Haru: Sushi and Sake 101
Salt and pepper. Peanut butter and jelly. Sushi and sake. Turns you don’t even need the sushi to pair with sake, but I certainly had fun getting my hands dirty learning how to make my own. Haru, located on Huntington outside the Prudential Center, is offering a monthly Sushi and Sake 101 class. Last week I was invited to partake this dynamic and hands-on experience.
Richard Auffrey, certified sake expert started off class with a brief introduction of sake. I won’t give away off of the fun facts but the main point I learned is that you can, and should, drink sake like a white wine. Notice the color, experience the nose, look for complexity in the flavors. An additional topic of interest was how to select sake off menu based on the type of sake, which generally increases in quality as well as in price. I appreciated Richard’s ability to discuss sake in terms that a novice like myself could understand. He also provided notes so that we could follow along on paper. The whole sake portion lasted 10-15 minutes, then we were ready to start making some sushi.
When all of the ingredients are assembled for you, turns out that the process of making sushi is not as intimidating as I thought. Tip: be sure to have plenty of water handy so you can keep your hands moist. Dry hands means sticky rice all over you and the floor! Using a syran-wrapped mat, place the seaweed shiny-side down. Press a layer of rice evenly across the entire piece of seaweed. Flip the seaweed ovee so the rice is dace down. Fill with desired ingredients, being careful not to overstuff. Now the tricky part: lift the mat up and over the sushi, and tuck the upper part of the roll into the bottom using the mat. Gently squeeze the entire piece to form a tight roll. Cut, arrange and enjoy!
Ok so it might not have been quite that easy, but with Haru sushi chefs floating around the room, they are there to save and recover any missteps (like when I forgot to flip the seaweed over and put too much in my roll).
As mentioned, these classes will be held monthly and provide an interactive experience in a casual setting. I have never made sushi before, and while I still might not jump at the idea of making it at home, I can honestly say that after this class, I could do it at home. Sure, the rolls will probably not be as pretty as the Haru staff was able to make mine here, but it would still be fun. Richard provided a very lovely overview of sake without going into the finer details that would probably be lost on a beginner like me, and also kept it within a time frame that held my interest all the way through. So if you are looking for something different and eager to get your hands in some sushi, check out Haru’s Sushi and Sake 101.
Haru is located at 55 Huntington Ave.
I was a guest of Haru to attend this class; all opinions are my own.
Have you ever made your own sushi?
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