day 6. The recipe for ichi ban dashi is included inthe miso soup recipe.

Make the Miso soup in a stainless steel pot,not a wok, the wok makes it dark and muddy tasting. You should anticipate making about 1/2  gallons of soup for Day 6 and 2 gallons for Day 7.

 Save the solids when you strain the dashi, they can be used on Day 7 to make a "second dashi", please be very aware of the time and temperature instructions for Dashi - these are important. Also be VERY aware not to rinse or wipe away the white powder which may be on the kombu - this is very flavorful sea minerals. 

"Sunomono" means "vinegared things" in Japanese. The sunomono salad is supposed to be placed on the sushi sampler plate as a garnish - small pile, about 1 TBSP. per plate. The sunomono can be made early and dressed closer to service, around 10:00-10:15. For Day 6 make a small amount, 1/4 recipe. Talk to chef before you begin if you're unsure. For Day 7 make 1.5x a full recipe.

The steamed long grained white rice should be made in the steamer, the same way as the rice for the Chinese menu. Day 6 make 8 cups, day 7 make 20 cups.


Station 2: Alex
The braise is pretty self explanatory. For Day 6 make only 1/2 recipe - for Day 7 make 1 full recipe.

 Choose a small rondo - you don't want too much surface area or your braise will burn. When finished, hold it hot in a deep 1/2 hotel pan in the steam table. See photo in recipe for plate presentation with Toasted sesame seeds, long, thin, bias cut scallions and Miso Pickles (you will share these with Station 4, so read their section as well and communicate with them on preparing these pickles for service). Remember to soak Long Grained Sticky Rice on day 7 for Day 8.

Also - set up Mise en place for California Sushi Maki, see photo below to guide you.

ALEX PLEASE : also look at the Vietnamese menu for "Shrimp on Sugar cane". I need you to set up to make the shrimp force meat for 1.5X recipe. I will help you organize it, and everyone will assist in peeling the shrimp.

Station 3: Rin 
Pork Cutlet is also self explanatory, you will clean a pork loin, trim off all silver-skin and external fat, cut into 1/2" thick slices and then pound into very thin, wide cutlets. ASk chef for quick exp[lanation before you begin (Actually, if you want to talk about other ways to do it, that would be fine too..just don't surprise me)

You should anticipate firing each cutlet ala minute and plating directly from the fry station, so draw a detailed diagram of how the station will look, make sure to consider work-flow in your diagram .

You can fry in the fryer, turn around to the table behind you and slice the pork, plate it with the salad and a ramekin of sauce and then pass to the steam table for rice. The sauce should be in 1 oz. ramekins, the cabbage salad should be dressed  before service,

 You'll need a cutting board and knife on your station to slice pork before plating.

Remember to make the Pho Broth for Days 8+9. It's important to start this very early so it develops good body, so blanch the bones and meat on Day 6 and have them ready to start for broth as soon as you arrive on Day 7. Talk to chef early on Day 6 to get a good start on that.

RIN ADD ON:  please  prep garnish and portion ramekins of soy sauce as you did today, but prepare enough for 60-70 plates. Get wakame sunomono from sous-chefs, they're making it.

Station 4:  Fernando 

 The Pork Belly for The Ramen Noodle Recipe has been left to dry in the cooler on Day 6 for Day7. It'ts your responsibility to complete the process and set up a working station for this. You will finish each dish ala minute from the 6 burner range. Draw a complete and accurate diagram of how this station will be set up.   

The rest of the procedure is self explanatory from the recipe (make sure to review embedded PowerPoint on preparing the pork), feel free to ask me any questions.

For Day 6 you will make 5 full portions of noodles in broth with all garnishes, on Day 7 you should be prepared to serve 20 portions,

You have a lot of prep to do for the Vietnamese Menu, so look ahead and think about how to spread that work over two days - Prep the Beef in La Lot Leaves filling using the ground beef in the cooler.


Station 5: Kat and Andy

Beef Teriyaki - Make sure you watch the demo on cleaning skirt steak. Cut and portion into 5 oz. portions. Marinate steaks and prep vegetables. You will cook and plate from your station, so Draw a detailed diagram of how the grill station will be set up - Grill cloth, oil, grill brush, resting pan with rack, cutting board to slice meat, slicing knife, tongs. Also, you will be sauteing the veg (snow peas, bean sprouts, mushrooms) in small batches on the range. Set your station up so that you are "self contained". Grill set up - saute/veg set up- plates on shelf above saute line- cutting board on end of table closest to grill- chaffing dish set up with two 1/2 hotel pans in it , one for rice and one to hold your veg batches as they cook. Again - if you draw a detailed diagram of your entire station and label all of the items you'll need, setting up will be much easier and you'll look like a rock star. Hint - Beef teriyaki is very popular. You're going to get hit hard as soon as the doors open. Have 5 steaks grilled and resting(not cold,just resting) at 11:00 and have 1/3 of your vegetables already sauteed and in the chaffing dish ready to go. As you get an order for one steak, fire another. Skirt steak should be cooked to medium doneness. Medium rare is too chewy. Be ready to serve 5 portions on Day 6 and 15 portions on Day 7. I will bring in the skirt steaks for both days so you can clean them all on Monday, saving time on Day 7.

Please remember to take the pork from the brine and marinate it on Monday,and on Tuesday to roast it and chill it for sandwiches on Wednesday.

You also need to make a pork pate for the Vietnamese Menu (see banh mi recipe). The ground pork will be here on Monday morning - it's up to you whether to do it on Day 6 or 7, but it must be baked and chilled before day 8.

ADD ON : Please organize the group to help you make the marinade for the Lemon Grass Pork Ribs from the Vietnamese Menu, if you break down the knife work, I'll walk you through butchering the pork and applying the marinade.  Work this into your time line and don't be afraid to ask for help.