Holding a chic black field embossed with the phrases “World’s Best Rice” in gold, Japanese chef Kenichi Fujimoto tilts his head and smiles — a flicker of skepticism on his face.
“These things are often very commercial and not necessarily good,” says the Hong Kong-based chef/proprietor of Sushi Fujimoto, gesturing at the pot of rice simmering in his kitchen.
With greater than 20 years of expertise working below Michelin-starred sushi masters, the chef has encountered numerous sorts of rice. Nothing like this, although.
Not solely do the makers of Kinmemai Premium declare that it’s the world’s finest rice, however in 2016 Guinness World Records licensed it as the most expensive.
Does it dwell as much as the declare? NCS drafted in Fujimoto to assist reply that query. The grains have been rinsed and soaked earlier than they’re positioned inside a cast-iron pot of water and heated.
It’s an essential check for a Japanese chef. “Rice is Japan’s soul food,” says Fujimoto. “For sushi, rice is the most important part — 80% of good sushi comes from the rice and 20% from the fish,” he says.
The clock is now counting right down to the second of reality.
“We’ll know in 15 minutes.”
Rice has been a sacred staple in Japan for round 3,000 years.
Today, there are greater than 300 varieties generally cultivated round the nation, with new varieties always below improvement.
Dishes and drinks made with Japanese rice — sushi, mochi desserts and sake — have gained worldwide fame in latest many years. Rice exports, nonetheless, have by no means achieved the identical ranges of success.
Enter Keiji Saika, the now 91-year-old president of Toyo Rice Corporation. In 2016, he determined to take promotion of the staple into his personal palms.
Based in Wakayama, his firm sells rice milling machines in addition to Kinmemai, straight translated as “Golden Sprout Rice”, a spread prized for its dietary worth and style.
“I felt that Japan needed to better appeal to the international community about how great Japanese rice is,” Saika tells NCS Travel in an interview at the firm’s Tokyo workplace.
The problem? Boost the world profile of Japanese rice with out blowing the firm’s advertising and marketing finances.
“That was when the idea of Guinness World Records came to me. We’d have to do something that’s never been done before,” he says.
Confident that he had produced the world’s most scrumptious rice, Saika launched Kinmemai Premium to the market that very same 12 months, promoting it for a whopping 9,496 Japanese yen for a field of 840 grams — or about $109 per kilogram in 2016.
“At a time when typical rice cost only 300 yen to 400 yen per kilogram, I wondered if anyone would actually buy it. Surprisingly, enquiries started increasing,” he says.
What started as a one-off has since change into an annual launch, because of unrelenting demand. This 12 months, containers of Kinmemai Premium hit the marketplace for 10,800 yen, or $73.4 apiece.
With only one,000 produced, they offered out rapidly after their August 22 launch.
As Toyo Rice prepares to mark the mission’s tenth anniversary in 2026, Saika emphasizes that benefiting from the expensive rice was by no means his plan.
“Honestly, when you calculate the costs, we’re probably running at a loss. Even though we sell it at a high price, it’s not profitable,” he says.
Instead, the initiative was meant to lift the profile of Japanese rice and encourage farmers to domesticate higher-quality strains. Saika calls it the “World’s Best Rice” mission — certainly one of many inventions pushed by his dedication to enhance Japanese rice manufacturing.
In the Seventies he developed rinse-free rice to preserve water. Two many years in the past, his firm created a brand new milling machine that removes solely 9 layers of bran as an alternative of the standard 16, preserving vitamins and flavors.
But to create Kinmemai Premium, the Guinness World Record model, the course of is extra difficult.
Each 12 months, Saika selects 4 to 6 top-class, award-winning rice varieties from a pool of about 5,000 entries. The International Contest on Rice Taste Evaluation, hosted by the Syokumi Kanteisi — The Rice Taste Appraiser Association — is the largest of its sort in Japan.
Beyond taste and texture, Saika exams the enzyme ranges of every number of rice.
“That vitality, that life force, can be clearly identified through enzyme activity. Rice with strong vitality like that becomes truly exceptional,” he says.
Only the grains with the highest vitality are chosen. Then comes growing older.
“Letting the rice sit for a few months enhances the flavor even more. The taste becomes richer, and the health benefits seem to improve as well. So this rice is truly special,” Saika says.
The painstaking course of, mixed with restricted provide, makes Kinmemai Premium expensive to provide. The rice is usually given as a luxurious present, used to mark particular events or impress company shoppers.
Farmers chosen for the 12 months’s “World’s Best Rice” mission are flown to Tokyo for the grand reveal.
