Sushi Otaku

Archive for the ‘General Information’ Category

Bluefin Tuna

And we have a winner! Today, January 5th, 2011, a 754 pound bluefin tuna was sold in the Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan for a whopping $396,000 (or about $526/lb). What makes this even more interesting is that the last record sale price was recorded on the exact same date in 2001, 10 years ago to the day. What a coincidence! (well, sort of, as this is the first auction of the year, but it’s still interesting).

While this is news in and of itself, this could be the final record for a long time as the November 2010 meeting where the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) decreased the 2011 quota by only 4%. With these fish over harvested for years, it is just a matter of time before they are commercially extinct.

As I do on occasion, last weekend I decided to make sushi at home. We had some friends over, supplied the fish and the sake, and for a few hours, we were our own itamae (sushi chef).  My order from Catalina Offshore Products arrived on Friday, and I immediately prepared the food and stored it properly for the festivities. I make sushi at home with uncertain frequency, but I have made available a section of SushiFAQ about how to make sushi at home that I recommend anyone read if they too are interested in doing the same. It is fun, relatively easy, and an experience you won’t soon forget. It is a hands on meal, and as such, I feel it creates a pleasant, informal atmosphere the brings out the best in people, as they share their creations, make a mess with their first few rolls, and share high quality food that they love.

The food arrived the next day, and I was eager to start preparing.

Sushi grade fish awaiting processing

As there were 6 of us eating (5 adults and one 8 year old who has developed a love of sushi) there was a great deal of food to prepare. One of the favorites of the evening was the tuna. A 2 pound block had to be cut properly so that we could make both nigiri sushi, cut rolls (maki), and hand rolls (temaki). Of course we also ended up eating a lot as sashimi as well. The bits and pieces that were not shaped into the block were used in rolls to great effect.

Preparing tuna for sushi

While I tend to avoid farmed salmon, I was assured by the folks at Catalina that this particular fish from New Zealand was not the usual junk that I feel most farmed salmon is. And they were right. The fillet was beautiful, it did not look artificially colored, the texture was great, and had all the rich buttery-ness that I come to expect from high grade salmon. They have changed my mind about what farmed salmon can be.

The scallops were huge. Practically the size of my fist (or so it seemed) I had to cut them in half before slicing them yet again so they would fit on the rice as nigiri sushi. They were fresh, dry scallops (not treated with sodium tripolyphosphate to preserve and bulk them up), and I couldn’t help popping a few in my mouth intact while preparing them, something I rarely get to do. Creamy and sweet, they are probably one of my favorite items from the sea.

Scallops ready for sushi

Then, the rarely ordered abalone. These guys are shipped live, like oysters, and are not something many people have the chance to experience. They are not inexpensive, nor are they easy to prepare, but they are worth every minute of effort. I cleaned them, and sliced them thinly to be eaten, preferably, as sashimi. While still a bit crunchy, they are subtly redolent of the sea and a rare treat for me at home.

Live abalone

The rice was cooked and seasoned earlier in the day, and all the food was prepared for the evening.

Seafood prepared for sushi

We started with the squid salad, seaweed salad, and sake. We quickly descended into madness.

Seaweed salad

Squid salad

With real wasabi (instead of the paste of American horseradish that you so often see) to accompany our meal, we made our sushi, laughed at each others’ creations, and ate the best meal I have experienced in a long time.

Preparing for a cut roll (maki)

The first rule of Sushi Club is you don’t talk about Sushi Club (oops). The second rule is that it doesn’t matter what your creation looks like as long as it tastes great (and it will). I originally wanted to document the whole process of sushi and maki making, however it is available on the How To Make Sushi section of SushiFAQ, and also, to be honest, the sake got in the way.

Sake inspired maki

Nigiri sushi

We rolled and ate, ate and rolled, and by the end of the evening we didn’t have much room for the mochi and ice cream that I love. At least that stores well in the freezer.

Mochi and ice cream

While making sushi at home may seem intimidating, it does not need to be so. It is fun, interesting, and as long as you get sushi grade fish, anyone can make great food at home, to rival a restaurant. I order my fish from Catalina Offshore Products, and recommend them to anyone.  My cats even appreciated the left overs.

матрациThe sushi calorie and nutrition page has just been updated to reflect the recent changes to the Weight Watchers points system. If now reflects the PointsPlus system now in use by Weight Watchers, so for all you sushi lovers who are interested in the points for all your favorite sushi items, it is all there.

Meshi agare!

