Nikkei Cuisine – Japanese Food the South American Way

Chef Tsuyoshi Murakami hands me a small plate – in it are two slivers of salmon sashimi, lightly blow-torched, in an amber-coloured sauce. I am sitting at the sushi counter of this elegant Japanese restaurant taking in the muted chatter of diners and the delicious smells around me.

This might have been one of the many fine-dining establishments in Ginza or perhaps Shinjuku in Tokyo, but as I take the first slice of salmon, the flavours of butter, Tahitian lime and soy sauce linger on my tongue. So wonderful, and yet so un-Japanese, for I am at Kinoshita Restaurant in Vila Nova Conceição, one of the swankiest districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Chef Murakami is one of millions of Japanese men, women and children who, over the last 100 years, have crossed the oceans to Brazil in search of a new life. Today, Kinoshita is regarded as one of the top restaurants in the country.

Chef Tsuyoshi Murakami at Restaurant Kinoshita, São Paulo, Brazil

On June 18 1908, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil after a 7-week journey from Kobe on board the Kasato Maru. Immigration was encouraged to help solve the farming manpower crisis in the Brazilian coffee plantations caused by the abolition of slavery in 1888. Most of these early Japanese immigrants imagined their trip as a temporary endeavour – a way to achieve prosperity before returning to their native country. However, the advent of the Second World War and the demise of Japan resulted in most of them considering Brazil as their permanent home, including my grandparents.

Fast forward 100 years, and today the Japanese community in Brazil is the largest outside Japan, with most people of Japanese descent (known as Nikkei) living in São Paulo. Peru is home to the second largest Nikkei community in South America, where Japanese immigration started 9 years earlier in 1899.

An old family picture in Brazil, 1930s

I was raised by my Japanese grandmother, who unknown to me or anyone else at the time, was a true pioneer of what has lately become the fashionable Nikkei cuisine. This is the cooking of Japanese emigrants who, out of necessity, adapted local ingredients to the cooking techniques of their homeland.  

My grandmother's passport used when she immigrated to Brazil in 1927

Nikkei cooking is an integral part of the culinary heritage of countries like Brazil and Peru, and more recently in the USA and Europe, it has gained popularity due to the influence of chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa. Several Nikkei restaurants opened in London including Chotto Matte and Sushi Samba. In Barcelona, Albert and Ferran Adria from the late El Bulli opened their own Nikkei restaurant Pakta, earning rave reviews.

‘In Peru, Japanese immigrants must have been shocked by the enormous difference between the diets they were so used to and the new products they were consuming. They were forced to adapt in a thousand different ways’, explained chef Mitsuharu Tsumura. We were chatting over one of the signature dishes at his restaurant in the upmarket district of Miraflores in Lima –Maido is currently number 7 on San Pelligrino’s 50 Best Restaurants of Latin America, and is also considered the best of its kind in the city.

Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura at Maido Restaurant, Lima, Peru

To many Peruvian Japanese, Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura’s Nikkei ceviche is possibly the dish that best conjures up the marriage of these two culinary traditions. He says ‘It has Japanese ponzu and dashi to counter the intensity of the lime and the aji [Peruvian chilli]. Two attitudes meet and complement each other here: serenity and spice’. And indeed they did - it was a delectable and well-judged dish.

Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura's Nikkei Cebiche

Japanese Chef Toshiro Konishi, regarded by many as the father of Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, is a national treasure. Arriving in Lima in the 1970s to work alongside Nobu Matsuhisa at Matsuei, Konishi-san fell in love with the Peruvian people and the wonderful native ingredients of the land and sea, never returning to live in Japan.

Chef Toshiro Konishi handing me a plate of tiradito at his restaurant Toshiro's, Lima, Peru

I met him at Toshiro’s in San Isidro, Lima, to talk about Nikkei cuisine and try one of his creations – tiradito. Today, one of the national dishes of Peru, this is the Nikkei answer to another local favourite, ceviche. Tiradito was invented by Chef Konishi who decided to slice the fish thinly, sashimi style rather than cubed, and serve it raw with leche de tigre, not marinated in lime or with red onions and corn. Much as I love a well-made ceviche, Toshiro’s tiradito was truly sensational –lighter, more delicate and the excellent quality of the local Peruvian fish really shone through.

Chef Toshiro Konishi's Tiradito (Peruvian-Nikkei Sashimi)

Back in São Paulo, at Momotaro restaurant, third generation Japanese descendent chef Adriano Kanashiro served me his most popular Nikkei dish – a sushi of tuna, foie gras and figs that is one of the finest I have tasted. Perhaps the most avant-garde of Nikkei chefs in Brazil, Kanashiro explores the fruits of the Amazon for culinary inspiration.

