Azumi’s Fall-Off-the-Bone Short Rib Dish Is an Ode to the Pit Room

Chef Timur Fazilov says a visit to the barbecue restaurant inspired him to get playful with Azumi’s Japanese-focused menu

Japanese restaurant Azumi landed in Houston in June, and as anticipated, the restaurant prides itself on its sushi offerings. Breakdowns of whole tuna result in sashimi tastings that gradually evolve from leaner portions of tuna, like akami and chu-toro near the tail, to the fattiest cuts of tuna from the belly and the collar. There are sushi rolls, platters of nigiri, delicate crudo with hirame flown in straight from Japan, and a variety of dishes, like its chirashi bowl, that put raw fish and Japanese preparations on display.

Less expected, though, are some of the fusions that executive chef Timur Fazilov incorporates into the restaurant’s hot dishes. The Michelin-star experienced chef, who worked alongside chef Masaharu Morimoto at his restaurants in Doha, Qatar, and Miami, goes beyond Japanese cuisine with an amalgamation of Asian diasporic flavors. There’s Azumi’s saucy Korean-style fried rice, grilled lamb chops served with kimchi and whipped tofu feta, and giant prawns plated with a Japanese sweet potato mash, pickled carrots, daikon, and nước chấm, a Vietnamese fish sauce.

Much of the fusion is inspired by Houston itself, Fazilov says, which is notably apparent in its beef short rib — a dish that is a direct ode to one of Houston’s most popular barbecue joints. Fazilov says following a team visit to Houston’s Pit Room, he was intent on bringing some of the spot’s culture back to Azumi. “I thought, ‘Why can’t we do this?’”

With the Pit Room in mind, the chef says he got to work, experimenting with wagyu bone-in short rib to create an extra fatty, meaty experience that literally glides off the bone. Fazilov marinates the short rib in a gochujang sauce before braising it for six hours. The meat is then sliced and assembled atop the bone, accompanied by a combination of caramelized nuts, slices of citrusy pomelo for a punch of acid, a slightly sweet house barbecue, an assortment of herbs, and lettuce to arrange wraps for a handheld experience.

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Fazilov, who will soon be returning to Azumi’s only other location — its flagship in Baltimore’s Four Seasons Hotel — says the dish has become a fast menu favorite in Houston and one of the few plates he’ll bring back to Baltimore as an Azumi signature.