Japanese Food in Lichfield: An Honest Review of Rasa & Shokudo (Plus Our Homemade Sushi Rice Recipe)

I've reluctantly hit pause on Straight to Hell (the Kazuko Hosoki drama I've only just started on Netflix, so no spoilers please) because our local food adventures have been piling up and it's high time I wrote them down. I'm also partway through Hooked by Asako Yuzuki, and I'm already a little taken with Shoko, the blogger in it: the way she writes about her life with all its mess left in. Raw, real, and not afraid to be a bit goofy. So, in her honour, this piece comes with everything left in.

Here's the honest headline: Lichfield now has two spots serving Japanese food, and neither of them has an out-and-out wow factor. But, and this matters, I really appreciate the craft that's gone into both. And between them, a supermarket sushi counter, and one very productive cooking night at home, my daughter and I have accidentally conducted a full survey of Japanese food in our corner of the Midlands. So let me take you through it.

A Little History: Japan and the Midlands

Like with all my pieces, I couldn't resist a bit of digging. Here's a delightful nugget: the Midlands' first taste of Japan wasn't food at all. It was actually furniture. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Bilston were famous for "japanning": lacquering tin and papier-mâché trays, boxes and teapots in glossy black to imitate the Japanese lacquerware that Europe had fallen head over heels for. The Midlands was, quite literally, in the business of imitating Japan two hundred years before the first katsu curry hit a menu here. You can really see that showcased at the Birminghan Museum & Art Gallery (which makes for a great free day out by the way. You could even pop to Chinatown for a meal after).

The real phenomenon took rather longer to arrive though. Even today, the Japanese community in the Midlands is relatively small (the Birmingham Japan Society only formed in 1991) and for years, decent sushi meant a trip into Birmingham. Which is exactly why I got so excited when Japanese food started showing up on our doorstep in Lichfield. Twice.

Rasa Lichfield

Where: Rasa, 1st Floor, The Corn Exchange, Conduit Street, Lichfield

Must-have: Bao buns, Korean-inspired wings, chicken katsu curry, and the sushi (for the wasabi alone)

Vibe: Brilliant, friendly service in a room that hasn't quite decided who it is yet

Price: ££ (BYOB, which keeps the whole evening wonderfully affordable)

The funny thing is, we had a table booked with friends at Shokudo that night, which had, until then, been our absolute go-to for Japanese food locally (more on Shokudo below, it has certainly not been dethroned without a fight). But we'd wandered into town earlier that day and Rasa had set up a little sample table outside. We tried some sushi and - oh my god - one bite was enough. Booking changed. New restaurant it is.

Funnily enough: my mum, on her last visit, had eaten in this very building back when it was Heritage, and told me I had to try it. I never got around to it. By the time I finally walked in, it had changed hands and become a Pan-Asian restaurant. Locals will know this spot has lived many lives: it was Chandler's back in the day, then McKenzie's, then Heritage, and now Rasa. Some buildings just keep calling you back, whatever name is over the door.

Speaking of the building - Rasa sits on the first floor of the Corn Exchange, a Grade II listed Tudor Revival beauty built in 1850, where corn merchants once traded downstairs while the market hall sold butter and poultry. The upper floor has been a restaurant since the 1970s, so food has been part of this building's story for the best part of two centuries. I love that in Lichfield, like in so many places I've written about, you end up eating dinner inside a piece of history.

Now, the food. The menu featured lots of small plates, so we went full tapas mode and ordered a spread for the table. The bao buns were amazing: that contrast of a pillowy soft bun against a crispy filling gets me every time. The Korean-inspired chicken wings were brilliant: crunchy, sticky, packed with flavour. The chicken yakitori skewers were lovely too. We did order some mains too. My husband's katsu curry genuinely surprised me. It had a depth to it that most katsu curries lack, none of that "curry sauce out of a box" taste. And my friend's Thai curry looked the part and was, by his account, properly spicy, which is always the sign of a legit Thai curry.

The sushi is a solid 7.5/10. Tasty, though the rice-to-filling ratio leaned a bit heavy on the rice for my liking on the california rolls. The rice also lacked a bit of sweetness. And I have to say it: I don't understand mayo on sushi. I know it's popular. But it steamrolls all the delicate flavours that make sushi so enjoyable. The wasabi, on the other hand, was superb. The real-deal kind, with a kick that shoots straight up your nose and makes you lose control of your body for a few seconds. A mustard-induced brain freeze that somehow has you coming back for more. Humans are bizarre, I know.

