Sashimi ???

Okay, I'm pretty interested in sushi, although I don't know all the in's and out's of sushi culture ... more of a "mmm, this tastes good" thing.

So, I'm wondering about sashimi ...

Do any of you fine fellas have comments about sashimi that might help me make a dent in a plate of raw fish? What to look for? What to try? What tastes or textures to expect? The best drink with it? Soya sauce and wasabi?

Okay, so let the advice, stories, Ouch-like witty comments, and just plain ramblings commence!

Check out http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipssushiless.htm for a quick start.

In any case, if you want make Sashimi yourself, first find a very good, reputable fish monger, never buy fish on a Monday, and make sure you know the quickest routes to the local hospitals.

(I'm not sure that last one can even remotely compete with ouch's comments)

Good luck!

Best - MM

PS: Almost forgot: if you want to mask the delicate flavor of raw fish, then by all means slather Wasabi on it!

I think your best bet is to put yourself in the hands of the chef. When you ask that they conduct the meal for you, they consider it an honor, and they will usually steer you in the right direction. It's okay to eat with your hands if your chopstick skills are anything like mine, and as long as you don't dump the wasabi (it will be fake wasabi) into the soy sauce, you'll do fine. In a reputable place (frequented by Japanese), it's hard to go wrong.

A good tip is to offer the chef a beer or sake.

ouch said:

I think your best bet is to put yourself in the hands of the chef. When you ask that they conduct the meal for you, they consider it an honor, and they will usually steer you in the right direction. It's okay to eat with your hands if your chopstick skills are anything like mine, and as long as you don't dump the wasabi (it will be fake wasabi) into the soy sauce, you'll do fine. In a reputable place (frequented by Japanese), it's hard to go wrong.

A good tip is to offer the chef a beer or sake.

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I echo ouch's advice.

Dumping a ton o wasabi into the soy gives you a nice blast, buts a very "American" thing to do.

If the sushi is good, the sashimi will be to

Some additional things to add. I've heard the best way to judge a sushi joint is the quality of the tamago (sweet egg omelette).

Instead of warmed sake try a top shelf sake lightly chilled.

You are abetter man than I if you dig uni. I'll eat just about any fish and octopus but the uni is way too challenging for me.

Ahi (tuna) or salmon. The Japanese don't put the wasabi in the soy. They use it straight.

ouch said:

I think your best bet is to put yourself in the hands of the chef. When you ask that they conduct the meal for you, they consider it an honor, and they will usually steer you in the right direction.

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This is known as "omakase" -- many restaurants offer this as part of the standard menu nowadays. It is obviously best if you sit around the bar, and it's perfectly acceptable to request "sashimi omakase" (if you want sashimi only) or omakase, but please no ____.

This also usually ensures that you will receive the best quality fish they have to offer on a particular day.

i agree with letting the chef prepare for you

i generally like

crab, tuna, salmon sushimi
squid is pretty good also

i had a white fish once, and was never told what it was, it wasnt as good as tuna, but was pretty good.

Good luck on your experimentation with sashimi. I'm a huge fan of sashimi, but can't really be of that much help with the types of fish. I only know the Korean names of the fish, and generally I don't get a platter of different kinds. I select the fish, eat it, and then get a spicy soup made of the bones and head of the fish.

I nearly always sprinkle lemon over the fish, and often wrap it in sesame leaves coupled with a piece of garlic. This is usually washed down with a cold glass of soju, a Korean liquor.

scoopster said:

You are abetter man than if you dig uni. I'll eat just about any fish and octopus but the uni is way too challenging for me.

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Uni's the best- sea urchin roe. One of the great delicacies of the sea.

rickw said:

Ahi (tuna) or salmon. The Japanese don't put the wasabi in the soy. They use it straight.

