This article is a companion piece to One Dish, our social series showcasing NYC chefs and their their best-known dishes. This season is hosted by Justin Wu (@hungryartistny) who creates illustrations of his favorite NYC eats. Watch the video on our Instagram page.
While you might see five distinct hand rolls on your plate, Nami Nori’s Signature Temaki Set is certainly “one dish,” as chef Jihan Lee has designed it to be a holistic experience.
Temaki, which means “hand roll” in Japanese, is a casual style of sushi, usually served in cones of seaweed with rice and fish and designed to be eaten immediately lest the seaweed go soft. The experience contrasts greatly with traditional omakase, a quiet ritual that asks diners to put one’s trust fully in the chef while as many as 20 individual pieces of sushi are served in succession.
At Nami Nori, founded by Lee, Taka Sakaeda and Lisa Limb, temaki is served open-faced instead of in conical form. The experience is designed to be an elevated approach that is still more relaxed than what you’ll find at high-end omakase counters like Masa, the luxury two-star Michelin restaurant where the three founders worked before creating their first restaurant (there are branches of Nami Nori in the West Village and Williamsburg, as well as a few out-of-town locations). We caught up with chef Lee to learn about the Signature Temaki Set, the textures and flavors of each hand roll and how best to enjoy the dish.
Temaki is traditionally eaten quickly and casually as a hand roll, in contrast to the ceremony of omakase. What inspired you to turn it into a structured, multicourse experience?
Jihan Lee: We honestly just love temaki. As we were conceptualizing Nami Nori, we started with the understanding that temaki was always our favorite course of an omakase, and we wanted to make it not just a little highlight but the star of the meal.
Nami Nori is described as more casual and social than traditional sushi restaurants. What do you want people to feel as they move through the temaki set?
JL: We want anyone who dines here to feel welcome. Everything from our restaurant design to our name (Nami Nori translates to “Ride the Wave”) echoes the idea of a relaxed, enjoyable experience.
How did your background at high-end sushi spots impact Nami Nori?
JL: I learned a lot from working at places like Masa, and my experience has influenced me in many ways, including how we always work to source the highest-quality ingredients and aim to serve food that is both accessible and includes the best available ingredients.
The open-style temaki at Nami Nori is different from the traditional cone. In what ways does that change the experience?
JL: We always found that guests are so curious. When you serve a temaki in the traditional conical shape, you see people always unwrapping it to see what's inside, but then by the time it's been rewrapped and eaten, the seaweed is a little soggy. So, we built around the idea of making the temaki visually stunning and open so that guests can see what they’re eating and enjoy it while the seaweed stays crisp.
The signature set includes five distinct hand rolls: tuna poke, XO scallop, coconut shrimp, salmon serrano and cucumber black sesame, with no substitutions allowed. Why did you choose this set for One Dish?
JL: The signature set includes all of our favorite and customer-favorite temaki, which is why we thought it was the perfect set for the One Dish series.
How did you think about building the signature set’s progression as a complete experience rather than individual pieces? How do you balance flavors and textures across the sequence so each roll still feels unique?
JL: At most sushi restaurants, you’ll get one roll with however many pieces of the same flavor. With our temaki sets, we wanted to give our guests a variety of flavor profiles. From tuna poke to cucumber black sesame, it’s a progression of flavor and texture so that our guests are left wanting more.
Chef Johan Lee and Justin Wu
When you eat the signature set yourself, do you have a favorite roll or a specific order you like to experience them in?
JL: The set progression is really the best way to experience it. It's a perfect storyline.
For someone trying temaki for the first time, what do you hope they understand or feel by the end of the set?
JL: We want them to feel like Nami Nori is accessible and affordable, while also offering some of the highest quality ingredients and dishes available. The goal is for consumers to have a casual yet elevated experience.
Drawing by Justin Wu
Coming from such a precise, high-pressure sushi background at Masa, what excites you most about working in a format that allows for more flexibility?
JL: The accessibility of it and bringing the highest-quality dishes to more people, while being able to have fun and introduce a little bit of playfulness into the food we’re serving.
This question is not related to the signature set, but for someone who would like to build their own set. Any advice?
JL: Have fun with it! You can really customize the temaki however you want, as long as you have rice (the most important ingredient) and nori. From there, it’s just a matter of deciding what you want your toppings to be, but my pro tip is not to sleep on the crunchy shell temaki!
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