The actual bar where I work is very tiny. I work with my sushi chef mentor, Jack. My new coworkers are very kind and friendly despite the language barriers that exist and I'm happy to be able to have this experience.
Because I have almost no previous experience working with sushi, except for my brief stint with it in Garde Manger class, I can't do the more complex rolls yet. However, one of my goals for the externship is to work up to that point. Mostly I work on Spicy Tuna rolls, which are inside out rolls (rice on the outside) because they are very simple with only one filling (spicy tuna mix). Today I was offered the chance to do something called a Christmas roll as well as a regular Tuna roll because my dad came into buy them, so it'd be okay if they didn't look perfect. Which they didn't, heh. However, still proud of what I did do.
I'm glad to work alongside Jack because he watches me and reminds me of what I'm doing wrong and to watch my mise en place. When working with sushi, it's important to have all of your ingredients at the ready, always keep your knife perfectly clean and dry (and faced in a way so that you aren't accidentally cut).
Some other important things I get reminded of as I'm working goes beyond making the sushi. When plating them on trays or on plates it's important to remember to make it look good. When I work the style is to place the sushi diagonally usually, garnishing with lettuce and parsley, along with ginger and wasabi. I need to be conscious of making the garnishes angled vertically so that it's more aesthetically pleasing.
I've also made the sushi rice, which we tend to make in 6-8 C batches in a rice cooker. We make the sushi rice downstairs in the kitchen, which is essentially in the basement. It's also where all of the storage rooms are. After cooking, which takes 40-50 minutes, we place it into a big, wooden flat bowl and mix it with the premixed sushi vinegar-sugar mixture. It's hard to stir it around with the giant spoon, but I guess that's just part of the job! Muscles, here I come!
Now, here's a bunch of pictures taken by my dad:
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| The Tuna Roll I Made |
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| The Christmas Roll I Made...half eaten |
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| I'm Smiling Cause I'm Happy! |
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| Rolling Some Rolls! |
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| Cutting the Christmas Roll |
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| and...Cutting the Tuna Roll Diagonally Somehow |
