Chef’s cutting board

Celebrate the holidays with recipes by rice cooker

Cultural News, December 2006

By Andy Matsuda

     I want to share some very exciting news about our school.  In last month’s Sushi Competition held by Japanese Food Festival at the New Otani Hotel, our assistant instructor Sivaman Udomdej, who is originally from Thailand, came in second place. 

     We are very pleased with this result.  It just shows that the American Dream really does exist.  Sivaman came to Los Angeles from Thailand to pursue a career as a chef, and within a year, he has already placed second in a respected sushi competition.

     December is a special time of year for so many cultures around the world, with New Year celebrations following soon after.

     To help accentuate the season, this month my channel 18 cooking spot program on Saturday evening TV will feature the Tiger rice cooker coming up with items that reflect the different celebrations of the season. 

    This month I am also helping a few restaurants that are looking to expand their businesses to include a sushi bar.  I’m very excited about two of them, as they are both in the area and feature former students of mine.  But perhaps the most interesting restaurant may be one owned by a Chinese man hoping to serve sushi in Alaska.

     But if you can’t wait for these new restaurants or are not going to Alaska in the coming months, you might want to check out the new Ra Sushi restaurants owned by the famous Benihana Corporation.

     Ra Sushi has been expanding its sushi-bar and funky atmosphere across the country and includes locations in Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Diego. The latest location is in Torrance, California, at new Del Amo Fashion Center.

    Andy Matsuda is founder and Chief Instructor of the Sushi Chef Institute located in Little Tokyo. For information about the school, visit www.sushischool.net.
    (This text is completed by Gavin Kelley)