Not long ago Japanese cuisine was considered ‘too foreign’ for the Indian palate. But with the world becoming a global village, and more and more people travelling and exploring, food that once seemed inaccessible and unfamiliar became the new favourite.As tastes evolved, so did gastronomic trends. To make inroads into an area where a nori sheet or a sashimi might not be received well, Japanese cuisine brought in influences from different cultures to Indian tables. It made food more accepting to Indian taste buds, while retaining the authentic touch. Sushi burgers, sushi taco, tortilla rolled sushi, or rice paper wrapped sushi rolls are newer ways in which one can soon expect to see sushi being served.
Till lately the preserve of expensive restaurants in five-star hotels, the trademark Japanese food is being offered at affordable prices by Simply Sushi—it deals in Japanese speciality—at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj and Select CityWalk, Saket, in Delhi. Not just that, the menu has gone one step ahead in incorporating a Japanese version of the quintessential American street food—the hotdog. Known as ‘Japadog’, these are much more than your regular fried sausage in bread slathered with ketchup and mustard.
A comfort food by nature, Japadog evolves from simple mustard and relish to seaweed, wasabi and other Japanese condiment garnishing. It is quite simple. Take a chicken hotdog—say no to the fried version and go for a cold cut one—add a dash of Japanese twist with Teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, caramelised onions, and voila! There are also flavours like kimchi and chilli bean.Spearheaded by internationally renowned chef Yutaka Saito, Executive Chef at Simply Sushi, one can see how the menu makes an effort to understand the nuanced Indian palate. The Japadog was introduced under the guidance of Mayank Tiwari, Group Executive Chef of PVR.
“When it comes to food, we eat with our eyes first. This leads to a key emphasis on the technique used in preparation. Each item on the menu served at Simply Sushi lends a diversified texture profile, ensuring a burst of flavours to the palate,” says Chef Saito, who has been in India for the past seven years, and needless to say, knows what the Indian palate wants.
For instance, he knows that a large clientele is vegetarian and alienating them would lead to revenue loss. Thus, breaking the myth that Japanese is only for those who eat seafood; 40 per cent of the menu at Simply Sushi is vegetarian.“It is very difficult to acquire fresh and good quality ingredients to serve to our guests. So, most of the ingredients are flown in directly from the Tsukiji market in Japan,” says Chef Saito. This only adds to the authentic flavour of their batera sushi, temaki rolls, maki sushi rolls and Japadogs. And very soon the chef will be ready to offer his patrons the typical fries with an innovative Japanese twist.