I recently had the pleasure of a sun-soaked, early fall afternoon, during which I not only tasted delicious fare, but learned a new, and hopefully enduring, skill. I attended Sunda New Asian’s monthly sushi class, which some students found through OpenTable Experiences, and others saw promoted on Instagram under the “Secret Chicago” tag. It was a lovely afternoon, thanks to the kind folks at the restaurant who opened an hour early for the class, and our instructor, Chef de Cuisine Gina Lee.
My experience kicked off to a rocky start—I was nearly 30 minutes late, thanks to a hold-up on the Red Line at the Wilson stop. However, Chef Gina didn’t miss a beat, immediately coming over to help me learn what the other students at our shared table were already practicing. In front of me, I found a wooden board, a sushi rolling mat, a small dish of water, plastic gloves, dried seaweed (or nori), and a plethora of fresh ingredients. Chef Gina instructed me to put on my gloves and get ready to dip them into the water intermittently, in the hopes of avoiding sticky fingers from the sushi rice. One guest asked if this rice is interchangeable with jasmine rice, and the chef replied that it isn’t—jasmine rice won’t stick together adequately to keep the roll in place.
Chef Gina begins by teaching me to make a hand roll. I opt to include almost every ingredient: shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, avocado, ginger, and cucumber, only leaving out the jalapeño pepper and wasabi (I’m not much for the spices of this world). I put my ingredients on the left side of the sheet of nori, as instructed, and put my tempura facing diagonally to accommodate the rolling of the nori toward its top right side. I left the bottom left corner clear, then grabbed it to begin rolling. Chef Gina lets me know that it’s okay if mine isn’t perfect on the first try; she’s been doing this for more than five years, so hers is bound to look better. My hand roll came out looking less than photo-ready, but it was delicious, nonetheless. I felt proud having assembled the ingredients, knowing that I had a long way to go before I knew how to prepare most of them (especially the spicy tuna, which had secret ingredients in its spread-like mixture).
Overall, the atmosphere was lovely. The restaurant was beautiful in the afternoon light, which cascaded in from the open garage door setup. A woman across from me commented multiple times that it’s a “great first date spot.” The couple next to me says they love living in the neighborhood, since there’s always so much going on in Fulton Market. They’ve already bought sushi mats for their home, and she’s already a sushi master by the looks of her maki roll.
I then learned to prepare the traditional maki roll. I had to press the sushi rice into the whole of my horizontal rectangle of nori, except for about a half-inch on one end. I used most of the same ingredients I had for my last roll, since they all blended so well the first time. Then, I turned the nori longways away from me, stacked with ingredients in the middle section, placing it on the sushi mat. Rolling it forward proved to be more difficult than I anticipated, since I kept pressing it too hard and squishing the innards. Still, my instructor was able to scoop what had fallen from the sides of my roll back in and take it to her mat for cutting, wetting her knife with water for an easier glide. With her intervention, the roll ended up looking beautiful. My classmate insisted on taking a photo of me with the finished product (showing my slight sunburn from the open garage door, alas).
For drinks, I opted for their Lychee Simoy: it included Ketel One Botanicals, peach and orange, elderflower liqueur, lychee, and lemon. The drink was delicious—exactly what I expected, with a little sweetness on impact and a little sourness left on my lips at the finish. It was a little pulpy, which I liked, since it made it feel like a refreshing juice as much as a citrusy cocktail, and it went down so gently you’d forget it was alcoholic. I decided to go for a second glass, since it had been the perfect complement to the flavors I stuck with from hand-roll to maki.
In all, the sushi class at Sunda New Asian was a lovely communal experience. The woman who dubbed it a perfect date spot was celebrating her birthday with friends, but she insisted on taking photos of me with my finished rolls. The couple next to me shared their past experiences eating dinner at the restaurant, and engaged our instructor with questions on which markets in Chicago carried the freshest ingredients for sushi making at home. The person sitting next to me talked about OpenTable Experiences and told me about exclusive, invite-only food review apps I’d never heard of, and, frankly, neither of us had any interest in. Everyone’s opinions are worthwhile in the food world, and I would hate to be a part of undervaluing someone else’s experience of something so personal. Thankfully, I get to share my experiences here, with all of you, and I have nothing but good things to say about stepping out of my comfort zone and getting my (gloved) hands messy at Sunda’s sushi class.
Sunda New Asian is located at 333 Green St. You can make reservations on the website or order online.
