Barcelona, ​​1974. The founder of the influential blog Comerjapones.com has taken another step in his informative gastronomic work: this week he publishes Oishii (Satori), a complete dictionary of exquisite Japanese cuisine.

Now there is a Japanese restaurant on every corner, but it was not always that way. When did you start to perceive that interest in this kitchen was arousing? I started with my blog in 2003, and at that time I was a weirdo. Japanese food was not yet well known, but I was already interested in discovering more and spreading it. At that time, saying that you ate raw fish was something unthinkable ... Sushi was the first thing that came to Spain, but it was clear that there was much more behind. Is it documented when the first Japanese restaurants in Spain are opened? opened in 1973, in Las Palmas. His name is Fuji, and the first one that opened in Barcelona, ​​Tokyo Sushi, has just turned 40. It has been a slow advance, then. They began to open many more in the 90s, but it was still a minority. The big breakthrough has been in this decade, when dishes such as okonomiyaki [known as Japanese pizza ] or ramen, which has starred in a new boom, began to enter massively. How do you distinguish an authentic Japanese restaurant from a converted Chinese? Years ago I wrote a half joking article on the subject. Sometimes it is noticed only by superficial aspects, such as decoration or the style of the dishes. If you know Japanese, you will also notice the errata in the letter. I think that people have gradually begun to discern what an authentic Japanese is and what is not. There has been a sieve, and those who did not meet a minimum level have now reconverted, and serve pizza, or are a typical Spanish bar. About 20 years ago, sushi was a real taboo. You said 'raw fish' and there were people who made real faces of disgust. In addition, not all sushi is fish, and if it is fish, not all fish is raw. Sushi means rice with another ingredient on top, and that can be from roe to meat, pickled vegetables, tortilla or cooked fish. And, of course, raw fish. As for that, it's all a matter of getting used to the palate. As a child, I didn't like fish, and my mother camouflaged me inside yogurt, which was what I ate at ease ... and now I like everything. Not only raw fish sushi, but also shirako (which is fish sperm), giblets or natto, which is a fermented soybean with a very powerful smell. The first time you try certain things is like the first time you drink a black beer: at first it may seem bitter, but then you like it. Would you say that now there is a bubble of Japanese? I think there has been an accelerated, but sustained, growth, because there is more hobby and more demand. The sector has done something smart, which is to redirect to specialization. 10 or 15 years ago there were restaurants that did everything, and now you have them specializing in grilled meats, teppanyaki, sushi, ramen or kaiseki cuisine, which is Japanese cuisine. And even patisseries: Japanese desserts are the new field to discover. There is life beyond mochi and dorayaki. Do you have a favorite specialized place? Of this phenomenon, I am especially interested in restaurants that focus on regional food from certain areas of Japan. In Valencia there are several specialized grilled meat sites that use products from different sources ... the best known designation of origin would be Kobe, but there is much more to explore. And, for example, in Badalona there is an Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki restaurant called Fujitaka, which works with other local products such as oysters. And in Madrid is Izariya, which is a restaurant of Kaiseki cuisine based on dishes from the Kochi region. It said that there are many desserts to discover, but Kaiseki cuisine has also arrived relatively recently. Do you see much room for expansion? Yes, because it has a lot of appeal. Kaiseki cuisine is like a trip in which several dishes are presented based on a series of rules, prepared following different techniques that show the chef's expertise, from mushimono (steamed dishes) to tsukemono (pickles), otsukuri (sashimi sin use of fire, only by cutting with a knife) or agemono, which are the fried foods. I compare it with going to a museum or a concert; It is a type of cuisine that allows you to deepen your reason for being and be interested in the sense of a certain dish or the use of a certain technique. In addition, only seasonal products are used, and a type of tableware that enhances and pays tribute to the time of the year and the ingredients. Discounting Japan, how are the Japanese restaurants in Madrid and Barcelona compared to those in London or New York? a huge advantage, which are fish, one of the main ingredients. Mediterranean fish is enviable. Once I went to Umu, in London, and tried a brutal mackerel, of those that make you cry. And the cook told me it was Mediterranean mackerel. In Spain we have very authentic restaurants, as in London. In the United States it is something else, there is more fusion fusion. Are you interested in fusion, or is it a purist? No, I am not a purist or want to be. The kitchen evolves and there are interesting combinations. For example, in Barcelona, ​​tempura de calçot has begun to be made. Calçot