Nobu Matsuhisa
photo: Steven Freeman
For our Secrets of Sushi Chefs series finale, we speak with Nobu Matsuhisa, whose eponymous restaurants are among the hottest tickets wherever they are around the world. From LA to Milan to Tokyo, Matsuhisa titillates palates with his Peruvian-Japanese cuisine and oft-mimicked signature dishes like black cod with miso or yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño.
Zagat Buzz: What differences, if any, do you find in sushi preparation and etiquette between the U.S. and Japan?
Nobu Matsuhisa: A traditional sushi restaurant in Japan is a place for people to sip sake and enjoy sashimi and sushi. They serve sushi only, nothing else. But in the U.S., like in my restaurants here, we serve dishes from the hot kitchen like black cod and rock shrimp.
ZB: What are some of the mistakes you see people making while dining at the sushi bar at Nobu?
NM: Using too much soy sauce is one. Also, there is already wasabi in the sushi, so all you need to do is dab a bit of soy sauce on the fish side of the sushi and eat it. There is no need to mix wasabi into the soy sauce, you can ask the sushi chef to put a bit more wasabi in your sushi.
ZB: What is your favorite thing to prepare or your favorite fish to work with?
NM: White Fish Tiradito Nobu Style is my favorite dish to prepare; it's one of my signature dishes.
ZB: What are the telltale signs that distinguish an expert sushi eater vs. an amateur?
NM: An expert sushi eater knows the names of all different types of fish.
ZB: Where do you go to eat after your shift?
NM: I usually go home, but if I do go out it's for something light like soba noodles or, if I'm in Japan, ramen noodles.
- Christina Livadiotis
Nobu's signature dish of broiled black cod with miso
photo: Steven Freeman