Japanese immigration, although in smaller numbers, still takes place in South America. In São Paulo, I was charmed to meet chef Shin Koike at his restaurant Sakagura A1 and learnt of his arrival in the country as early as 20 years ago. “Brazil is my adopted home; I embraced its culture, people and food wholeheartedly” he said. His kids were born there and as their parents, are truly integrated in Brazilian society – “I will never live in Japan again” he concluded.

Chef Shin Koike at Sakagura A1 Restaurant, São Paulo, Brazil

We shared a splendid Nikkei meal at Sakagura A1 ending it on a high note with his Rapadura ice cream with Cachaça and coffee jelly for dessert. Here, Chef Koike pays homage to two of the most popular of Brazilian flavours. Rapadura is Brazilian unrefined sugar cane in solid form, much akin to his native kokutō (Japanese muscovado sugar) it was the perfect base for his Nikkei creation together with Cachaça, the national spirit of Brazil, enjoyed in many Caipirinhas across that nation and beyond.

My grandmother was no Nobu, but she used what she could find in Brazil to create the most delicious Nikkei dishes. I was lucky enough to grow up in her house eating this style of cooking, and am pleased to see it reaching out beyond South America. Until now, Brazil and Peru were perhaps the most unlikely places you would visit for top-quality Japanese food. But if you would like to try Nikkei cooking, Japanese food the South American way, head down to São Paulo or Lima and check out some of these dazzling restaurants for yourself.

A day in São Paulo zoo with my o-baachan (grandmother)

Alternatively, why not experiment cooking Nikkei dishes at your own home? My cookbook ‘Nikkei Cuisine – Japanese Food the South American Way’ will be published on the 22nd October 2015, it can be pre-ordered on Amazon here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikkei-Cuisine-Japanese-South-American/dp/1910254207

Peruvian-Nikkei Cuisine at Chotto Matte London

Name: Chotto Matte

Where: 11–13 Frith Street, Soho, London, W1D 4RB, http://www.chotto-matte.com

Cost: There are three 9-course Nikkei sharing menus, priced at £40, £50 and £60 per person. A pre-theatre 3-course menu is also available at £25 including a glass of Prosecco. Average spend from the a la carte menu is around £40 per person for food only.

About: Chotto Matte, opened by Kurt Zdesar (the man who brought Nobu to the UK), is one the first London restaurants serving the still relatively unknown Peruvian-Nikkei cuisine. Born from the Japanese diaspora living in Peru, Peruvian-Nikkei cooking is much more than just a trendy fad – it was born out of necessity in the early 20th century as most Japanese immigrants lacked the necessary ingredients to cook their home fare. Instead, they resorted to using the fantastic produce of Peru, from Pacific fish and seafood to the high altitude vegetables of the Andes, and the fruit of the Amazon. Today, Peruvian-Nikkei cuisine is very much part of the mainstream diet in Peru, with dishes like Tiradito and Maki Acevichado being just as popular as ceviche or causa.

I love bringing Brazilian-Nikkei dishes and flavours into my Japanese Supper Club menus and have been observing with interest the emergence of Nikkei cuisine in Europe – Chotto Matte, Sushi Samba (reviewed here) and UNI in London as well as the fabulous Pakta in Barcelona, opened by Ferran Adriá. At Peruvian restaurant Coya (reviewed here), I was surprised to see a large number of Peruvian Nikkei dishes on their menu.  Recently, Mitsuharu Tsumura of Maido, the Peruvian-Nikkei restaurant in Lima which is number 11th in the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants of Latin America, was hosted by Virgilio Martinez of Lima, the only Michelin-starred Peruvian restaurant in London (reviewed here).

Opened in September 2013, Chotto Matte’s menus and kitchen are under executive chef Jordan Sclare (former head chef at Aqua Kyoto and Nobu) and head chef Michael Paul. Chotto Matte is a large, beautiful restaurant and bar set over three floors.

On the ground floor, there is live music for much of the day as well as a vast, UV-illuminated mural created by Tokyo-based graffiti artist Houxo Que.

If the sun is shining, and you are lucky enough (as we were) to get one of their coveted outside tables, it is a fantastic place to while the hours away, sipping Pisco Sours, munching on some freshly made sushi and most importantly - people watching!

What We Ate: The kitchen has a number of stations, including a sushi and ceviche bar as well as a Japanese Robata grill area serving barbecued dishes. There is also a bar menu of small eats (tostaditas) with a variety of toppings for those who fancy a few snacks with a drink.