is not a Japanese product, but the technique of frying in calçot has its what, it is fun and makes sense because in the end what you eat is a fried vegetable. I respect and admire the fusion, but that does not mean that my function is to try to value traditional cuisine so that people can discern between fusion and confusion, between what is authentic and what is not. In Barcelona there is a New restaurant, Kanada-Ya, that make cold ramen from gazpacho. Have you tried it? Kanada-Ya is a well-known Japanese ramen chain. The idea is not new, in Suita Ramen they already did things with tomato before. It does not seem bad, there are many variants of ramen, there are amusements and also cold ramen, such as tsukemen. What seems most interesting to me is the daily life that ramen has become and, by extension, Japanese cuisine. It will be better or worse, but the fact that you find it even in shopping centers says a lot. Could it be that the pending subject is prices? In Japan, eating ramen is quite cheap, but here a good ramen of 10 euros does not come down. It should be remembered that many products used for certain specialized kitchens are imported and pay tariffs. The fish is from here, but other things are not. Now, it is true that there are overvalued sites, as it is also true that you can eat in places that offer great quality, and even homemade desserts, at unbeatable prices. There are bad and expensive sites, and bad and cheap sites, just as there are expensive fully justified sites. There is everything to choose from. Sake is also becoming popular. What are the keys to the boom? In Japan, sake is a divine drink that is used as a religious offering. There they call it omiki: if you take it, you enter into communion with the divinity to which you have made the offering. There are all kinds of sakes: pasteurized and unpasteurized, sweeter and fresher, fruity or cereal-flavored ... It's a world to discover. I am a sommelier of sake, I think I know the subject well, but from genuine modesty I can say that the more I know about this world, the more I realize what I need to know. It never ends. And yes, it has begun to become fashionable, partly thanks to a disc jockey . He will refer to Richie Hawtin. Years ago he started to set up 'techno' parties in Ibiza in Space where there was also a sake bar. Exactly. I didn't know him, I didn't know he had such a reputation in his world. But his facet of sake promoter has been important. He used his [Enter] brand as an umbrella to present different wineries, and it may not be the most specialized way of approaching sake, but he has fulfilled his function. From there, people can start exploring more. It excites me when I talk to someone and tells me that he prefers sake junmai (which is rice sake without added alcohol) to sake that is not junmai, or that distinguishes ginjo junmai, which is more fruity or aromatic. is so obsessed with Japanese cuisine, does one end up forgetting lentils and fried egg? No, man. Luckily, this is a hobby that allows you to dedicate three moments a day to it, and if you give me a choice, I prefer Japanese. But I also love spoon stews, ham, cheese ... I'm also interested in Korean cuisine. I am not fundamentalist of the Japanese. I like so many things that I would not know what my favorite dish is. There is a moment in the series 'Los Soprano' in which Tony Soprano discovers sushi with his wife, and begins to go to the restaurant only secretly. When Carmella discovers it, she gets very angry. Do you have any similar story? I have vitiated my family and luckily I do not have to sneak anywhere. But it has happened to me to be in Japan and see that you have several days scheduled, with six meals a day, and that there are more places I want to try than food shifts. So it happened to me that some days I had dinner up to two and three times. For example, chef Yukio Hattori once invited me to try his new tapas restaurant with organic ingredients. And I had stayed for dinner with some friends in a kaiseki restaurant. So first I went to try their tapas, then to the restaurant. And other times, after dinner, I went to eat ramen. Have you been to Jiro's restaurant, the one who says he makes the best sushi in the world? You have to book in advance and there is no square. Sometimes I made the attempt to come to the door, although I already knew they would say no. But nothing happens. It is a place where you have to eat fast, and I like to take my time, talk to the cook, chew, look at the taste ... recreate. Luckily, two streets of Jiro is Mibu, which was where Ferran Adrià had his crush on Japanese cuisine, and from which he has made a manga and a play ... I've always had the doors open in Mibu, and That's why I haven't missed being able to enter Jiro. Yes, but curiosity stings. I'm a foodie, but that doesn't mean you lean toward the expensive. I enjoy an izakaya dish as well as a haute cuisine dish. I love a dish called buta no kakuni, which is diced pork cooked over low heat, which is very humble, very homemade. In Niigata I was served once a very simple white rice, without dressing or anything, which was a local variety of koshihikari, and I fled. I enjoyed it as much as if it were a sea urchin or salmon roe.

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