After California Roll, Making Rainbow Roll was a Breeze (so I thought)
By: Kaz Matsune
Tags: Japanese Food, Sushi Chef, Sushi, Food

Once I got the hang of making California Roll, Spicy Tuna was a breeze.

It was like knowing the secret to a magic trick. I could see the steps from a different angle. Before I was in the audience and now, I was watching from backstage; I could see all of the small details I didn’t notice before.

Keep your hands wet all the time, but not too wet. Use your towel like it’s your best friend. Don’t touch the shari too much.

Spicy Tuna Mix was easier to spread than the Crab Mix. Spicy Tuna rolls didn’t have avocado, only cucumber — I liked that a lot better.

Now, I knew how to make two kinds of rolls, and I was ready to tackle the third, and most popular roll in the house, Rainbow.

I observed Toshi and Kai make Rainbow Rolls, it seemed simple. Once they made a California Roll, they just added thinly sliced fish — Maguro, Salmon, Ebi, Tai, and avocado — on top of the roll, placed plastic wrap on top, cut it into eight pieces, and voila. It was done. Simple, but not easy.

“Which fish do we put on Rainbow?” I asked Toshi.

“Usually, it’s Maguro, Salmon, Ebi, and Tai. Not Hamachi because it’s expensive.”

“What if we run out of some fish?”

“Then, use whatever we have to make it colorful,” Toshi grinned.

“Is Rainbow more difficult than California?”

“I say it’s more complicated. The difficult part for you is slicing the fish,” Toshi said. “You are not yet ready to slice the fish, so we need to make the slices for you until you can. But let me show you how to make Rainbow.”

“Rainbow? Great.”

“First, you cut the fish. One piece of Tuna, two pieces of Tai, two Salmon, and one shrimp,” Toshi explained to me.

He grabbed each block of fish and made his slices using his Yanagiba.

I watched him anxiously. I wanted to try slicing fish, but I knew he wouldn’t let me.

“Slicing fish would be the most difficult part,” Toshi said.

How hard could it be? It’s only slicing. All I have to do is to move my knife, right?

Toshi continued. “You need to pull your knife backward when slicing the fish and never press down the knife too hard. When you apply too much pressure, you will break the soft flesh of the fish and its tissue.”

“Okay,” I responded, not fully understanding what he meant. Why does the tissue matter? I asked myself.

“You have to be gentle, using as little force as possible. Let the knife run is what they say,” Toshi said.

“Run?” I asked.

“Yes, run the knife. Let the knife do the work. Use the sharpness, weight, and length of the knife. Make only one stroke when slicing fish, never pulling and pushing back and forth. One stroke. That’s why Yanagiba is long,” Toshi pointed at his knife.

His knife was longer than my $60 stainless- steel knife. It also had a nice wooden handle.

“That looks like a nice knife,” I said.

“Thanks. It’s made by Masamoto,” he told me.

“Masamoto?”

“Yup, it’s one of the most popular chef knife makers in Japan. This one cost me about $600,” Toshi said. “Actually, it’s a gift from my mom,” Toshi said.

Toshi quickly made a California Roll and then started to place the sliced fish on top of the roll.

“Place the fish diagonally because you use less fish to cover the outside. Use more avocado instead of fish, that way, you can save the food cost,” Toshi whispered.

He placed the fish one piece at a time, alternating.

“Finally, plastic wrap,” Toshi grabbed a piece of plastic wrap, placed it over the roll, and cut it into eight pieces.

“All Special Rolls come in eight, not six. You can use more rice for the Special Rolls to make them look bigger because we charge more. We need to make it look like customers are getting more food,” Toshi explained.

Toshi didn’t let me try making a Rainbow Roll, which was disappointing. But, at least now, I knew how to make it. I decided to keep concentrating on observing Toshi, Kai, and Jun make rolls.

I thought I watched them enough to memorized all the sequences. I thought I practiced enough with California Roll. I was confident, this time, I would score it.

When the time came to make my first Rainbow Roll, I was faced with a harsh reality.

Wishful thinking.