“Everyone seems to take great pride in it,” says Saika. “This was an unexpected effect, but rice producers work hard toward that goal every year. As when they do that, it gets featured prominently in the local newspapers with a note that it’s been ‘selected as an ingredient for the World’s Best Rice.’”
This 12 months’s Kinmemai Premium incorporates a mix of 4 rice varieties: there are two types of Koshihikari Rice, from Gifu and Nagano prefectures, respectively, and two sorts of Yudai 21 Rice – additionally from Gifu and Nagano.
Saika’s devotion to rice is related in his childhood. After World War II led to 1945, Japan confronted extreme meals shortages.
The nation was relying on the fall harvest to ease the disaster, however Typhoon Makurazaki hit Kagoshima, the southwestern tip of Japan, earlier than transferring north, devastating farmlands.
“Many people died of starvation. Even judges — and those in important positions and the upper class,” Saika remembers.
His household survived by planting no matter seeds they may discover and catching eels, catfish and birds. This expertise instilled in him a profound appreciation for rice and a mission to provide higher grains.
For him, Kinmemai Premium embodies that zeal. But even he doesn’t have a limiteless provide.
“(I eat it) just once a year when they ask me to taste that year’s rice. Just a little bit,” he says.
Hiroshi Matsumoto, head chef at the firm’s in-house sushi restaurant, says he grew to become an instantaneous fan after attempting the rice for the first time.
“I remember it was so delicious that one bowl just wasn’t enough, and I found myself wanting a second one.” Still, he doesn’t serve it with sushi. “It’s best served warm, part of a set meal,” he says.
Back in Fujimoto’s kitchen the Kinmemai Premium — a present from Toyo Rice — has been cooked and now sits steaming in the black, cast-iron pot.
Usually, the chef would carry out a number of check runs with a brand new rice to determine the finest soaking occasions, water ranges and cooking temperatures. But with solely 420 grams of Kinmemai Premium to play with, he’s needed to improvise.
Fujimoto rinsed the rice for a mere second and soaked it for half-hour — half-hour lower than the really helpful time — earlier than including it to the pot.
His preliminary evaluation? “Nice, clear color. I like it.” His spouse Ai’s take? “Whoa. Shiny.”
“Like a diamond,” provides Fujimoto. “You can see every grain standing out, which usually indicates good quality. The shape is beautiful, and the aroma is nicely balanced — not too strong.”
Tasting it, he provides his approval.
“The flavor is well-balanced. The texture is good. It has nice moisture. This rice will appeal to everyone.”
Is he tempted to purchase the rice for his restaurant?
“No, no, no. It’s too expensive — we’d have to triple our prices,” he laughs.
Like Toyo’s in-house chef, he additionally believes the rice is healthier served plain, extra suited to a kaiseki restaurant, an institution serving conventional refined dishes. “I think this rice isn’t really suited for sushi. It might get mushy if mixed with vinegar,” he says.
Chef Nansen Lai owns a number of Hong Kong eating places together with Flower Drum and Lai’s Kitchen – the latter of which makes a speciality of clay pot rice. He additionally sampled the Kinmemai Premium, evaluating it along with his home mix — a mixture of Thai aromatic rice and Koshihikari, one other high-quality grain, from Japan’s Niigata prefecture.
“It looks stickier and doesn’t have as strong a rice fragrance as Thai rice, which is a normal difference between Thai and Japanese rice,” he says.
He takes a chew.
“It’s delicious, with a much more complex taste and flavor than our house rice,” says Lai, earlier than inviting his workers to strive it.
“From a restaurateur’s perspective, we can’t afford rice like this. We also need a firmer rice, like Thai rice, that can stand up to stronger sauces. But this rice is so tasty you could eat it plain.”
Both Lai and Fujimoto agree that Toyo Rice’s mission is a helpful method to encourage producers.
“Rice farmers are struggling. With costs like machines and gas prices rising, rice prices haven’t really changed much for the last 30 or 40 years. Japanese farmers didn’t enjoy the benefit of the raised retail prices. If they can’t make a living, young people will not continue the family business,” says Fujimoto.
At 91, Saika stays vigorous, nonetheless going to work day-after-day.
“Today I’m wearing a suit, but usually I’m in work clothes, doing various tasks in the factory,” he says.
“There are quite a lot of elderly people who stay healthy. (Most) go to karaoke, play golf, or do exercises, but not many come to a company.”
The secret to his well being? Rice, after all. His ardour for the staple drives him to maintain working.
“At this age, I care about the development of myself and the company, but my biggest concern is Japan’s future,” he says.
“I don’t know how many more years I’ll live, but during that time, I want to develop things that will be useful to society. I don’t have much time, so I’m busy every day.”