I went back a second time for a girly catch-up: my friend, her daughter, my daughter, and a table full of small plates. The gyozas were lovely. The Saku Saku Duck Soba, however, taught me a lesson about menu poetry: "saku saku" is Japanese onomatopoeia for crispy, and what arrived was a slightly underwhelming, thick-noodled chow mein of very English proportions. Nothing terrible. Just nothing that lived up to its beautiful name. And I have a bone to pick with the mochi. Confession time - I can't really handle ice cream, it hurts my teeth (a bit like Ross in Friends), so mochi that's just a soft shell around rock-hard ice cream felt like a personal betrayal. I wanted traditional mochi that's soft all the way through.

One honest note on the room. The waiters are brilliant (genuinely some of the friendliest service in town) but the space feels caught between establishments. Bare walls, big windows all around, and no warm lighting means a long summer evening can feel a little exposed, a little awkward. This building has so much potential, and I hope they grow into it. That said, in daylight it's a total non-issue, which brings me neatly to my third visit.

Because here's the thing I discovered by accident: Rasa is a brilliant spot for a quick lunch. I've been working from home and juggling the kids this summer, so the other day I decided to mix things up, work from a café for the morning, and treat my daughter to lunch out. We went back to the chicken karaage bao buns (consistently good, no notes), some incredibly tasty vegetable gyozas, and shared the signature sushi platter. The whole thing came to £34, so a touch more than two Tesco meal deals, but so much more delicious, and the service was speedy and friendly enough that I made it out the door and back home right on time for my 2pm call. Try doing that with a sit-down lunch anywhere else.

The verdict: 8/10. Lots of variety, very decent prices, BYOB in the evening and genuinely brilliant for a fast, delicious weekday lunch. You can eat really well here whatever the occasion. We'll absolutely keep going back.

Shokudo Lichfield: The Quaint Original

Where: Shokudo, 3 Bird Street, Lichfield

Must-have: Sushi and gyozas

Vibe: Quaint and calm, with Japanese art on the walls. Go around 7pm for some life in the room

Price: ££

Despite our defection that night, Shokudo remains where my daughter and I go for our girl nights, because she is every bit the sushi fiend I am. A bit of digging revealed it's now part of a small chain (there's a sister Shokudo in Tamworth) and I love that the name itself, shokudo (食堂), simply means "dining hall" or "canteen" in Japanese. Unpretentious by definition. That rather suits it.

The ambiance is quaint in the best way (I really like the Japanese decor inside, bamboo, cherry blossom and all), though it's usually far too quiet at lunchtime. It's best to go around 7pm, when there are other diners in the room and the place has more of a pulse.

The sushi is decent, a solid 8/10, and always beautifully presented. The dish that really stole the show on our last visit was a noodle dish crowned with bonito flakes, dancing away in the rising steam as if the plate were alive. My daughter was mesmerised. So was I. The miso soup is always absolutely delicious. The gyozas are always a hit, and the shrimp tempura is fine: nothing special, but there's a lot to be said for having something crispy to munch on between maki. The wasabi doesn't quite pack the punch of Rasa's, which I hadn't expected. I tried the katsu curry once and wasn't a big fan, but I'll own that one: my palate is so biased towards heat and spice that anything mild rarely manages to wow me. That's on me, not the kitchen.

The verdict: 7/10. Not worth a detour across the county, but a lovely thing to have on your doorstep: a calm, authentic little pocket of Japan on Bird Street.

A Quick Supermarket Tangent

Speaking of sushi cravings: my takeaway go-to has always been Wasabi, and Wasabi has never failed me. Perfectly sticky rice, every single time.

So when a Yo! Sushi counter opened up in our local Tesco a few years ago, I was genuinely excited. And, unfortunately, genuinely underwhelmed. The rice is dry and a tad... crunchy? Sushi rice is not meant to crunch. I don't know if it's the refrigeration, but here's the thing: Wasabi runs the exact same grab-and-go model and manages fluffy, sticky rice every time. So the mystery remains. If anyone can explain it, my comments section is open.

In fairness to Yo! Sushi, I'll give credit where it's due: their mochi is a different story and what got me into mochi in the first place. It's soft all the way through, with proper glutinous rice on the inside rather than a chewy shell hiding rock-hard ice cream, and my sensitive teeth thank them for it. I understand this is actually the more traditional form: mochi began life as pounded glutinous rice, filled with things like sweet red bean paste, and the ice cream version is a modern invention that only took off in America in the 1990s. So it turns out I simply prefer traditional tastes. Who knew.

