There are two things to know about sushi – you either love it or you are yet to try it.
For the latter part, Dumisani Lukhozi, national sushi trainer and operations manager at John Dory’s, with an impressive 20-year resume in sushi-making, says the challenge is that people are not often taken on the journey of understanding the elements behind the Japanese delicacy.
“The ginger, wasabi, soy sauce and all these are elements that bring out the taste profile for what you will eat. The ginger is meant to clear your palate, and wasabi will bring out the flavour of the fish or whatever protein you are eating,” Lukhozi says.
“People tend to soak sushi in soy sauce – the correct way is to dip the piece of sushi into the soy on the side of the protein. You can eat using chopsticks or with your fingers as they do in Japan.”
The 46-year-old from KwaMashu, north of Durban, began his journey as a sushi chef at the first store in Musgrave, Durban, in 1999. He was 19. He has since grown with the brand, becoming the national sushi trainer and operations manager overseeing the brand’s franchise stores in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
He has no plans of leaving.
“I have two chefs I am mentoring and grooming to take over from me, and I can step out of sushi-making and focus on operations full-time,” he says.
Growing up, Lukhozi recalls his passion for cooking and assisting his mother in the kitchen. Due to injury, he could not continue with his dream to become a football player.
“This was when I was introduced to sushi by my late brother Fernando. He was the first black sushi chef for John Dory’s,” he says.
Lukhozi’s first taste of sushi was the thinly sliced sashimi served with soy. “It would simply melt in my mouth. I couldn’t believe how much I was loving it,” he says.
“When I started doing sushi back then, we didn’t have salmon. We used local fish; fishermen would drop fresh fish at your door, and you would choose what worked for you. Over the years, sushi has moved from traditional forms to fusion with more fried sushi options. It’s one of those things that keeps on evolving.”
Lukhozi put his sushi-making skills to the test in a pap-inspired sushi masterclass last week at the White Star Miss Soweto top 20 announcement soirée.
“When the request for us to use pap in the masterclass came, I had been exploring new dishes which incorporate pap as well, so it was an easy transition. When you have your basics in place, you can build from there. We enjoyed thinking outside the box,” he says.
“We did a pap-inspired sushi California roll, and instead of rice, we used pap, and its filling was steak strips and chakalaka. The other dish, we re-interpreted the poke ball, but instead of rice, we deep-fried pap balls.”
White Star pap sushi
For the California roll (4 pieces)
Ingredients
- 20g steak strips (cooked)
- 10g chakalaka
- 60g White Star pap (cooked)
- 2 pieces of square seaweed paper
For the bean curd with pap (Tofu)
Ingredients
- 2 pieces of bean curd
- 2 bean curd pockets
- 40g White Star pap (cooked)
- 10g coleslaw
- 20g fried chicken strips
For the mini Poke bowl
Ingredients
- 3 medium pap balls (fried)
- 10g chakalaka mix
- 10g avocado
- 20g boerewors (cubed)
- 2g sesame seeds mix
- 10g Tempura flour
- 60ml Tempura batter
- 5g Tempura crumbs
- 5ml Oil
Method
- To prepare the pap-inspired California roll with chakalaka and steak strips, press the cooked pap onto the square seaweed paper.
- On the other side of the seaweed paper, layer your chakalaka and steak strips thinly.
- Using a sushi mat, roll the seaweed paper into a cylinder shape, ensuring the side with the pap is on the outside.
- Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and, using a sharp knife, cut the roll first in half, then again in half.
- Serve on a sushi plate upside down with ginger and wasabi on the side.
- To make the bean curd with pap inside, top with a mix of coleslaw and chopped chicken strips.
- Serve on a sushi plate with ginger and wasabi on the side.
- To prepare the mini-Poke bowl, roll cooked pap into balls.
- Dust in tempura flour, batter, crumbs, and fry at 160° until golden brown.
- Place fried balls at the bottom of the bowl. Set aside to drain oil.
- When ready to serve, add boerewors cubes on top of the pap balls.
- Add chakalaka on top of the boerewors and finish with avocado cubes and sesame seeds.