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The goal for us ugly Americans is to minimize our overt barbarism. A good sushi chef will place to correct and appropriate amount of wasabi between the rice and fish. You may tell him (a woman's hands are considered too warm to make sushi, and aspiring female sushi chefs face a glass ceiling unknown in the American business world) that you enjoy extra wasabi, and he'll be happy to accomodate.
The wasabi you'll find in almost every sushi joint is a reconstituted glob of wasabi powder, as the fresh root is seldom seen. I know some expert (probably Scott) will chime in and mention places like Mesa for the sole purpose of making me sick, where you'll be served the real thing grated on one of these

but they're the exception that confirms the rule.

I don't know about here, but in Japan sushi is a rice dish served wrapped in sea weed. Sashimi is raw fish. Me, I am a meat and potatos Texan and never much developed a taste for it although it is not at all disgusting. Just kind of tasteless unless you dip it in something spicy. In Japan, the bars set out dried squid as a snack. Squeeze a little lemon juice on it, and it is actually pretty good. And you can chew one piece for fifteen minutes...

Eat a piece of pickled ginger in between different types of fish to cleanse your pallet. As was mentioned already don't mix wasabi into the soy sauce, the right amount of wasabi was already applied when the piece was made. If you get nigiri sushi dip the fish in soy sauce, not the rice; dipping the rice is equivalent to slathering ketchup on a steak. Sushi is finger-food, no one will (or should) bat an eye if you pick it up; in fact, most times I've been complimented by the chef for leaving my chopsticks on the table. It's meant to be eaten in one bite so try your best.

Anyway, on to things to try... Unagi (eel) is my personal favorite. Same with salmon, but the texture makes my wife sick so I don't order it much. Tuna is third place with yellowtail and snapper covering fourth and fifth place.

The drinks to try are either sake or green tea, the fresher the better. If it's good sake drink it cold, and if it's not drink it hot to help mask the impurities.

Yeah, I eat the stuff a lot. I have the luck of a fantastic and cheap place being about 15 minutes from my house and they keep trying to fatten me up.

rabidpotatochip said:

Anyway, on to things to try... Unagi (eel) is my personal favorite.

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+1

I live within walking distance of a fantastic sushi place... much better than you'd expect for the location and clientèle.

ouch said:

The wasabi you'll find in almost every sushi joint is a reconstituted glob of wasabi powder, as the fresh root is seldom seen. I know some expert (probably Scott) will chime in and mention places like Mesa for the sole purpose of making me sick, where you'll be served the real thing grated on one of these

but they're the exception that confirms the rule.

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Ouch,
There's a sushi place here in town that offers fresh (real) wasabi for an extra fee with their sushi. Would it be worth trying? I've only had the fake stuff.

I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I know quite a bit here. My wife is Japanese, and also happened to work for (Iron Chef) Morimoto; we are still somewhat friendly with him, and recently had dinner in the New York restaurant.

If you are new to raw fish, you might want to start out with sushi, rather than sashimi. Sushi has the addition of rice, which can help newbies find it more palatable.

True wasabi is rare in most Japanese restaurants. As someone mentioned, they do use a powder, then add water to make a paste. It is really green colored horseradish, not true wasabi, which has less of a kick, and is much sweeter and delicate. Sad that this superior one is less common. Even in Japan. Many American's overdo the wasabi and soy ratio. Try starting out with less than more. Honestly, when they soak their sushi in this mixture, it just says to me that they don't actually like it.

In America, you will also find many crazy rolls that are combinations of fish and other ingredients. For example: california roll, boston roll, philly roll, dragon roll, and so on. You won't find these in Japan, but that doesn't mean they aren't tasty.

My favorite fish are salmon (sake), fatty tuna (toro), something that masquerades here as "white tuna," though it is really a fish called "escolar." By far, my all time favorite is "bin toro" which is actually an inferior grade of tuna, yet happens to be ridiculously delicious with an incredible silky texture. I've never yet see this in America, only Japan.

I've eaten a lot of sushi in Tokyo, yet my two favorite places are in the U.S. If you happen to be in LA, then "Hide Sushi" is a must. And if you are in NY, you cannot miss "Sushi Yasuda."

