Around March this year, shortly after an article was published about Sushi Session on
Baslerstab a local newspaper. A kind Swiss lady, Frau Jenni called me and booked a Sushi Session on 1st of Nov, 2008, it is a present for her sister and brother-in-law, Mr and Mrs. Thomann.
Because I do have a day job, so I would usually go and buy all the materials I need in a few days in advance. I would buy all dry goods for the Sushi kit a few days before. I got the Sushi knifes from Globus, rice and seaweed, etc, at A-Chau by the SBB Bahnhof. I printed out recipes in German. Then on the day before the session, I would get all fresh materials, I bought 0.5 kg of Tuna and 0.5 kg of Salmon and also the veggies at Manor on Clarastrasse.
I love Manor, their products are very fresh and all nicely arranged and the fish are really fresh. And for sushi we need the best. When you ask for sashimi quality, they would kindly select a good piece for you. I usually smile brightly and ask if they could please cut a piece from the unopen package. And they usually smile back and present me a mouth watering piece of Tuna and Salmon. They have a good selection of fish to be eaten raw(of course you can't compare that to bigger city), Sea-wolf and Rotezunge are both very good for sushi. They also have octopus and very good scallops.
On Saturday morning, I got up at 8, got myself ready and started to prepare all the ingredients. Cut all vegetables, grilled the Zucchinni and Aubergine. I always prepare the materials quite well before the session, so when I get there, I would have enough time to make the rice, soup and set up the whole thing and start to teach.
After preparing the vegetables, I washed and wrap the filets in papertowel for a few minute. Then I start to cut the fish, half for Nigiri(thinner cut), half for Sashimi(slightly thicker cut). I layered paper towel in between the slices of fish , so it can sucks away the extra fluid and stay nice and fresh. As soon as I am done cutting, I wrapped them up and put them back in the fridge until I leave.
My lovely husband drove me and my gears to Bruderholz, a beautiful residential area in Basel. The leaves of the trees are turning into beautiful red and orange. The sun was shinning. Fall is in the air.
Ring Ring! "Hello! I am Carmen, I am here to show you how to make sushi!" Two kind smiling faces greeted me at the door. The lovely Swiss couple showed me inside of their lovely home. I put down my heavy load in their kitchen and I saw a fire red Japanese maple tree in the garden, then I knew, today is going to be a great day!
Mr. and Mrs. Thomann turns out to be seasoned visitors of Japan, Mr. Thomann spoke many phrases of Japanese, so we spent the afternoon making sushi and chatting away about Japan and Asian Cultures. They have been to Japan many times, and love this country since the very first visit. That's why Mrs. Jenni had the idea to give them a Sushi Session as a present. It was a bit sad because Mrs. Jenni recently had an accident and she was not feeling so well. She and her husband came later to join us. I hope that they were not diappointed that I am not actually Japanese decent. But we did all share a passion for Japanese food.
Here are some pictures they sent me of our Sushi Session, we tried out many styles of sushi, Makis, Uramaki(inside out), Nigiris, Gukan(battleship) and they totally mastered them. And I was truly proud of my students and their gorgeous self-made sushi platters on that beautiful November afternoon. Thank you very much Mr and Mrs Thomann for hosting the session. And big thanks and best greetings to Mrs Jenni. I hope you have recovered well.
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