We started with some delicious and wonderfully blistered Padron peppers with sweet den miso and sea salt (£4.50). Den in their menu refers to dengaku miso, a paste made from miso, sake, mirin and sugar commonly used for grilled aubergines (nasu dengaku), one of the favourites in my Japanese Supper Club.

We also had a cone of cassava and sweet potato crisps, with an accompanying yellow tomato salsa and guacamole (£3.25).

To follow, we had two Nikkei dishes which were for me the highlight of the meal. First came a Nikkei sashimi of yellowtail with cherry tomatoes, jalapeño chillies, black salt, yuzu juice, crispy purple potato and truffle oil (£9.95). This was a magnificent dish.

Next we had the seabass ceviche - seabass sashimi, with sweet potato, Peruvian crispy corn, coriander, lemon juice and chive oil (£7.25). This was delicious, with intense chlorophyll colour from the chive oil, and a satisfying crunchy texture from the cancha crispy corn.

To accompany these fish dishes, we had the Paperthin Vegetable Salad - beetroot, daikon and butternut squash cut very thinly and teased into rolls, served with broccoli, quinoa, physalis fruit and lime, and red onion (£4.95). This dish was very refreshing, and I really enjoyed the richly flavoured vegetables, although I thought the sauce was a little sharp and would have been improved by a touch of sweetness.

The next course was grilled octopus, marinated in rice wine vinegar, from the Robata grill, with yuzu and smoked purple potato purée, and antecucho sauce (£9.95). This was utterly delicious - wonderfully tender octopus with a smoked flavour from the grill, and also from the antecucho marinade which is made from smoked dried aji panca.

To accompany it, we had Yuca Frita  - cassava chips with smoked aji panca dipping sauce (£3.25). The cassava was nice and crisp on the outside, but a little too firmly textured inside for my liking.

We also had  Ensalada Peruana -quinoa salad with aji amarillo sauce, pomegranate, coriander and Peruvian crispy cancha corn (£3.25), which was delicious with a combination of sweet and crunchy elements, and heat from the aji.

Alongside this, we had Mazorca de Maiz - a dish of Peruvian corn with chilli butter and coriander (£4.25). This was a more refined version of a dish we ate often in Peru – the corn was soft and a little sweet, and given a lovely lift by the chilli and fresh herbs.

We then had the Pollo Peruana - grilled chicken with crispy cancha corn, onion, coriander and edible flowers (£11.75). This was a well-made dish, with toasted crunchy skin, succulent tender flesh, and perfect seasoning.

We also had a selection of blowtorched sushi - tuna with yuzu butter, salmon with black garlic butter, turbot with antecucho butter, and aubergine with dengaku miso sauce and white sesame seeds (£10.50). I was very impressed by the sushi - the rice in particular was well made and fresh, as was the choice topping for the Nigiri sushi and the richly flavoured, savoury butters.

For dessert, we had the chicha morada brûlée - pineapple in chicha morada (black corn) syrup, with vanilla ice cream and coriander. This was like a very good pineapple crumble dish from school days, with the Peruvian twist being the intense purple colour and savour from the black corn, which is ubiquitous in Peru.

To finish, we had the Trio Nikkei - white chocolate foam, miso mousse, lime and lemon sorbet, and taro. This was a very refined combination dessert, beautifully presented. The miso mousse was reminiscent of dulce de leche, with a refreshing lemon and lime sorbet, and a good texture from the crumble. This dessert was clever, well-conceived, and a good ending to the meal.

What We Drank: Cocktails are priced between £8 and £10.50, Champagnes start at £49 per bottle.  Entry level whites are £23, and include an organic Torrontes from Michel Torino, and an Argentinian Viognier from Casa Montes. Reds start at £23, including a Peter Lehmann Art Series Shiraz, and an Argentine Malbec, Dona Paula.

We had a couple of very well made Pisco Sours (£8.50), and a glass of Organic Torrontes, Michel Torino Cuma 2013 (£23 per bottle). With the chicken, we had a glass of Argentine Chardonnay from Pulenta Estate VIII 2012 (£29 per bottle).  For dessert, we had a Mio Sparkling Sake - a 5% alcohol wine, this was refreshing, off-dry with gentle stone fruit flavours (£13 for a 300 ml bottle).

Likes: Great service, cool setting and some mean Pisco sours. The highlight dishes for me were the Nikkei sashimi of yellowtail and the seabass ceviche. Desserts are spectacularly good.

Dislikes: None

Verdict: Chotto Matte is a great place to discover Peruvian-Nikkei cuisine in the heart of London. A facet of Peruvian-Japanese cooking still relatively unknown in the UK, it is rapidly gaining momentum thanks to places like Chotto Matte. Highly recommended.