John Daub: Sushi may be the world's most well known Japanese food,
but there are many styles of sushi, some not known outside of Japan.
This style, called saiku sushi, is decorative, challenging the creativity
of master chefs, like this one, who is only limited by his own imagination.
This is the "Tōkyō Decorative Saiku Sushi" story.
♫ Intro music ♫
Irraishaimase! (Welcome!)
Peter von Gomm: ONLY in Japan
The great sushi chefs have mastered the craft of touch and taste
which can inspire the person eating it.
Preparing a simple nigiri sushi is more complicated than most customers think.
But sometimes chefs wander beyond the realms of the known,
into the saiku sushi world.
There is no limit, except perhaps the seasonality of the ingredients.
This is "tsubaki", or Japanese camellia, made of maguro (tuna).
It's seems more art than food, but make no mistake, this is all food.
It's saiku sushi at Takasago Sushi restaurant in Tōkyō.
(Yuki-san): My father was a sushi chef,
so I grew up watching his work.
I'm broad-minded.
I do both American and traditional sushi.
I try to make customers happy that way.
Of course, we perfect traditional sushi too.
Including "kohada" (shad), I know we are not inferior.
Traditional plus something extra like this.
It's inventive but also has elements of our tradition.
I hope to pass that on to future generations.
I'll keep arranging it and hope
people will enjoy that.
(John): Wow there are so many sushi here on the counter.
It almost looks like a pastry shop because the colors and the details of it.
It's hard to believe that this is sushi,
but as you heard Yuki-san say,
this is actually not art but food.
So we get a chance to eat it.
I don't what to eat first, but this one right here,
looks really good.
This is a rabbit, or "usagi".
We often forget that sushi is actually finger food, right?
You actually don't need chopsticks to eat it.
So we're just going to pick up the little rabbit guy.
Look at it. It's so cute! Look at those eyes.
(Yuki-san): Dip the soy sauce on this. (John): Yeah, and then dip this
(Evil laugh)
Hmm.... sushi.
(Laughs)
(Yuki-san): That's right.
(John): It's just a little bit more fun when your sushi looks like something
different than sushi.
Another sophisticated saiku sushi design
with "ikura" (salmon roe), "ika" (squid), and cucumber.
So this is a hydrangea.
In English, hydrangea.
Let's watch the preparation for this one.
It starts like many "gunkan" (battleship) sushi:
rice wrapped in "nori", or dried seaweed.
Sheets of squid are cut thinly at an angle.
They're then rolled into a cone and placed facing out around the top.
Working with such delicate ingredients requires great concentration.
Inside each "ika" cone goes one ikura ball.
The orange color is striking on the white squid.
Next Yuki-san cuts a piece of cucumber halfway through on the side of this skin
requiring several pieces.
He fans them out and wedges them in between the cones.
When complete, it's a pretty sushi hydrangea flower pleasing to the eyes.
(Yuji-san): It's complete.
(John): Sushi is perfectly one bite size.
That one was really interesting because on the top of the "gunkan" sushi
there's different pieces, almost like....
I don't know....
like little teeny bombs in your mouth and then as you bit into them, they would
explode, that "ikura", but then they would all come together into an amazing taste.
And I like that one a lot.
It's just a different kind of experience than all the other kinds of sushis
that I've had before.
Yuki-san doesn't just make creative sushi.
He makes excellent "nigiri" sushi with years of mastery.
But it's a chef's imagination that also sets them apart.
Like with micro sushi.
Taking a fraction of a grain of rice.
It requires great skill, care, and patience to make it.
It's very similar to a normal sized counterpart,
just much, much, smaller.
It's not meant to be eaten, nor on the menu,
just something fun and different for his best customers and their kids.
But where does this unique creativity come from?
Not many Tōkyō sushi chefs make California rolls or non traditional styles.
(Yuki-san): When I returned from the United States
and make California rolls for my father,
it really infuriated him at first.
(John): He was really upset? (Yuki-san): (Laughs)
(Yuki-san): The rolls angered my father at first,
but customers liked them, so all was fine.
(John): Customers matter the most, right?
(Yuki-san): That's right, that's right.
It's a bit boring to always have just tuna
or squid, so a little something extra.
I just get this urge to add a bit of originality.
(John): What is the next one? (Yuki-san): "Botan", salmon botan.
(John): Wow.
This one looks so good.
It just has a different color to it.
The salmon and the "ikura".
The color of the sushi is very important.
And when you get a tray of "nigiri" sushi,
you'll see different colors to it.
The "ika", the salmon, the "maguro".
It all has a variation which, I think,
gives it it's own appeal.
It's all of the senses coming together.
It's salmon.
(Both laugh)
It's salmon, but it's really good salmon.
And again, the way that it's been cut.
Usually salmon is just one piece on top of a bed of rice.
This has been cut into different pieces,
and again, coming together, coming apart, and then coming together.
(Meguro-san): So, about today's sushi -- when you see it
They look really difficult to make, don't they?
