Photo/Illutration Bolognese sauce (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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When he was in junior high school, Koji Sato hoped to become a cook and asked a sushi restaurant in the neighborhood to train him. He thought he could learn a trade in the cooking profession, but he gave up when the proprietor and his parents opposed the idea and advised him to decide after going to senior high school.

Once he entered senior high school, Sato decided to work part time at a family restaurant. He was praised for his skill in cooking hamburger steaks. Although it was his first time to cook regularly, his dexterity seemed to have helped.

After graduating from senior high, he enrolled in a culinary school. And after working at a hotel kitchen, he flew to Italy at age 19.

Sato says he loved art history books and art museums, and was especially interested in the works of Italian painters. He wanted to go to the places where they had lived.

There were many markets around Florence, where he first settled. The city offered almost no chain restaurants but mostly privately run establishments. As he watched the residents enjoy the food and praise good dishes, Sato felt the “closeness of the people and the cooks.”

After training at a few restaurants, Sato was contacted by a renowned restaurant in Milan and began working there. One day he was asked to cook a meal for the staff.

Deciding to make Bolognese sauce, Sato began cooking ground meat in a frying pan on high heat since experience had told him that the meat becomes more flavorful when cooked until the surface is quite brown.

But the sous-chef who hailed from Bologna was not happy and said, “You don’t call this Bolognese.” Other Italian chefs joked that “it will definitely taste awful.”

Yet when they took a bite, they all agreed on how good it tasted. Even the sous-chef said, “Not bad.”

“I remember it as the first time I was regarded highly,” Sato says. “I thought that after understanding the history and culture, you can try new things.”

Speaking of his Bolognese sauce, Sato says: “I want people to enjoy it in a way that is different from the usual pasta. It goes well with white wine.”

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Koji Sato (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1974, Koji Sato is the owner-chef of a Portuguese restaurant. He returned to Japan after working as a chef in Italy, France, Britain and Thailand. After a stint as the chief chef at an Australian wine bar, he opened Cristiano’s near Yoyogi Park in Tokyo in 2010.

He runs six restaurants and shops including a pork vindaloo restaurant that serves a type of Indian curry.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serves 2)

300 grams ground beef, 70 grams onion, 1 and 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp flour, 1 clove garlic, 3 Tbsp mustard, 200 grams tomato sauce (store-bought), 200 ml water, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 120 grams penne, 5 tsp powdered cheese, 2 tsp olive oil

1. Finely chop onion and garlic.

2. Add ground beef, flour, onion, garlic, mustard and salt in bowl and mix thoroughly.

3. Heat frying pan and place (2). Spread to flat disc shape and cook on high heat. When it begins to brown, turn sides while mixing and cook until it is browned overall.

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When meat begins to burn, turn sides while mixing and cook until it is browned overall. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

4. Add tomato sauce, water and red wine vinegar to (3) and simmer on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes. When sauce thickens, turn off heat and add 4 tsp powdered cheese.

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Add tomato sauce, water and red wine vinegar and simmer on medium heat for five to 10 minutes. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

5. Bring water to a boil in pot and cook penne per instructions.

6. Mix sauce with cooked penne, serve and top with olive oil and 1 tsp powdered cheese.

About 805 kcal and 6.2 grams salt per portion
(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

Cook thoroughly until the surface of the meat sets and turns crispy to draw out the umami.

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column

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