Sushi February 23, 2009

Sushi is by far one of my favorite things to eat. I absolutely love it. It’s fresh, good for you, delicious, and the presentation is gorgeous. But up until a couple years ago, I wanted nothing to do with it. Raw fish? Come on, not in my mouth. As luck would have it, a good friend of mine had her birthday party at a local sushi restaurant called SanSu. I felt it would be rude to turn down the invitation, so I reluctantly went. She suggested we split a bottle of Sake. She said it would make trying this strange food a little easier to handle. Warm, pear flavored wine that you take shots of. Sounds weird, but it couldn’t hurt. She was right. A bottle of Sake and one beer later,  and the moment of truth was staring me dead in the face. Our food had arrived, and I was scared. There seemed to be a million different kinds of raw and cooked fish just waiting to be devoured. I had no clue what any of it was, so I started with the easy stuff. My first choice was the California roll. It consists of crab, cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese, all wrapped in rice. I couldn’t believe how good it was! I tried everything on the platter from raw salmon to spicy tuna. By the end of the dinner, I had narrowed down my favorite. Grilled eel. Who would have guessed it?

My mom gave me a book with information about different kinds of sushi, how to make it, etc., along with a sushi kit for Christmas. I have yet to attempt to make it at home, but I have learned quite a bit. Here are some of the basics:

1. There are four main kinds of sushi: norimaki (rice rolled in seaweed with ingredients in the center), bo-zushi  (rice pressed in a mold with cured or salted fish), nigiri (fingers of rice with a slice of fish, seafood, or omelet on top), and chirashi (bowls of rice with other ingredients mixed through or arranged on top).
2. Ginger is used for flavor, and also as a palette cleanser.
3. Instead of rice or seaweed, you can use lettuce wraps when making sushi.
4. Uramaki is an “inside out” roll, with nori (seaweed) inside and rice outside.
5. Japanese stores offer children’s sushi. They use sugar and food coloring to create heart, flower, and other various shaped pieces.
6. The best selling item at all Japanese airports is masu-zushi, or smoked fish sushi. They can be made the day before and will keep for up to 36 hours.
7. If you are having trouble rolling sushi, use an egg cup. Line it with plastic wrap, a piece of smoked salmon, and rice in the middle. Turn it upside down and remove the plastic for uniform looking pieces.
8. Sushi can be placed inside tofu bags, or in an omelet parcel, known as fukusa-zushi.
9. Sushi is vinegared rice, sashimi is the actual raw fish. Many people confuse the two.
10. Mix wasabi paste and soy sauce together to dull down the spiciness.

On that note, I just heard my buzzer. No, it’s not sushi. Although I did have sushi delivered once. Not something I would ever do again. Time for some Los Gringos.