The art of sushi

Not a secret I'm a Japan lover, angle wide no matter what.
I'm cooking sushi (すし, a special vinegar flavoured rice served with different kind of ingredients) since years now and I find the original taste is something we cannot recreate outside Japan. We, in Europe, are pasta oriented and great lovers of strong tastes.

I'm in love with my Italian cuisine, our magnificent pizza, antipasti, peperoncini, pasta alla carbonara and more are to be proud of!
First love with raw fish, rice and more in a japanese restaurant came about 10 years ago, never ate such kind of food. Never actually been in a real japanese restaurant and never met a japanese chef!
It seemed to me with no pepper, no salt, no taste, nothing unless dipped in soj sauce or wasabi.
Itamae (いたまえ, the original japanese cook) told me about the complexity and the simplicity way to prepare sushi, to prepare miso soup, the art of presenting, the mood for ramen.

That was the very beginning of my Japanorama experience and, obviously I was just a novice!

Years passed and improved in each field, from language to kitchen, from way of living to religion, from history to being able to build a hanko (はんこ, a typical rubber stamp used instead of own signature).
()

I'm not a pro, but I think I rolled my way out for norimaki (のりまき) thanks to the support of friends and casuals taken as lab rats. Everytime they said my food was really good but was missing something.
I've read and read books, I've watched videos, tutorials and even movies but something was really missing.

Well, I was kind of blue mooded and thought I would never be able to fill that gap.
Suddendly, in a very cheap (but nice) indian restaurant, sitting on fluffy cushions, heard a couple talking about the tandoori chicken: "I went to India (bla bla bla) and this is not tasting like the chicken I ate there! Must be the ingredients (bla bla bla)"

You know what?
I found it. I found the missing something!
It was not about ingredients, it was about the longitudinal taste; japanese don't have such strong taste and this is perfect for them: they just savour their meals, smelling each ingredients, tasting every single sub-atomic composite!
That's it!

Since that very moment I love to prepare fusion-sushi for people who love it strong and traditional one for japanese friends - itamae included!

I've wrote my personal recipe, in italian, and you can find it here.

()