Masaharu Morimoto is an icon best known as a perennial presence on “Iron Chef America” and in Japan, on the original “Iron Chef” program. Now, he’s on screen as a judge of a new series streaming on Roku, “Morimoto’s Sushi Master,” with co-host Lyrica Okano, that continues Morimoto’s knack for embracing new tastes and forms […]
The art of sushi
January 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
SUSHI ART COOKBOOK: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO KAZARI SUSHI By Ken Kawasumi (North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 2017, 128 pp., hardcover, $18.95) If you are a serious foodie interested in food art or sushi, this book might be for you. But this book is definitely for you if you’re a chef or aspiring chef, or […]
THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Bizarre Japanese foods
February 2, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I used to be glued to the tube when the Food Network first debuted, since it was a channel devoted exclusively to the art of the kitchen, from Emeril’s “bam,” to Mario Batali’s rustic Italian dishes, to the informative and entertaining Alton Brown, who combined theatrics along with actual technique. But like any media — […]
A heartwarming film of cross-cultural discovery rolled into ‘East Side Sushi’
June 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
“You have to be open to something different,” says single mom Juana Martinez, played by newcomer Diana Elizabeth Torres, to her young daughter (Kaya Jade Aguirre). And that something is sushi made by a Mexican American woman who dreams of becoming a sushi chef in the award-winning film “East Side Sushi” by director Anthony Lucero. […]
Barbara Funamura, creator of Spam musubi, dies at 78
June 9, 2016 by Leave a Comment
POIPU, Kaua‘i — When Barbara Funamura created the first Spam musubi, she had no idea how popular it would become. “There are Spam musubi everywhere,” said Dan Funamura, Barbara Funamura’s husband. “It all started at Joni-Hana more than 30 years ago.” Barbara Funamura passed away at the age of 78 on May 12 at her […]
Sushi chefs in California have their hands full with new law
February 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — At popular Los Angeles restaurant Sushi Gen, 66-year-old Toshiaki Toyoshima slices fish in preparation for dinner. The sushi chef has honed his sushi-making techniques for nearly 50 years and the daily long lines of customers are a testament to that. But to Toyoshima, the sushi he makes no longer feel like they […]
A sushi pioneer’s American Dream
July 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
SHIRO: WIT, WISDOM AND RECIPES FROM A SUSHI PIONEER By Shiro Kashiba (Seattle: Chin Music Press, 2011, 320 pp., $20, paperback) Filled with childhood photographs, notes and personal anecdotes, “Shiro: Wit, Wisdom and Recipes from a Sushi Pioneer” is a memoir-meets-recipe book that covers an illustrious career spanning 70 years, seven restaurants and two countries. […]
THE KAERU KID: A small bite of the Big Apple
July 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
“When it’s 100 degrees in New York, it’s 72 in Los Angeles. When it’s 30 degrees in New York, in Los Angeles it’s still 72. However, there are six million interesting people in New York, and only 72 in Los Angeles.” — Neil Simon I love New York and try to visit at least once a […]
THE GOCHISO GOURMET: In the ‘Iron Chef’s’ domain
February 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
If not for a shoulder injury many moons ago, we might be watching Masaharu Morimoto swinging a baseball bat instead of deftly slicing sashimi. As a foodie, I’m thankful that he took the path of sushi and sashimi instead of besuboru. Morimoto opened his Hawai‘i outpost, Morimoto Waikiki (1775 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96815; […]
THE GOCHISO GOURMET: A year of change?
January 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Well, the beginning of every year is always filled with change. From simply hanging up that new calendar you purchased at Borders … whoops, that’s change in itself since there is no Borders, to crowning a new NCAA national champion in football via the convoluted BCS ranking system (I guess if LSU goes undefeated, it’s […]
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