I feel like I owe something to America, as it is where I found success.
In Tokyo, we have more three-star Michelin restaurants than Paris.
My cooking is simply ingredients plus umami.
When I'm in L.A., I go to Spago because the chef is a friend of mine.
I enjoy people who have passion, whether it is as a musician or whatever they do. All people who have success keep it very basic. Try your best. But without passion, you will not have success.
When I'm home in L.A., I go to La Brea, a bakery which does artisan breads, excellent sourdoughs primarily, but also patisserie and cakes.
One day, the people who work in my kitchen stir-fried chopped Napa cabbage to serve with some meat or fish for their own dinner. I got to thinking: 'What if the cabbage was the most important thing on the plate?'
One of my great loves is golf. When I am in L.A., I like to play with a few close friends: no phones, no distractions, the great outdoors and the chance to bet some money to keep it interesting.
My favorite knife is from Miyakoya in Japan - I have one in each of my restaurants.
Peru was the Incas; it has 3,000 to 4,000 years of history.
The first jolt I received in my life was when I lost my father in a motorcycle accident when I was eight. I would have been with him if he hadn't turned down my request to go out with him that afternoon.
What I relish most is when a member of my staff, who has worked with passion and patience towards achieving their dream of owning a restaurant, walks up to me and says, 'Nobu! I have done it!'
Every year, I do a New Year's day party at my home. I invite my staff and my friends and their kids. Around 40-50 people come by, and I do a barbecue and salads, steak and sushi, and also lots of cheese.
I love big shrimp, like Japanese botan shrimp and the meaty ones from Santa Barbara, Calif. In classic Japanese cooking, shrimp like these would be dropped into a broth or boiled as served with sushi. But I think boiling dilutes their great flavor, and they are better when stir-fried.
Every morning when I woke up, my mother was already in the kitchen making breakfast. It was always the same: steamed rice, pickled vegetables, grilled fish and miso soup. Each day there was something different in the soup such as tofu or potatoes.
I was a bit of a wild boy - always swimming and exploring the mountains.
Once I fell out of a tree and was hit by a motorbike. I still have the scar on my head now.
Have you ever been to Mexico City and haggled with the locals over souvenirs? Well, in Peru, you had to negotiate like that to get the freshest fish at the market.
Napa cabbage is very beautiful, all those long, pale leaves with ruffled edges.
I remember watching steak being cooked on TV and wanting to try it. As a special treat, my mother cooked it for me, and I thought this would be the time I would eat with a knife and fork. Alas, I ate it with chopsticks!