As for the libations. A quality cold sake is an excellent choice. But if you are lucky enough to find a place with "shochu" (NOT the Korean version, souju), do try that either cold, or with a small amount of hot water. Beer can be good as well, but do choose a Japanese brand, such as Kirin, Sapporo, or Asahi. They tend to 'crisper' and more refreshing, and go well with the fattyness of the fish. I've even been out with Chef Morimoto, and believe it or not, he'll toss back the Stoli Gold on the rocks with his meal.

Good luck, and enjoy!

DMac said:

Ouch,
There's a sushi place here in town that offers fresh (real) wasabi for an extra fee with their sushi. Would it be worth trying? I've only had the fake stuff.

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The difference between fresh wasabi root and that green stuff cannot be overestimated.

Check under the hood. By that I mean make sure there is not a marble sized chunk of wasabi hidden between the piece of beautiful salmon and the ball of rice. I don't think this is common, but it happened to me one time and I imagine it was something close to what it feels like to be shot in the face. When I looked over at the chef he was laughing, so I think it may have been a kind of practical joke. It was funny to everyone else watching me cry in my soy sauce. Actually I still get pain in my jaw even thinking about it now. I had never seen it before and I haven't seen it since, but I always check now just in case this is a common joke among sushi chefs.

ouch said:

The wasabi you'll find in almost every sushi joint is a reconstituted glob of wasabi powder, as the fresh root is seldom seen. I know some expert (probably Scott) will chime in and mention places like Mesa for the sole purpose of making me sick, where you'll be served the real thing grated on one of these...but they're the exception that confirms the rule.

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I recently had the pleasure (?!) of having Wasabi Dumplings with chunks of Wasabi root in the middle. It felt like chopsticks being rammed up my nose. That sensation was extremely violent but lasted "only" for about two seconds.

The strange thing is that I kept shoving in these dumplings, because the sensation when that stinging pain subsided was actually quite pleasurable. Perverted!

Wasabi rules!

Best - MM

DEmac said:

Check under the hood. By that I mean make sure there is not a marble sized chunk of wasabi hidden between the piece of beautiful salmon and the ball of rice. I don't think this is common, but it happened to me one time and I imagine it was something close to what it feels like to be shot in the face. When I looked over at the chef he was laughing, so I think it may have been a kind of practical joke. It was funny to everyone else watching me cry in my soy sauce. Actually I still get pain in my jaw even thinking about it now. I had never seen it before and I haven't seen it since, but I always check now just in case this is a common joke among sushi chefs.

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This happened to my friends and i when i was stationed in japan. there was this small traditional Japanese restaurant, they of course had a small sushi counter. The old man that ran the place rolled the sushi and could smoke a cigarette while doing so and not get an ash in it. After a year or so of going there my friends and i were sitting at the counter eating and i took a bite and my whole respiratory system was cleared. The old man behind the counter laughed. He knew just about as much English as i knew Japanese and remarked. Ah i really like you guys, so I ef with your food. Hearing this from an elderly Asian man made me laugh so hard despite the pain i was in. He bought me a beer to wash it down. It must be some kind of Bushido code of affection. They closed it down 3 months before i left. I really miss that place.

I ate so much sushi there it was ridiculous if anyone has been they know of the sushi go rounds where small plates of sushi parade around the restaurant for anyone to grab. The plates are color coded to denote the price. I have tried most any kind i could and i was rarely ever disgusted by what i ate. Most times i didn't know what it was so that probably helped.

I didnt drink much sake after a terrible episode one New Years Eve. But I have seen it served hot, cold and it is perfectly acceptable to drink it watered down with a sweetener. Sake will hit you like a brick wall and if you hit that wall don't eat octopus soup to try to soak it up. Just let it run its course. Sorry for rambling. As you can tell i really loved living in Japan.

Like shaving, eat what you like. Try a piece of everything.

I have travelled the world, Indykramer. And if I could live anywhere I wanted, it would be Sasebo, Japan. But I couldn't afford it today on my income, now that the dollar is in the toilet.