Chef Nakamura grills all of his ingredients on the specially ordered teppan without oil. He sets the center of the teppan at 250 to 280℃, and the surrounding areas at 60 to 70℃. He cooks different areas depending on the ingredients. “My griddle technique may be very unique. I grill, but it’s almost like I’m steaming the ingredients at the same time,” says Chef Nakamura.

When grilling the beef, he has a big stack of clean white cloths ready at his side to wipe any excess juice or bits. He frequently changes cloths, so his teppan is always super clean as if he hasn’t even been cooking. His technique differs from conventional teppanyaki techniques that require a lot of oil or butter. He is able to serve the grilled meat without unpleasant bitter flavors, and as many foodies say, you’ll never get bored of eating beef cooked like this.

The courses typically include a few beef dishes, although the combination of ingredients changes depending on the day. On some days, you may have “Bresaola Kobe Beef with Autumn Truffles and Sautéed French Ceps”, “Fresh Salad with Soy-simmered Kobe Beef”, and simple but exquisite “Wagyu Steak”. For the steak, you can choose not only Kobe Beef but also any other Wagyu beefs cuts in Class A5.

Interspersed among those dishes are exquisite seafood items that are indispensable for teppanyaki. They are cooked on the griddle and include kinmedai, abalones, Ise-ebi lobster, and kuruma shrimp.

His garlic rice as the last course is unforgettable, too. He blends Himalayan salt which has a mild taste and Italian salt which has a sharp taste when cooking rice on the teppaan, but doesn’t use oil here either. Instead, he adds sliced garlic that was deep-fried with rice oil in advance, but that is all. You can take the garlic rice home if you’re full, but it’s so light that you may be tempted to eat it on the spot.

INGREDIENTS
The main ingredient in Teppanyaki Nakamura is the Kobe Beef from Kawagishi Farm. He sources his fish and seafood from Toyosu Market. He purchases live Ise-ebi is directly from Katsuura and Boshu, live kuruma shrimp from Kumamoto, and live Ezo abalone from Chikura.

The wasabi is grown by Marusei in Azumino, Shizuoka. He has been using this wasabi since he was 28 and working at Kamikochi Imperial Hotel in Nagano.

He uses Hitomebore rice grown without any pesticides by Kurikoma Kogen Farm. The rice has a rich umami from being grown in the healthy soil that has accumulated nourishment for three years.