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Here, this renowned chef famous for his sophisticated French fare talks about his own unique style of ‘Mikuni’ cuisine, developed by adding a Japanese twist to his cooking – umami.		Kiyomi Mikuni Owner / Chef of Hôtel De Mikuni/ Japan
In French restaurants in various countries around the world, such as New York, Paris and London, the taste umami is now recognized to a degree that they will often use kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) in order to make dashi stock. Perhaps you find this combination of French cuisine and ingredients such as kombu and katsuobushi, which are a source of umami, a little bit strange? When you hear the word ‘umami’ the immediate associations are with traditional Japanese cuisine, aren’t they? However, throughout the world, people are becoming excited by this newly discovered taste, umami. As a chef, I specialise in French cuisine, but I am also Japanese and a native of Hokkaido, which is an area famous for its kombu. The basis of my cuisine is French, but, in adding my Japanese sense of taste with umami, I have developed the original ‘Mikuni’ cuisine style. Umami, continuing from the four tastes of the West – sweet, salty, bitter, sour – makes a fifth, Japanese-born taste. I believe that we Japanese should, in the first place, understand and take pride in umami, and then ensure its contribution to the further development of world cuisine by introducing umami to non-Japanese cuisine.

Kiyomi Mikuni's Profile Born1954, Hokkaido, Japan. After gaining experience at numerous three Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe, he opened the Hôtel De Mikuni in Yotsuya, Tokyo, in 1985.Involved in the nurturing of cooking talent and educating children in the sense of taste. As well as putting his weight behind the development of culinary culture, he is also currently planning to set up a school where professional cooks will teach those intending to become culinary professionals. Recent publications include The Philosophy of Cooking (Seishun Publishing).

Chef Mikuni's
‘Egoist’ sea-bream consommé, ’

Naonohana no Shiro-ae (Tofu Dressed Rape Shoots)

Ingredients: serves 1
Soup
Sea-bream spare parts (flesh remaining on spine and head)	20-25cm sea-bream, 5, 6 tails
Sliced onion	3/4 large
Celery (stalk only)	one large
White wine	500 ml
Water	1.5 litres
Herbs (coriander, bay leaf, Italian parsley, fennel)	a little
Kombu	8g
Katsuobushi	10g
Sherry (Tio Pepe)	a little
Egg white	1

Filling
Small sea-bream sliced into pieces	5 slices
Caviar	50g
Cabbage	1/2 leaf
Salt	a little
Cayenne pepper	a little
Red pepper	a little
Fines herbes (a mixture of shredded chervil and dill leaves, and thinly-cut rings of green onion)	a little
Sea-salted wolfberry	1
Olive oil	as required
Avocado oil	as required

Method:

1)	Rinse the spare parts of the sea-bream in running water and remove all the blood.

2)	Add 1) to the finely sliced onion and celery in a pan.

3)	Add the white wine and water to 2) so that the ingredients are just covered. Heat.

4)	Bring 3) to boil and remove the scum. Heat on a low flame, continuing to remove the scum, for 20 minutes.

5)	Strain 4) with a cloth.

6)	Allow 5) to cool and transfer into the pan. Beat egg white until it is thick enough to cling to beater and draw lines in. Blend together well with the mix of coriander, bay leaf, Italian parsley and fennel.

7)	Heat 6), slowly stirring with a wooden ladle so that it touches the bottom of pan and prevents sticking.

8)	Insert thermometer. When mix reaches 84°C, stop stirring with ladle. Take care not to over-boil.

9)	Make a hole in the egg white layer that has floated to the surface of 8) and heat on a low flame until the soup has been clarified (the murkiness of the liquid disappears and it becomes clear)

10)	When the sea bream consommé becomes clear, strain slowly through a cloth. Place in a bowl inside another bowl filled with ice and cool completely.

11)	Add kombu to 10) and heat for 20 minutes. Remove the kombu and put the consommé in a pan. Just before it boils add in the katsuobushi. Take immediately from the flame and strain through a cloth.

12)	Apply olive oil in thin layer to a soup dish and arrange sea bream slices in radial formation, flavouring with salt and cayenne pepper. In the centre place cabbage-wrapped caviar. Place in oven and heat gently.

13)	From the top of the sea bream of 12) sprinkle on the fines herbes

14)	To the consommé of 11) add a few drops of sherry for aroma.

15)	Pour the consommé from 14) into the bowl from 13). Sprinkle avocado oil on the consommé.

16)	On the top of the cabbage parcels in the centre add the green onion sprouts cut in half and the sea salted wolfberry (ideally with Sel de Guérande) as garnish.

This recipe was demonstrated by Chef Kiyomi Mikuni at the Umami Open Symposium held at Tokyo’s Panasonic Centre in June 2006

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