The Secret To Perfect Sushi, According To Chef Nobu Matsuhisa
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has built a global empire of sushi restaurants that have become especially beloved among celebrities. With nearly fifty locations around the world (per Nobu Restaurants), diners can enjoy the consistently luxurious and precisely flavored sushi while they travel. "Over the course of a two-week period, once, I ate at Nobu in Hawaii, because a friend of mine wanted to go there for their birthday, Nobu in London, Nobu in New York, and Nobu in L.A.," Andrew Zimmern told Eater. "And I ordered some different things, but some same things everywhere there, and they're exactly the same." In order to achieve this level of harmony, Matsuhisa explained to Harvard Business Review that he travels 10 months out of the year to ensure quality control in his restaurants.
The sushi chef's signature style is a combination of his traditional Japanese training and time spent in Peru and Argentina (via Harvard Business Review). Dishes that are now commonplace in American sushi establishments, like yellowtail topped with jalapeño, fried rock shrimp with spicy mayo, and miso-marinated black cod are all thanks to Nobu (via Eater). Creating dishes like these is the result of a lifetime of training, but he did share one of his trade secrets with Travel + Leisure.
All of the sushi at Nobu is made using all 10 fingers and six deliberate hand movements
The consistency of the dishes across Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant empire is no easy feat, and he revealed one technique that ensures that whether you're dining at Nobu Chicago or Nobu Hong Kong, you will have the same delicately crafted sushi. The master sushi chef revealed to Travel + Leisure that when creating a piece of sushi, his signature technique is to use all 10 fingers and six distinct hand motions.
"I like to separate the people eating my sushi," Nobu told Travel + Leisure. "That's why [I] always make 10 fingers, always each process like, 'Okay, make the best one.'" The care put into every bite sets Nobu apart from the rest, but ingredients are also a factor. If you want to attempt to make your own sushi at home, Matsuhisa recommends specific brands of sashimi knife, rice, rice cooker, according to Food & Wine. At the end of the day, though, the chef told Travel + Leisure that it comes down to "a sharp knife and a clean fish."