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Japanese Fine Dining Parramatta — How Oribu’s AGFG Chef-Hatted Kitchen Masters the Art of Umami

Umami is the fifth taste. Not sweet, not sour, not salty, not bitter — something else. The Japanese identified it first, gave it a name in 1908 (the word derives from umai, delicious, and mi, taste), and built their culinary tradition substantially around it. The compound responsible is glutamate — an amino acid found in high concentrations in fermented foods, aged proteins, kombu seaweed, dried bonito, mushrooms, and ripe tomatoes. In Japanese cooking, the cultivation and layering of glutamate-rich ingredients...