Well --
They are difficult to make.
From the shape of petals
to the size of each part that needs to be uniform...
When you actually try, these are hard to do.
More importantly, being able to
serve the regular nigiri sushi
is the prerequisite. That's fundamental.
Plus, if we make something different and exciting,
that's one way of showing
the artistry sushi chefs have.
I think it's one of the sushi-making skills.
(John): It's so pretty.
Wrapping. There's cucumber and egg in there.
The level of detail in this... is just amazing.
I feel not worthy.
(Laughs)
This is really good.
The snappy cucumber with soft juicy egg,
touch of salty ikura, perfect.
(Yuki-san): It started in Shōwa period (1926-1989),
but the roll-style started in Edo (1603-1867).
The decorative roll started in Edo.
in Japan, each house had a family crest
Called a Kamon.
Maybe similar in the West.
Rolls with the crest design were popular in Edo.
Then came Meiji period (1868-1912), then Shōwa,
when we started eating raw fish.
Also decorated the fish with
seasonal design, which is important.
How do you add the seasonal touch?
Flowers are good.
Hydrangea, cherry blossom, and chrysanthemum...
I think it started in early Shōwa.
(John): Saiku sushi is not something you'll see often anymore.
Not like this.
It requires a lot of time and detail.
The price is also going to be higher,
which is another reason it's not on the menu.
It's more something chefs do to hone their sushi making skills.
Challenge themselves and have a little fun.
It's sure fun to look at and it's fun to eat.
This "ume" blossom is made with ikura, ika, cucumber, and minced shrimp meat.
That tasted a little but different.
It had kind of, hmm, I don't know.
It's just I've never had minced up shrimp before in such a fine detail, but
I think when you're eating sushi, and different kinds of sushi,
it's really good if the chef has some creativity as well, because
it gives you a new way to see something that you've eaten so many times before.
And that's another reason to try different sushi shops as well.
There's a lot of repeaters here, but
when you do try new things,
it makes you think in a different way as well.
And he's traveled around the world and been inspired by certain things and
each chef has been inspired by something in their life
or something that they've learned from the base of training into the next level
which is, the taste of the food.
Basically, I'm eating the chef's experience.
Where does your creativity come from?
From traveling around in the US?
(Yuki-san): Ah, no, before that -- as a child
I was often with my father and other sushi chefs,
watching them work, thinking
how I could make their sushi better.
I used to enter sushi competitions.
I'd look at the winners' work when I was young,
and think how I could do it, and how
I'd improve it. I was always thinking like that.
(John): This one I'm really curious about.
This is carp
(buzzer)
(Yuki-san): Gold fish
(John): Yeah. I love the details of it.
To cut the tenticles of the octopus to make the eyes
It's a perfect round shape of it.
But this looks almost too pretty to eat.
But the ika is very translucent.
You can see inside of it which gives it
another way to see the colors and the presentation.
It's interesting that you can take the ingredients and,
with your imaginations,
find new ways to use that in a presentation like this.
I'm going to eat this one with chopsticks.
Inside is some yellow "tamagoyaki" (or egg),
dark green seaweed,
and red maguro.
This one looks extremely interesting.
It's made of "maguro", or tuna.
The red color with the rice underneath it,
it's just so unique.
And the way it's just covering it
I love this.
I'm going to have to use chopsticks with this one.
This chrysanthemum is made of a long rope cut of maguro
draped with skill over the rice.
Quite popular in Kyōto back in the day.
Oh I love "akami" (lean red maguro).
(Laughs)
Chūtoro, ōtoro is really good.
But there's something special about akami.
I know when you're eating ōtoro and chūtoro,
which are the fattier cuts of maguro,
a lot of people see more expensive being better.
Actually, it's just a different taste.
Akami, there's just more of it inside of the tuna,
which is why it might be a little bit cheaper.
Ōtoro is just less of it.
It doesn't make it better or worse.
It's just rarer.
But that akami.
The way it's cut and the way it breaks apart in your mouth, like the other ones
it's just really unique.
Yeah.
Each chef brings his or her own experience to the restaurant.
That's one of the values.
What a customer pays for.
Since coming to Japan, I've a new appreciation for food,
ingredients, and the dedication so many chefs have to perfecting their craft.
You won't find saiku sushi on the menu here.
It's historical, and something Yuki-san does for fun and I appreciate him
sharing his skill with us.
Sushi is fun, especially "kaiten", conveyor belt, sushi.
But there's something special about having a chef make it in front of you.
Giving guidance and learning more about it.
Sushi is very competitive in Tōkyō.
You need to be consistently perfect to satisfy customers.
But that X-Factor is creativitity and friendliness.
It's a reason why you always go back to your favorite sushi shop,
and a reason why I'll go back to see Yuki-san at Takasago Sushi.
If you like this sushi adventure, leave me a comment below
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Where I'll take you on another adventure to the far corners of Japan
with a story you'll never forget.
Mata ne! (See you again!)