Kurosaki (くろ﨑) Tokyo

(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) Today’s lunch time #littlemeg_chefskillvideos is about knife skill of cutting abalone at くろ崎by Kurosaki san, one of my favorite sushi shops in Tokyo. Every time I went there I learnt a lot and food is always fantastic.
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In June, Kurosaki san featured giant abalone from 佐賀唐津Karatsu, Saga (see pic 2-3). He started cutting off the rim and then sliced the abalone into thick pieces with zig-zag patterns by turning his knife blade in different angles. The speed was so fast it almost looked like fast motions but it was the real speed.
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In pic 4-7 you can see the abalone presented with abalone liver sauce. The pattern was so beautiful and created more texture. Kurosaki san told us that he steamed the abalone for 6 1/2 mins and the temperature was what important (but he did not say what temp 😝). It was crunchy because it was still sort of raw, but it was also soft because it was cooked. It was just in the middle, so good 〜
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Kurosaki san matched it with a bowl with ridges like the abalone sliced pattern ❤️
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After finishing the abalone slices, there was a follow up course with 天草の白うに white Uni from Amakusa AND shari. Kurosaki san first put Uni on the shari so it became an uni sushi and then put the whole thing into the bowl with leftover abalone sauce. (Pic 8-10). You mix everything in the bowl to eat. So delicious, shiawase 😇😌 〜　.
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Just a side note, in the past kaiseki chef Matsukasa san told me that abalone and uni are often served together because they both eat Kombu so in Japanese cuisine they are considered very complementary to each other. 🤓 Less

Today I went for lunch to the pop-up of my friend Kimura-san’s Sushi Jin at Narisawa. There, by coincidence met Asakura-san, the Chef/Owner of Kirakutei, now freshly relocated to Ginza. He introduced me to his fellow diner, his friend, as he put it, the sushi god. Of course such a statement from a chef like Asakura-san sparked my interest and I asked where his places is. He told me that he is Kurosaki from the restaurant with the same name. My response was that I am happy to have met him because I have a dinner reservation the very same day. So when I turned up at 9pm he greeted me with “long time no see” and off we went on an extraordinary journey.
Kurosaki-san must be the best looking sushi chef in the country with long hair, a rare exception amongst sushi chefs. It is also remarkable that he is the only one with hair on his head. His entire team is shaven as one would expect. Luckly, as a person interested in woman not in male looks, his skills as a chef match his appearance.
He sources high end ingredients, he applies the modern style of sushi by interspacing his nigiri with otsumami. His nigiris are on the small side and the shari only lightly seasoned with akasu. The nigiri forming leaves enough air in the pieces to create a nice texture in your mouth. Normally I like higher acidity in the shari but somehow he makes it work.
Starting off he hits you with some excellent maguro from a smallish tuna, then continues to lead you through 20-25 small bites and dishes which are all very flavorful and perfectly executed. The highlight was a male nodoguro with papito which he served you into your hand instead of your tray, astonishing the lightly grilled and thus smokey flavor with the flaky texture of the fish.
Kurosaki-san also features an excellent list of nihonshu, however unless you are a connoisseur order osusume, Chef’s choice. He is gong to pick the best for whatever you are eating.
To summarize the whole meal is confined to the one notion that in leaving I booked another meal there in a few weeks. Less