Lessons of a sushi chef
Other Katsuya specialties include the baked miso marinated black cod in hoba leaf. Katsuya Uechi’s Sushi Institute of America will offer a two-month basic course that covers fundamentals such as Japanese knife handling and sharpening, selecting and cutting fish and how to prepare sushi rice. (Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times)
Right now all the sushi restaurants are short-handed, says Katsuya Uechi. The one-month advanced course at SIA will be geared toward those aspiring to begin a career as professional sushi chefs, with job-placement opportunities at Katsuya restaurants. Shown is Katsuya restaurant’s seared tuna with Japanese salsa. (Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times)
The sushi bar at Katsuya is the center of attention. Sushi is the core of Japanese food culture in the U.S., but with the increase of sushi restaurants, we are finding a lack of chefs, and the techniques of local sushi chefs is declining. says Noritoshi Kanai, president of Mutual Trading Co. (Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times)