Vegan Sushi Paired with Local Sake That Draws a Clear Line from “Compromise Vegetable Sushi”

caption / Vegan sushi with Jerusalem artichoke and wasabi greens

“Maybe it’s healthy, but the flavor is weak.”

“There’s no surprise.”

Vegetable sushi is often accompanied by such preconceptions. The main vegetables are seen as unable to replace the impact of meat or fish, and diners feel they must tolerate subtle flavors rather than enjoy them.

However, the vegan sushi proposed by Chef Koushu Matsuzaka at the restaurant Sate Hitsujini Modoruto Shiyou, a place that adds color to everyday life, effortlessly overturns those assumptions.

“I don’t want to make ‘compromise vegetable sushi,’ where the pursuit of health results in compromised quality and flavor,” says the chef. True to his words, each piece he presents carries a clear intention and purpose, and the difference becomes evident the more you chew and savor it.

caption / Chef Koushuu Matsuzaka

One example is the vegan sushi made with log-grown shiitake mushrooms cultivated through natural farming at marufarm, a satoyama farm located in the Kanayama area of Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture. These mushrooms are also known as the “Jewels of Aoidani.”

The shiitake mushrooms are wrapped in aluminum foil and gently steamed at a low temperature, then lightly simmered in a sauce based on soy sauce, sweet sake for seasoning and Japanese sake. To finish, a fermented chili seasoning is added as an accent. The result is vegan sushi with a springy texture, from which the deep umami of the shiitake steadily emerges with every bite.

caption / Vegan sushi with log-grown shiitake mushrooms

In addition, a variety of vegan sushi made with naturally farmed vegetables from marufarm are paired with vinegared rice prepared by blending naturally grown Isehikari rice with marufarm’s ancient rice (red rice). With each bite, textures, aromas, and flavors unfold in layers, expanding three-dimensionally in the mouth with a subtle time lag.

Chef Matsuzaka is also deeply knowledgeable about sake, and his restaurant offers pairings that further enhance the appeal of vegan sushi. The log-grown shiitake vegan sushi was paired with Sanshouraku Brewery’s Sanshouraku Yamahai Junmai Yamasatoho, a sake with both umami and sweetness, which is also used in the seasoning sauce itself.

“Sate Hitsujini Modoruto Shiyou” comes from a French proverb meaning “let’s return to the main topic after a digression.”

From days spent eating food cultivated, harvested and prepared solely in pursuit of efficiency and economic rationality, to days of slowly chewing and savoring naturally farmed produce that is good for both body and mind. Well then, hall we return?

caption / Vegan chirashi sushi

Contact Information
Sate Hitsujini Modoruto Shiyou
Address: Ekinan 5-4-7, Takaoka City, Toyama, Japan (inside WINE LAB.)
Contact: Official Instagram

Photo: Kenta Nakajima