Chef Masaharu Morimoto – the Iron Chef of Wasabi

Do you like this post?

Again, the notable change in this year’s El Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is the inclusion of Asian restaurants including Iggy’s and Wasabi. The latter restaurant is the property of Chef Masaharu Morimoto of the Iron Chef. This restaurant is located at Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi. This is actually the first Japanese restaurant in Delhi. This is the culinary playground of Chef Morimoto.

What’s the Big Deal about Wasabi?

Iron Chef’s Masaharu Morimoto continually captivates his guests’ taste buds and palates with his innovative Japanese cuisines. He has the knack for discovering the different facets of traditional Japanese cooking techniques and cuisines. He embraces these ideas and creates new ones. Often, he ends up with diverse dishes to add to the restaurant’s menus. It is this exact diversity that has attracted people to Wasabi. Among Wasabi’s dishes include various selections of soups and salads.

The restaurant also offers a huge selection of seafood, sushi, sashimi and hot appetizers. You should definitely try the Chef’s special, tempura which is a perfect compliment to his sashimi and salmon carpaccio. If you love vegetable dishes, you can choose from among this top chef’s vegetarian specialties. Among these specialties include vegetable wok sautee teriyaki, ishi yaki veg bop and newspaper vegetable beggar’s purse. You can also try the different kinds of menus – the teppanyaki menu, sake menu and omakase menu.

Wasabi offers a relaxed contemporary ambiance. The restaurant boasts of modern décor, muted colors and different kinds of fabrics. All these things cumulate to a diverse dining experience. The private dining room is located above the restaurant. This is perfect if one wants to have privacy. Of course, one can still enjoy the vibrancy of Wasabi.

Let’s Get to Know the Chef

You wouldn’t think that Chef Morimoto would one day become the celebrated chef that he is today. As a young man, he was a very good baseball player and he was on his way to play professionally. A shoulder injury, however, made it impossible for him to pursue his baseball career. This gave rise to an opportunity for him to pursue a chef job as a sushi chef. He received a total of eight years of culinary training in Hiroshima. During those times, he studied and perfected sushi and Kaiseki cuisine.

At the age of 25 years old, he opened his own restaurant and distinguished himself from other chefs by infusing European techniques in his cooking. He sold the restaurant five years later and he moved to the United States to explore other cuisines. He worked in various restaurants including Nobu. Thereafter, he moved back to Japan and he joined the popular television program, Iron Chef. Now, he spends his time cooking delectable dishes for his guests in Wasabi.

Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Red Miso Soufflé

Recipe via Village Voice

(Makes four servings)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup red miso

1 1/4 cups sugar

6 whole eggs, separated

6 egg whites

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter four (8-ounce) ramekins or individual soufflé dishes.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the red miso, 1 ?4 cup of the sugar, and the 6 egg yolks. Blend well.

3. In another large mixing bowl, beat the 12 egg whites until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of sugar while continuing to beat until soft peaks form. Fold the beaten whites into the red miso base. Divide among the ramekins. Level off the tops with a spatula.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until puffed and just set. Serve immediately.

Image Credit Village Voice

Popularity: 4% [?]

Currently 0 comment - But what do you think?