The Japanese Food Show of New York City
There are many reasons to attend a food show. There are food samples, cooking demonstarations, panel discussions, new products, and a chance to learn. When elegant Japanese cuisine is spotlighted, the reasons to attend are mutliplied.
The Japanese Food Show was an opportunity to go beyond the list of familiar Japanese products and discover those products that are still exotic to westerners, to be dazzled by the number of artisanal producrts produced in Japan. Culinary luminaries, whose mastery of Japanese cuisine frees them to create, made dazzling dishes with ease, inspiring us to experimentmore frequently. Panel discussions all had a questiona nd answer session. Of course, there were samples, and no attendee can resist. The doors open at ten and the samplign was begun as soon as the doors opened.
Highlights of the Japanese Food Show
Courtesy of New York Mutual Trading Company and Teuwen One Image
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Chef Demonstrations of Japanese Cooking with Recipes
- Chef Yosuke Suga, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon click for Kokuto Brown Sugar Ice Cream and Vanilla Panna Cottarecipe
- Chef George Mendes, Tocqueville alumnus click for Littleneck Clams, Matcha Tea “Air,” and Anise recipe
- Chef Takanori Akiyama, Lan Japanese Restaurant
- Chef Nils Noren, VP of the French Culinary Institute, with the winner of the Culinary Student Recipe Challenge. click for Chef Noren's Olive Oil Poached Trout with Salmon Roe, Salsify-Parmesan Puree and Apple-mushroom Brot hrecipe and click for winner, Fitz Tallon's Japanese Smokey Squid Salad recipe
- Sara Moulton, Executive Chef of Gourmet Magazine and star of "Sara's Secrets" on the Food Network
- Hiroko Shimbo, Japanese Cuisine Authority and James Beard Award-nominated cookbook author
Discussions of Japanese Cuisine
- Sara Moulton interviews Hiroko Shimbo
Panel Discussion on the evolution of Japanese food in New York City, with Chef Johan Svennson of Aquavit; Yasuyuki Suzuki, Sake Sommlier/Partner of Lan Japanese Restaurant (formerly of Megu); Hiroko Shimbo, and Sasha Issenberg, author of the critically acclaimed new book, The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy.
Sake & Shochu School
There were 125 varieties of premium sake and 30 types of shochu available for tasting at the show.
Throughout the day, attendees were able to meet the brewers and distillers in person as well as sip creative concoctions at the Shochu Bar.
There were a series of workshops open to all attendees--whether completes novice or connoisseurs looking for more specialized knowledge. The world of Sake is endless.
Exhibits: Japanese Tableware, Knives of every price range, includig an ebony-handled knife for $1800.00 |
Artisanal Japanese Ingredients
40,000 square feet of booths highlighted not only saké, shochu, and beer craftsmen but also artisans who make some of the finest Japanese food products on earth, featured in the MTC Premium line of ingredients. We tasted real Wagyu beef, sea salt smoked over cherry wood fires, live miso, and soy sauce aged in 100 year old cider barrels, crispy “soy salt” made of freeze-dried soy sauce, smoky brown sugar cubes from Okinawa Island, and much more.
On the show floor there was a selection of beautiful tableware, teapots, glassware, Ishiyaki cooking stones, ecologically friendly takeout trays, and kitchen equipment.
Among the hghlights :
- Soy Salt an ancient product meets modern creativity and technology as artisan-made soy sauce is freeze-dried. The end result is a light, crispy coarse “salt.” A perfect condiment for sushi, sashimi, salad, beef steak, pasta, or grilled vegetables.
- Shiro Shibori is a golden-hued wheat soy sauce made from 80 percent wheat and 20 percent soybeans. Distinctive mellow sweetness and hint of gamy flavor are the characteristics of this very unique soy sauce.
- Okinawa Kokutoh is made on Okinawa Island where brown sugar production dates back to the early 17th century. Following traditional methods, Okihawa Kokutoh is made by pressing sugar cane immediately after harvest, crystallizing the juice over a wood fire, and pressing the crystals into cubes. Okinawa Kokutoh has pleasantly strong molasses fragrance and flavor with a slight hint of acidity, bitterness and saltiness.
- Taihaku Junsei Goma Abura is sesame oil made from cold pressed organic, white sesame seeds. The faintly sweet fragrance, nutty flavor, and light color are very distinctive and unlike most other sesame oils on the market. With a smoke point of 446º F, it is perfect for sautéing and deep-frying as well as for dressings and sauces.
- Ma-kombu is called the “king of kelp” because of its colossal leaves, fragrant bouquet, and the sweet, rich, crystal-clear stock it produces. Ma-kombu, with its concentrated natural glutamic acid,greatly enhances the flavor of nearly any dish. Use ma-kombu dashi as a natural alternative to beef, chicken or fish stock.
- Flash-frozen premium quality tuna includes farmed bluefin and wild bigeye and yellowfin tuna. After the catch, tuna is immediately slaughtered, bled, cleaned and frozen at -76 degrees F. The fish is frozen before rigor mortis sets in, the best way to preserve texture and flavor. Flash-frozen, premium tuna excels in quality compared to fresh tuna, which requires substantial shipping and handling before it reaches consumers and sushi chefs.
- Premium sake & shochu: In addition to the array of artisanal ingredients there will be 125 varieties of premium sake, 30 types of shochu, two craft beers, and even a vodka made entirely from rice.
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