This week in Paris is the showdown where ICCAT (The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) will set bluefin tuna quotas for 2011. From November 17 – 27, meetings will take place between member nations to discuss the severe decline in bluefin tuna stocks and where the fishing quota shout be set, hopefully in order to balance demand for these creatures, which are served as sushi (maguro & toro), and the need to reduce quotas to save the species from extinction.

Conservation groups, such as WWF, are demanding severe cuts to the current quota of 13,500 metric tons caught internationally, saying that the species is on the brink of extinction and will not survive much more harvesting at these quotas, particularly as poaching increases that number significantly each year and there is some admission from member nations that they do not adhere to the quotas. The other side of the coin is the fishing nations’ complaint that reducing the quotas will end jobs and reduce the economic opportunity for the fishermen who rely on the sea. Of course, what they don’t address is what will happen to those fishermen when the tuna are commercially depleted. While the EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki had proposed a 2011 quota of 6,000 metric tons for 2011 (which would be consistent with sustainability goals proposed for 2022), she immediately backtracked after a boisterous response from some member nations, and has instead called for a “substantial reduction” rather than a hard limit.

After the failed European Union attempt o have the species listed as endangered in March, many see this meeting as a last ditch effort to save the species. The species has declined an estimated 85% over the past four decades due to their value as a food fish, and unless more manageable practices are implemented, there is certainly reason to believe that stocks will continue to decline further.

Unfortunately the only groups that seem to be looking for year over year cuts to quotas are those that do not profit from the catch, which may indicate where the decision may lean. One can only hope that sensible minds preside and do their best to balance the need for short-term commerce with the need to preserve the species for future fishermen and sushi lovers.

Salmon

According to the FDA in a statement a few days ago, a salmon genetically engineered to grow very quickly was deemed safe to eat by the agency. With the addition of some genes from a different fish, the salmon takes half the time to grow to market size, which leads to a less expensive product, though not necessarily a better one.

Putting aside the incendiary fears of “frankenfood” the inclusion of this fish, unlabeled, in the food supply does raise some new questions about safety. I have written about farmed fish, and the higher incidence of pollutants and antibiotics found in them, which my still be an issue as these fish are farmed, but in addition there is the potential for allergic reactions in some people who may not know that they are consuming a fish with substances not normally present in a salmon. While this is not likely to be a common problem, it would be unfortunate if you were the person it happened to. The presence of more growth hormone than would normally be found in the fish may also concern some sushi diners, as some studies have suggested that higher levels of these compounds, when eaten, may lead to an increased risk of some cancers. I am not trying to incite people to run around with torches and pitchforks, but I did want to point out that most likely this fish will be on your sushi or sashimi platter and you won’t be told. I am not promoting a backlash, but transparency. I would like to be told what I am eating, particularly if it is not what I am expecting.

While it will likely take two to three years for the salmon to reach consumers, I still lump this salmon in with farmed salmon. My preference is to eat wild salmon as it has less contaminants, and is likely better for you as the wild fish eat other fish in the wild instead of food from a bag, and may have more heart friendly omega 3 fatty acids. I always ask if the salmon is farm raised or wild, and order based on the answer. I encourage consumers to educate themselves and don’t feel intimidated to ask the same question if it is an issue important to them.

Sushi Popper

Sushi in a tube is a new product that is a great example of when a person needs to just keep their mouth shut. In my mind I envision a light bulb going on over somebody’s head and the person next to them smacking them just hard enough to get the point across that new ideas aren’t necessarily good ideas. In principle, putting a fully formed and cut sushi roll in a tube might seem like a great way to make sushi portable. The sushi popper is a roll (maki zuzhi) that has been pre-cut, placed in a tube and frozen, ready to be purchased, thawed, and eaten.  In reality what you have is something contrary to what sushi is about. Yes, sushi was originally street food, the fast food of an earlier time. What you have in the tube, however, is mushy rice, soggy, rubbery nori (seaweed), and some kind of fish that is most likely preserved with chemicals I’d rather not think about.

I love convenience. I love sushi. I don’t love “sushi poppers.” Have you ever tried frozen and thawed sushi leftovers? I have a suggestion. Don’t. This item may very well turn a population of people off sushi forever if this is their introduction. Sushi kabob? Not even, that would actually be a good idea, if it were fresh. But I can’t imagine that this is qualitatively like anything you would actually find in a restaurant. I am not a happy man just thinking about it.

Look for sushi in a tube in the freezer section of a grocery store near you. Or don’t and go out for a great sushi meal without having to worry about freezer burn and the taste of something you found on the bottom of your shoe.

