Oct 15, 2024

Taking the Confusion out of Fusion with Chef Masa of O-Ku

Written by Team MUSUBI

The above photo: ©Vicki Artorntamarat

The cornerstone of high-end cuisine is using high-quality ingredients to create a stunning and delectable experience for all diners. And when it comes to high-end Japanese food in the US, there tends to be an emphasis on authenticity, which often results in importing ingredients from Japan.

There’s more than one path to true flavors, however. Chef Masa Hamaya of O-Ku, originally from Saitama but now based out of Atlanta, seeks to blend the flavors of his two homelands in a way that contributes to the authenticity of one without sacrificing the other. Using ingredients found in the States to create dishes that wouldn’t be out of place at a local sushi spot here in Tokyo, he seeks to harmonize the cultures that are a part of his multinational life.

To learn more about how his trans-Pacific background bleeds into his culinary creativity, we sent him the new Musubi Mono chawanmushi bowls to try out. Then, we sat down for a truly illuminating conversation about historical aspects of food, cultural collaboration, and how MUSUBI KILN’s pieces fit right in.

From College to Cuisine Bringing Washoku to the West Meeting MUSUBI KILN

From College to Cuisine

Growing up in Saitama, he had a fairly unremarkable childhood, spent cooking with his mother. “She was not the best cook when she got married but she went to cooking school and started cooking everything. Then every little thing she made was good… That’s how I grew up.”

And when it came time to seek higher education, it was the US that called to him. Specifically, Arizona,as Chef Masa was drawn to the beauty of the campus and its surroundings, and and he enjoyed his time so much that when he moved back to Japan after college, he went back to the States as soon as he could.

©Heidi Harris

When he returned to Japan, he attended culinary school, taking his mother’s path to an even higher level, then had a stint at a kaiseki restaurant in Tokyo. But his goal was to be a chef in the States, so he moved back to Phoenix, Arizona to begin his professional culinary career. From there, he worked in cities across the southern United States, including Austin, Texas, and Orlando, Florida, as well as spending some time in San Francisco. Throughout each city, Chef Masa brought his own take on Japanese cuisine to an American audience.

It was when he landed in Atlanta, Georgia, that he joined O-Ku to head up the restaurant’s menu with his individual brand of cooking. He explained, “I was not trying to introduce traditional Japanese food for those years of experience. I adapted to introduce American-style Japanese food.” And although many high-end restaurants utilize the ingredients he grew up with—yuzu, sansho peppers, bonito, etc.—he didn’t want to simply use them for the sake of bringing those flavors to his Japanese food.

Bringing Washoku to the West

During the interview, we were treated to Chef Masa’s vast knowledge of culinary history. It is this knowledge that he draws on in order to make his menus that perfect balance of traditional and unique. He told us a story about a wine competition being held in Europe, and a Japanese company imported sake to compete. But the sake oxidized while en route, fundamentally changing the sake’s flavor composition. “They had no choice but to use it,” Chef Masa said, “but the judges loved it… [it’s called] koshu, or aged sake.” He brought this up as an example of something previously unknown or even rejected in the Japanese culinary space, but because other countries enjoyed it, the mindset changed.

©Vicki Artorntamarat

It doesn’t stop with sake, either. “Japanese food takes inspiration from all over the world: Portugal, China… all sorts of countries.” Another example he gave was curry, originating from India but brought over to Japan by the British, and is now a quintessential Japanese dish, with curry kits and boxes of curry cubes taking up a significant portion of an aisle at a local supermarket.

It is this history of global cooperation that Chef Masa uses when considering his menu and flavors. He believes Japanese food cannot be simplified into a single genre—it is a fusion of flavors from all over, experimentation, and even happy accidents. He shared many ideas with us of ways to achieve delicious Japanese food even in an area that doesn’t have specifically Japanese ingredients: “If you’re really willing to try, you can probably find it.”

“In the springtime there are these flowers in the trees, and I found out they’re called redbud. And it’s very refreshing, with a hint of sweetness. So, I find one thing then it goes well with the other thing… And then I build the flavor.” Without giving away all the chef’s secrets, it boils down to knowing the flavors you’re trying to achieve and finding those where you are.

Meeting MUSUBI KILN

We sent Chef Masa some of our new Musubi Mono Chawanmushi Bowls, made exclusively for us by Tasei Kiln, to see what a professional would do with them. But not only that, what kind of story he would create, as the story is just as important to him as it is to us at MUSUBI KILN. He told us, “The story is something that is part of the flavor, I believe, and it needs to be explained. Otherwise, that's half of the flavor that will be missing.”

©Vicki Artorntamarat

The founder of Indigo Road Hospitality Group, which includes the renowned O-Ku, was “baptized by omotenashi” on his visit to Japan, Chef Masa said. This has translated into a culture of hospitality that is both genuine and attentive, ensuring that all guests have an unforgettable experience. Indeed, O-Ku's commitment to providing exceptional hospitality is a hallmark of the Indigo Road Hospitality Group.

Everything that we also stand for here. It felt like a perfect match. So Chef Masa’s first impression wasn't a surprise: “When I saw MUSUBI KILN’s stuff I thought, wow. I love it.” But as he explained to us, the concept of chawanmushi isn’t one that’s very common in the West. A steamed egg dish that is made with dashi and possibly includes other toppings—a favorite of this writer’s is kani, or snow crab. A close analogue could be the French souffle, but that tends to lean sweet and be more of a dessert. Traditionally, Japanese chawanmushi is savory and part of a set menu or an omakase course meal.

©Vicki Artorntamarat

And the size was a consideration for Chef Masa, as well. Working in America, it seems the chef’s sense of portioning has shifted. “They’re so small,” he said, “As a Japanese [person] I love that but I can’t believe it.” But O-Ku offers an omakase menu, and he said it would be interesting to include chawanmushi as part of it. He also spoke highly of the versatility and the beauty of the cups—they’re not single-use items but could find multiple purposes throughout the kitchen and your home (see our blog post on unique uses for chawanmushi bowls here.)

But the chawanmushi cups ended up having an almost philosophical impact on the chef. This collaboration “made me look back at what I was doing before, cooking for my friends and family,” not just cooking for guests. He said he appreciated taking a step back to remember his Japanese heritage and the idea of omotenashi in his personal life—and we are grateful for the opportunity to have worked with him as well.

The history of Japanese cuisine is as rich and varied as the history of Japanese tableware, bridging cultures and crossing borders in a way that we take for granted sometimes. Chef Masa has now lived in America for most of his adult life, giving him a truly unique perspective on the way cultures and flavors intermingle to create something completely new, without betraying its background.

He also draws on his deep knowledge of culinary traditions and history while constantly learning about new tastes and styles to develop a sense of cooking creativity that is unparalleled. Speaking with him was illuminating and informative, as well as just a lot of fun—he’s an affable man who genuinely enjoys learning about others as much as he shares his vast wealth of knowledge.

Below are Chef Masa’s recommendations for making the dish if you’d like to try your hand at chawanmushi at home.

”The basic ingredients of chawanmushi are eggs and dashi, or stock. My golden ratio for chawanmushi is 1 part egg to 3.25 parts liquid. In the USA, the average AA large eggs are 1.66 oz (49 ml) without shells. So 1 egg will be paired with 5.80 oz (171.5 ml) of dashi.

I recommend topping the first chawanmushi bowl with sweet shrimp, lobster fat, broccolini, and smoked trout roe for a smokey balanced bite. Top the second chawanmushi dish with salted chrysanthemum oil and pickled bamboo shoots for a lighter bite.”