マグロいかがでございますか

When I studied in Kyoto, I took a part time job at a chain sushi boat restaurant, Hakodate Ichiba (すし処 函館). My Japanese was good enough at the time such that they let me stand in front of the house and make nigiri sushi and yell out “いらっしゃいませ” and “マグロいかがでございますか?”

As part of my training, I practiced hand pressing rice for nigiri. I had to make 100 and 80 of them had to be within spec before they would allow me to start making nigiri for actual customers. Each one had to weigh 12.5g (+/- 0.5g) and my manager would check that the rice would not be pressed too hard (like mochi) or too loosely (it would fall apart). It took me a week for me to pass and start getting items onto the belt.

I’ll occasionally have a sushi party at home or at a friend’s place and get a chance to use these old skills again. The trickier bit for me is not knowing how to cut the fish, since that was done for me by other folks. But at least I’ve got my own tricks for making yummy sushi rice now.