Gentlemen JOE learns how to make sushi like a pro, from a pro

With a lot of help from Hisashi Kumagai of RAW restaurant in Galway, JOE learned all about sushi and how to serve up the Japanese dish properly.

Trying to impress folks with your cooking skills is getting and harder and harder these days. Thanks to the likes of Masterchef and Bake Off, you are nobody unless you can cook veal in a water bath, produce a Parmesan tuile or bake a perfect soufflé. But producing a tray of perfectly prepared sushi will still blow the socks off any guests you may have knocking around. It just looks so impressive, but how do you actually do it at home. Surely it is impossible? That's what I thought when I walked into RAW, a sushi restaurant on the fourth floor of the Radisson Blue Hotel in Galway city. I was there to take their sushi masterclass with chef, Hisashi Kumagai (below) and as I struggle to tie my shoelaces every morning, I had very low expectations for my ability to make a presentable sushi roll. For a long time I'd loved sushi, and as it is also one of the healthiest foods around, I'd always fancied trying it at home. But knowing nothing about how it is made, I'd always steered clear. Now, thanks to Hisashi, I'm rolling with the best of them and emptying my local supermarket of seaweed sheets. Hisashi first talked us through the surprisingly short history of sushi cuisine before explaining the importance of sushi rice. I thought it was all about the fish but Hisashi soon put me straight. Sushi actually means 'sour-tasting' and it is the vinegary rice that is so central to the dish. As the class was just 90 minutes, Hisashi had pre-prepared the rice for us but he provides you with all the instructions you will need to make a batch of the stickiest rice you've ever seen at home. With our rice ready, and with some fresh salmon and cucumber in front of us, we began to roll using the all important sushi mat. Firstly we made the traditional roll, the maki, with the seaweed sheet (nori) on the outside. This wasn't easy but with a bit of practice we got the hang of it, leaving each of us with a big pile of delicious salmon maki to enjoy, with lots of wasabi and soy sauce. Then we learned how to make ura maki, the inside-out roll with the rice on the outside. Remarkably, this is easier to put together due to the super sticky nature of the rice. Once you have learned those two techniques, and cleaned the incredibly adhesive rice off your hands all you have to do is tuck in. As for what to put into the rolls, anything goes according to Hisashi just so long as it is fresh. Already pretty stuffed after two large servings of our own maki (above), we also learned how to make temaki (cone shaped rolls) and some nigiri (a rice ball with some fish on top). These were also delicious, and after eating eel, shrimp, mackerel, tuna and halibut I was more sushi than man by the end of class. The most incredible thing about the class is that it costs just €25. For that you learn a lot, eat a huge amount and get a glass of wine thrown in too. You really can't beat it for value. Usually held on the first Saturday of every month, the masterclass can also be arranged for groups so if you have a group of mates who fancy a different activity on a stag or for a work day out, it is fantastic. Hisashi is great craic, the setting of the restaurant, overlooking Lough Atalia, is stunning and the food is sublime. Add in learning the sort of kitchen skills you can use for the rest of your life and it might be the best €25 you'll ever spend. You can contact RAW at raw@sushiinthesky.ie or give them a buzz on 091 538 212.