If your desire for sushi is as strong as mine, but you are trying to keep costs down, recession friendly sushi isn’t that hard to find. While I could eat sushi every day, not only is it impractical, but I would quickly reduce my nest egg to a scramble. But I am usually able to satisfy my sushi craving and remain within my budget by observing a set of guidelines that I was prompted to share. Sushi is great food and a healthful treat, so there is no reason why a person should not be able to enjoy it on a regular basis. By keeping the following tips in mind, you should be able to enjoy it more often than you realize without breaking your budget.

1. Avoid the fancy house rolls
House rolls tend to be mixes of a lot of things, and the more items they pile on, the more expensive the item is. While one or two huge rolls may be filling, you will probably have a more nutritious and filling meal by ordering a few basic items, along with the satisfaction of variety. Often you are paying for the name of the roll rather than the food itself, and these rolls can be loaded with fillers such as panko (bread crumbs), sprouts, and other tasty yet valueless items. By ordering rolls or sushi/sashimi with items that you specifically want, not only will you spend less money, but you will get more of what you specifically want.

2. Order the sashimi platter
Fat and protein fill you up much better than carbohydrates (rice) so a nice filling meal can easily be made of the default sashimi platter, or a few choice pieces of sashimi. Restaurants will often have a sashimi platter that is a great value versus ordering sashimi items a la carte. One additional benefit of the platter is that you may end up trying items that you would never think to order and find that you enjoy them. And if you particularly dislike a certain type of fish, they will often make substitutions if you ask.

3. Drink tea with your meal
You might be tempted to try that great house wine, or the Momokowa Diamond sake, but green tea is usually offered for free, and goes well with sushi. It’s a great way to shave off a significant amount of cost from your overall bill, particularly for those who like to sip something other than water while dining. Green tea is quite good for you as well, so it’s a double benefit, you can keep to your budget and have a healthful and tasty treat too.

4. All You Can Eat
There are restaurants that offer “all you can eat” sushi buffets. They usually won’t not include the top of the line items (e.g. toro), but they will have plenty of the basics, and lots of them. I used to do this every Sunday morning at a local restaurant and always rolled away satisfied. By searching the Internet you can easily find many lists of these restaurants, so prepare yourself for a sushi feast without breaking the bank (“all you can eat” is often abbreviated “AYCE,” which may come in handy for those searches).

5. Eat more of the filler foods
Order a roll or a few pieces of sushi along with one of the many inexpensive items on the menu. Often for just a few dollars you can also have a bowl of rice, or edamame (steamed immature soybeans), soup, or some other simple yet filling food. A bowl of edamame and a salmon roll can make for a filling meal.

6. Make sushi at home
Easier said that done you may think, however making sushi at home is actually easier than you realize. While the initial learning curve may be steep, it is fun. Making sushi at home is significantly cheaper than going out to a restaurant, you would be amazed. I make sushi at home just about every month and the costs are in line with any other normal dinner expense. All you need is some sushi grade fish (I get mine from Sushinut.com), and a decent guide to making sushi at home, which I have made.

Meshi agare!
Warren
Sushi Otaku

Where does sushi come from? This is a question with a number of answers, and while the obvious one is ‘from the sea’ a more thorough answer explores the markets through which our favorite food passes, if it makes the grade. Top quality sushi must come from high quality fish, processed and handled appropriately, chosen carefully at the point of sale, and transported to your local sushi-ya speedily. One weak link in this chain will result in a sub-par dining experience, a sushi meal that is so-so instead of satisfying. Few people stop to appreciate the complexity of finding the perfect fish, and getting it to the restaurant, ready for the rush of diners who expect the best.

In articles to come, I will explain the sushi supply chain in greater detail, but for now, I would like to highlight the end-all be-all of sushi sources, the largest wholesale market on Earth: the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, otherwise known as the Tsukiji Fish Market. Located in the district of Ch??-ku, Tokyo, the Tsukiji Fish Market facilitates the sale of over 2,800 tons of more than 450 types of seafood per day, almost 1/6^th of the world’s fish. The market is open every day except Sunday, with the day beginning at 3:00 am, ready for the rush. The auction houses inspect the fish that arrive daily, calculating the potential value, and preparing for the upcoming auctions. Licensed buyers are already present, having inspected the fish themselves, determining the ones they will be bidding on, and the auction begins at 5:30 am. Once complete at 7:00 am, the buyers ship out the fish they have purchased, or cart them over to one of the many processors who have set up shop on premises. It is an amazing sight to behold, literally tons of frozen fish being wheeled around the market, then being summarily cut into manageable pieces with giant band saws, while fresh (unfrozen) products are cut apart with giant knives (some of which are over a meter in length) called oroshi hocho (the largest at 150 cm) or hancho hocho (a shorter blade at 100 cm, which is also called maguro kiri). By 11:00 am the market has wound down for the day and is then cleaned at 1:00 pm.

