Who Likes Sushi......

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
I know, some people turn their noses up at "Uncooked Fish" but I happen to like it, but mostly the Tuna, I don't go in for the squid, octopus or fish eggs stuff, I like the real red meat, the Tuna!

As I live in Japan, I do like Sushi, in fact I enjoyed it when I lived in Vancouver before I came here. Now if you like Sushi, do you like Sashimi?

Sashimi is the fish, without the rice. If it is "Good" Sashimi, I like it better than Sushi.

Tonight one of my neighbours dropped in, he works at >> Tsukiji << the fish market in Tokyo. He has been educating me on the various kinds of Tuna.

Tonight he dropped off some chunks of Tuna, two chunks of "Chu-Toro" and one chunk of "Akami" total of 650 grams (just under 1 1/2 pounds!) I'd bet retail it would be close to $80

Here are the three chunks, frozen solid........

tuna1.JPG tuna2.jpg tuna3.jpg

And this is what they should look like all ready to eat.....

akami.jpg
Akami (red meat tuna)

chu-toro.jpg
Chu-Toro (Medium Fat Tuna)

The very best cut comes from the belly of the tuna, this is called Toro, and the very best Toro is the -Toro, it is unreal, so nice, it just about melts in your mouth. The Chu-Toro also from the belly, but not the very bottom of the belly, still, it is VERY good.

This will be part of Sunday dinner for sure! :wave:
 
Stu,

GOOD sushi is probably my favorite thing to eat. However, I can't stand the stuff they sell in the grocery stores or fast food teriyaki places. I like it fresh and prepared by a real sushi chef.


I eat it all with the notable exception of uni:eek:.
 
I like sushi, but love sashimi! :thumb: My favorite is Toro, and least favorite is akami tuna. Red tuna is just tasteless, to me, though it's probably the most popular raw fish. My others favorites are squid, sea urchin roe and mackerel.

When I was in Tokyo last May, I went to Tsukiji to visit some company customers.

Frozen tuna just before the auction.


Fresh tuna before the auction.


Buyer checking fresh tuna by examining the cut section of the tail. Sometimes they take a small piece of the meat and taste it for oil content...the higher the content, the more expensive the tuna.


With a series of grunts, words and body gestures, unique to each auctioneer, he prods the buyers to bid...higher and higher...watching the crowd for a specific gesture of their offer.

It's quite an experience, my third, and always impressive. We had "lunch" of sushi/sashimi at 8am...we got there at 4:30.

 
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Yes, like both. Believe too much rice in the sushi destroys the flavor though. Like all the 'strange' fish. Had some raw shrimp while on the cruise. Never realized just how much great flavor shrimp had that way.
Are you going to share? :rolleyes:
 
A lot of people have an aversion to 'raw fish', but eating minnows out of the bait bucket or swallowing a gold fish in college and eating sushi are two very different things.

I love Sushi and although I'm no Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods), I'll give most anything a try.

Used to eat it fairly regularly when I worked in Down town San Francisco.

Sashimi is good, but I do like to have the rice with the fish...
 
Stu,

Yeah, I stuck with tea, but the guys that work at Tsukiji had been there since 2:30am, so they were ready for a "boost"....:rofl:

Ready for the sushi chefs that visit each day to pick up their daily requirement for tuna.



Resawing, Tsukiji style...



Now that's a bandsaw....:eek:

Enjoy your dinner...fresh wasabi, I hope! :thumb:
 
The Tuna pictured here went to Japan to be auctioned off. I don't know what the price was in Yen, but here it fetched 9 grand for a 280 pound tuna carcass...gutted.

The tuna buyer takes a sliver out of the tail and that is how they check the fat content. The higher the fat, the better the sushi. I can't explain it but that's how it goes.

This is probably the wrong end of the picture line-up, but here is what Sushi starts out as...

Tuna_Fish_II2.JPG


Tuna_Head.JPG


Tuna_Tail.JPG


Tuna_Eye.JPG
 
So, Stu, why is there a dandelion on your plate with the fish? :wave:

It is very colourful, I must say. That frozen chunk looked rock solid. How long did it take to thaw?

I'll give it a try, but I wouldn't count on becoming a fan. :eek:
 
Just a while back I heard a story on the radio about a record price for Bluefin Tuna. So I googled it and found this...http://www.sushiordeath.com/raw/record-price-for-a-blue-fin-tuna-2/2008/

I've never offically eaten sushi but when I was on vacation in Hawaii I went deep sea fishing and we caught a Ahi tuna. The boat skipper cut it up for us to take back to our condo for dinner and while doing it gave us a couple pieces to try raw. I think I liked it better cooked, on the grill, with a little lemon pepper.
 
Art,

You might just be surprised. In my opinion, one of the keys to good sushi is eating it with good friends and enjoying it with the beverage of your choice. Another good tip is to sit at the bar and order it piece by piece. A good sushi meal should be savored and often takes at least a couple of hours. :thumb:
 
Definitely, especially the fatty tuna, salmon and scallops. Not too keen on the sea urchin roe.
Some of the best I've found is at "Sushi Zanmai" (for breakfast), just a short walk up from Tsukiji market, toward Ginza.
Enjoy.
 
You said that you like to eat 'real meat' well, fish is not 'real meat.' And to eat it raw? I don't even eat it cooked, never liked fish. But I do have my yearly fish sandwich at McDonalds. :rofl:

Honestly though, I do take my fish oil pills.
 
I like most types of shellfish, but have never been fond of most fish. (Grilled shark is nice, though, but mostly because it doesn't taste much like fish to me...maybe 'cause it's not a fish.) Raw fish (or any raw meat) has absolutely no appeal to me.

But I have ordered raw eggs at a Denny's restaurant, just to see the reaction it'd get. :p

"I'll have the #6 breakfast"

"How would you like your eggs?"

"Raw, please."

"Excuse me?"

"Raw, just drop 'em in a coffee cup would be fine."

"Are your sure"

"Yes, thanks"

[A few seconds later, heard in the back...]

"Hey Joe, I need a #6 breakfast, and this guy wants the eggs RAW!...Yes, RAW!" :rofl:
 
Stu,

We love sushi! We've had some pretty good stuff here in the states (best in San Diego) but the best we've ever had was while in Kumamoto in 2001 while visiting some of my wife's relatives. One evening they had a friend bring over a nice spread laid out on a wooden boat that was 3 - 4 ft long. My wife and I prefer some of the same that you do. No uni or ika for either of us.

We're planning on a trip back over likely in either 2009 or 2010. Look forward to the fresh sushi and some shabu-shabu.

Take care,
 
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