Sushi Masterclass with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa

He cradled the ball of rice in his palm with the expertise of one who had done this a thousand and one times. As he rolled and shaped the rice, one could sense his feeling of pride and affection, like that of a parent for his child.

- NORMA O. CHIKIAMCO

He cradled the ball of rice in his palm with the expertise of one who had done this a thousand and one times. As he rolled and shaped the rice, one could sense his feeling of pride and affection, like that of a parent for his child. The rice was the base for his sushi, one dish which multi-awarded chef Nobu Matsuhisa has built his reputation on—and his ever-expanding empire.

The steps for making sushi were printed on cards placed before each work station during the masterclass Nobu conducted at his restaurant in the City of Dreams. It seemed simple enough to follow, yet more important were a few unwritten rules.

First was the importance of washing hands even before one touched a single grain of rice. Not only would this assure food safety, it would also enable one to shape the rice. Otherwise, the rice, already sticky to begin with, will stick like glue on one's palm, making it difficult to handle. Next step was to dip one's hands in a bowl of water, to give one a fighting chance in shaping the rice properly.

Nobu discourages the use of gloves when making sushi. You should be able to feel the texture and the shape of the rice, he told the class, thus the use of bare (but totally clean!) hands.