A Bubble Tea Aside

While we're surveying Lichfield's Asian food scene, a moment of silence for our bubble tea spots. We used to have some. None of them have survived. Jungle Street technically still sells bubble tea, but everything actually tasty is an add-on, the prices don't add up, and what you get tastes like a milkshake that's melted to room temperature. Not the one. You can also get boba at the claw machine place (Gacha Claw), but I'm not risking a walk through there with my kids: I have zero willpower to say no to stuff and I'd be broke before the tea even hit the straw.

One of the old bubble tea places even sold bánh mì for a while. Not Japanese, I know, but it was lovely to watch Lichfield's food scene broaden. That was shortlived. A couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I went on a proper boba hunt and headed up to Leetea, full of excitement, only to peer through the window at a huge pile of unopened letters. The unit is well and truly deserted. Rest in peace, Leetea.

Anyway, I digress.

The Homemade Fix

All of which brings me to the real discovery of this whole sushi survey. On one of our cooking nights together, my daughter and I decided to have a go at making our own, and it turns out we make pretty damn good homemade sushi. Our rolling technique is still very much novice level (some of our maki have what I'll generously call "character"), but the taste? The taste is absolutely there. Besides, wonky sushi you rolled with your favourite girl beats neat sushi from a refrigerated counter every single time.

The secret is entirely in the rice. Get that right and the rest is just assembly. Here's our go-to method.

How to Make Perfect Sushi Rice at Home

You'll need:

• 250g sushi rice
• 330ml water
• For the seasoning (makes roughly 4 tablespoons):
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1½ tbsp white sugar
  • ¾ tsp fine sea salt (or kosher salt)

How to make it:

1. Wash the rice in a sieve until the water runs completely clear. Don't rush this: it's what stands between you and gluey rice.
2. Place the washed rice in a saucepan and cover with the water.
3. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat right down to the lowest setting.
4. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and leave it to steam, lid on, for another 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid! I know it's tempting. Resist.
6. Meanwhile, make the seasoning: combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, then stir until completely dissolved. (A small saucepan over low heat works just as well.)
7. As soon as the rice is done, transfer it to a large, wide bowl (glass or wood is best, avoid metal) and fan it until it's cooled down completely.
8. Once the vinegar mixture has cooled down too, pour over the cool rice.
9. Gently "slice" and fold the rice with a spatula so every grain gets coated without getting mashed.
10. Once you're happy the rice is room temperature, you can start rolling.

Grab some nori, your favourite fillings, and embrace the wonk.

Top tips:

• Don't skip the fanning: it's what gives the rice its glossy finish, and it's the perfect job for a small sous-chef. Although, we actually took a short cut and let one of those mini portable fans do the job.
• Also, keep a big bowl of cold water so you can dip your hands as you go along - it stops the rice from sticking to your fingers.
• Keep a wet tea towel so you can constantly wipe your knife as well when you're ready to slice your sushi rolls. Otherwise your beautiful rolls will get mushed - we learned the hard way!
  
  P.S: Ngl, the whole process took so long that I completely forgot to take pictures of the actual sushi (we definitely need to practice our rolling in any case) and just devoured them as they hit the plate.

Happy Bellies Verdict

Rasa: 8/10. Small plates, big variety, top-tier wasabi, BYOB. Needs warmer lighting (and softer mochi).

Shokudo: 7/10. quaint, calm and authentic. Go at 7pm, order the gyozas, indulge in a variety of sushi.

Tesco's Yo! Sushi counter: only go for the mochi. The sushi is a let down. I said what I said.

Bubble tea in Lichfield: currently missing in action. Somebody please fix this.

Our kitchen: unrated, heavily biased, and currently my favourite sushi spot in the Midlands but it'll likely take 2 hours to make and we might argue in the process, so this one is a luck of the draw situ.

Whilst neither Rasa or Shokudo will make you feel like you've been transported to Japan, we do have two kitchens quietly doing the craft well, in a region of the UK that two hundred years ago was japanning tea trays instead of serving gyoza. That feels like progress worth celebrating with happy bellies.

If you know where the truly great sushi is hiding in the Midlands, tell me in the comments. Until next time, happy eating!

About me...I'm Lorna Rose and, by day, I work in the tech industry, but in my heart of hearts, I've always been fascinated by the story that food tells. The magic of a well-cooked meal, the way a simple dish can bring people together, spark conversation, and create lasting memories. On Happy Bellies, I set out to explore and find hidden gems, so that I can indulge in telling stories around food that will make you want to go out and create your own foodie adventures.

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Happy BelliesLorna Rose