Japanese Menu Days 6 + 7

  Heads up -Japanese do not generally cook in woks and the woks we have are used for many other, stronger, flavored dishes. On Days 6+7 we may use woks to steam or boil water, but not to cook in - the flavors come out "muddy".  You may use them to blanch vegetables, bones or noodles, or use the wok steamers; ask me if not certain about when a wok might be appropriate.

In advance of the Vietnamese Menu for Days 8+9 you should watch the videos in the side bar in the Vietnamese section of the website, they are also listed here for your convenience. If you do not, you'll be unprepared for several techniques you'll need to know while prepping ahead.

These are : "Handling Fresh Herbs and Table Salad"

                    " Working with Lemon grass"

                     "Working with Tamarind Paste"

Sous Chefs for Japanese Menu:
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. Watch the video and 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 the Dashi for Miso soup in a stainless steel pot,not a wok, the wok makes it dark and muddy tasting. You should anticipate making about 1 1/2  gallons dashi all together so that other stations can draw from it, the exception will be for Station 6 - they need a Vegan dashi and will make their own. 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

The steamed long grained white rice should be made in the Rice Cooker, the same way as the rice for the Chinese menu.


Station 2:
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, set on oval plates with white rice and miso pickles -usually the miso pickles are VERY salty right out of the container, so taste them with the chef and then, if needed,  soak them in cool water for at least 3 hours before service, then drain, this may have been done ahead, but talk to me anyway to be sure before we serve them.. On Day 6 Remember to soak Long Grained Sticky Rice on day 7 for Day 8.

Station 3:
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. The recipe on the website has a photo of how to use a sheet of plastic cut from a heavy plastic trash bag when pounding cutlets with a mallet, talk to the chef about how to set this up if it isn't clear to you.You should anticipate frying 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, (remember, this sauce is very intense in flavor, do not apply salt or pepper to the cutlets when you bread them), the cabbage salad should be dressed ahead of service, and the cutlets fried to order - if they are pounded thin enough they take less than 1 minute to fry. You'll need a cutting board and knife on your station to slice pork before plating - everything in Japanese service is cut to "bite size" before plating because there are typically no knives at the table.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.

Be sure to read the instructions for cooking shrimp for Sushi Nigiri. The shrimp must be put onto bamboo skewers before poaching in order to keep them curving when cooking.

Station 4:  The Pork Belly for The Ramen Noodle Recipe should have been left to dry in the cooler on Day 5 for Day 6 by station 3. You should do it on Day 6 for Day 7 It only has to be removed from the package, placed on a rack, and air dried in the cooler over night, but you can't forget!  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 on Day 5. For setting up the Noodle station : Set up the station using the 4 burners on the right side of the range. The 2 left burners will be for station 5 to saute their vegetables. Have one large pot of boiling water with noodle baskets or a china cap in it to cook your noodles ala minuten and another to hold your simmering broth. Hold sliced pork belly , warm, above the line in a 1/2 hotel pan, have warm bowls there as well. You're other garnishes should be directly to the right of your station in the SMALLEST containers possible. You must share that space with the Fry Station.
Prep for days 8+9 includes making spicy beef filling for Beef in La Lot leaf, this MUST be done- let me know if you need help.


Station 5:
Beef Teriyaki - Make sure you watch the demo on cleaning skirt steak., ALL external fat and silver skin must be removed from the main muscle before you portion it. Do Not Portion into individual steaks without having Chef inspect it. 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. Prep for Days 8+9 includes roasting pork butt and baking pate for Banh in the Vietnamese menu - this must be done!

Station 6:
Your main dish is a bowl designed so the vegetables can change with the seasons, and served hot in winter and chilled in the summer.

Here's a photo of a summer version:



Have all of the mise en place in small, neat, containers and deep noodle bowls on your station next to the steamer. Becasue the vegetables may change from week to week, I'll be working closely with you to make sure the first one comes out right.

Besides your menu item,  your big job is getting all of the sushi garnishes prepped and collected. Each sushi plate will need, see the photo at the top of this page.
- 1 oz ramekin soy sauce
- 1 shiso leaf
- small amount of drained pickled ginger - house made yesterday.
- wasabi for the plate and wasabi for the sushi production - see below
- sunomono salad - get from sous chefs
- blanched soy beans (make sure you get the ones IN the pods - the store room usually messes up the order and sends the ones out of the pods)

Get all of this stuff together early. The soy sauce in ramekins -enough for the class on Day 6 and  about 60 ramekins on Day 7 for service - and all of the other stuff together on a sheet tray so you can bring it to the sushi production area when they need it (hopefully by 10:00 am). The wasabi paste must be made in two different consistencies. Start by mixing the dry powder with small amounts of water and mix to combine until it has a "clay-like" texture - easy to shape and mold. Remove 1/2 of the wasabi from the bowl for use on the plate. With the remaining wasabi in the bowl, continue to add water and stir until it's thin enough to spread - a "toothpaste" consistency. This will be used on the sushi as it's formed. Communication with the other teams and sous is important. You can see a picture of the finished plate with all of the garnishes in the photo at the top of this post. Prep for days 8 + 9 include making the shrimp force meat for Shrimp on Sugarcane in the Vietnamese Menu, this MUST be done- ask for help peeling shrimp early on Day 7.