The Tsukiji market is not just tuna, but has just about any product from the sea that you can imagine, from shrimp to seaweed. Creatures both living and processed can be found, and the bustle is immense. Guided tours are available, and visitors must obey strict rules when at the market to keep interruptions to a minimum. The auctions are no longer accessible to tours, but the rest of the market is available for exploration.

The Tsukiji Fish Market was established in the early 1600’s, as an “Uogashi,” or riverside fish market. The first Tokugawa shogun had invited fishermen from Tsukudajima, Osaka, to supply Edo castle with seafood in return for allowing them to fish the waters of the area. What was not supplied to the castle was then sold near the Nihonbashi Bridge. Over time, Nihonbashi Uogashi developed into a thriving market led by wholesale merchants licensed by the shogunate. Expanding in size and transaction volume, the market attracted secondary markets to the area, and the vegetable markets brought with them the tradition of auctioning foodstuffs, previously not done by fish sellers. By 1923 Tokyo (Edo’s new name) had a great number of markets which were all destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake. This led to the reconstruction of the three major markets in the region, Tokyo, Kanda, and Koto. The Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo is perhaps the most famous today, and has established a reputation of mythic proportions. It is a place where the most expensive fish in the world was sold, and perhaps the largest port of call for fish destined for the sushi markets of the Japan, and even North America. When I think of sushi, the Tsukiji fish market if one of the first things that comes to mind, as the bustle of the trade there has become synonymous with the delivery of the freshest food the sea has to offer.

Meshi agare!
Warren
Sushi Otaku

With Bluefin tuna stocks at what seem to be a critical point, Japan, with the help of Canada and a few other countries, has decided to reject a ban on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna fishing, which means that maguro may become a thing of the past. As stocks are down about 80% since the 1970s, and not allowing the stock to replenish could very well be the death knell for the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna.

Japan (and other countries) had been demanding that they would only recognize the sanctions of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) when it came to regulating international fisheries, rather than the United Nations. This meant that the impetus to ban trade in Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, organized by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), was rejected. While ICCAT has been the body which has set fishing quotas for the fish, it has for years set quotas well above what it’s scientists say are sustainable levels. It has therefore been viewed in many circles as largely ineffective at regulating stocks.

A press release from CITES offered a brief summary of what happened:
“Japan, Canada and several members States of the Arab league opposed the proposal arguing that regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) as ICCAT [the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas] were best placed to tackle the decline of bluefin tuna stocks. They added that an Appendix I listing [which would ban trade in the species] would not stop the fishing of the species. After a passionate but relatively short debate, the representative of Libya requested to close the deliberations and go for a vote. Iceland called for a secret ballot. The amendment introduced by the European Union and Monaco’s proposal were defeated (20 votes in favor, 68 against, 30 abstentions) in the middle of much confusion about the voting procedures and mixed feelings of satisfaction and frustration from participants.”

Apparently there was not much debate before a vote was called, which ensured a quick resolution based on preconceived decisions.

While the hiatus from Atlantic Bluefin Tuna fishing still remains in effect, after this vote, fishing will resume again in May. We will have to wait and see what happens to Atlantic Bluefin Tuna stocks as fishing continues at these levels. There may be a day soon when maguro disappears from the menu. Only when this happens, it will be too late to save these fish.

Meshi Agare,
Warren
Sushi Otaku

As if the serving of endangered Bluefin Tuna were not enough, a Santa Monica, California restaurant called “The Hump” is alleged to have been serving whale as part of its omakase menu, according to the New York Times. They indicate activists surreptitiously filmed themselves being served what was tested to be Sei Whale, an endangered whale still fished in Japan and sold as “Kujira.” Serving marine mammals is illegal in the US, however the Japanese still fish and serve whale under the auspices of “scientific research.” In the US, however, this is a big no-no. There is no word as to what will happen if this is indeed true, however the law suggests up to a year in jail and a $20,000 fine for selling the flesh of marine mammals. Oops?

Whale offered at the Tsukiji fish market in Japan

Warren
Sushi Otaku