Sushi
Small Perks
Being a sushi guidance counselor is hard work—last night I hosted a nearly 3-hour dinner for ten guests (okay, I admit they were delightful) at my Monday-night dinner class series at Jewel Bako restaurant. But there are some perks. I don’t get to eat during the meal, but the maître d’ wouldn’t let me leave without taking…
Read MoreTuna in Trouble
If Atlantic bluefin tuna becomes an endangered species, that’s big news. That will wake a lot of people up. There I go, quoting myself again, this time from an AP article that’s been running on ABC News and numerous other outlets: “Sushi-Loving Japan Fears Push for Tuna Export Ban.” This is a difficult issue, because…
Read MoreSushi for Vegetarians?
Strange, but riveting read for a vegetarian: Trevor Corson’s The Story of Sushi. Astrid Johnson, “Mancunian of German origin. In love, vegetarian chef, graphic designer, poet.” As a vegetarian, maybe Astrid is partly riveted by the blood and guts of fish butchery that I describe in no-holds-barred detail in the book, which is not a…
Read MoreThe Surprising History of Tuna in Japan
Today, bluefin tuna is considered the pinnacle of fine sushi, especially bluefin toro–the fatty belly cuts of the fish. This is kind of funny, because just a few decades ago the Japanese considered toro such a disgusting part of the tuna that the only people who would eat it were impoverished manual laborers. And prior…
Read MoreWhat’s With the Mean Sushi Chefs?
Some days I think the most influential Japanese chef in America might actually have been John Belushi. If you’ve seen Belushi’s “Samurai Delicatessen” skit, originally performed on Saturday Night Live in 1976, you’ll remember him channeling a touchy Japanese chef, perpetually on the verge of violence, who screamed out loud while slicing ingredients with a…
Read MoreSmarter Sushi = More Authentic Sushi
Big things are happening this summer for a big fish. If conservationists get their way, the Atlantic bluefin tuna, a majestic swimmer that’s long been overharvested for the sushi trade, may soon receive protection as an endangered species. Many sushi lovers are understandably upset, because they don’t want to give up their favorite meal. But…
Read MoreBetter Sushi, But Without Bluefin Tuna
I’m proud of this essay I wrote for today’s YahooNews/CSMonitor. Please give it a read. Bluefin tuna are becoming endangered. The good news is that they’re not even a traditional sushi ingredient!
Read MoreGood Reasons to Skip the Hamachi
According to some insider info I received recently from a Japanese fish distributor, we can expect the price of hamachi—farmed yellowtail, a sushi favorite—to rise in the near future. The cause: a massive epidemic of red tide that is ravaging Japanese hamachi farms. Details on the red tide epidemic below. (Red tide is scary stuff—a…
Read MoreWhy Pickled Ginger Is Like Ice Cream
That mound of pinkish pickled ginger on the plate next to your sushi isn’t an appetizer, nor is it a garnish to be added to the sushi. Believe it or not, it’s more like a serving of ice cream. But it’s not dessert, either. It has a much more specific purpose. In the traditional style…
Read MoreWhat Do You Mean, No Tuna?
Last night I asked the attendees of my Sushi Concierge dinner class to examine the platters of traditional sushi I’d had specially prepared for them, then tell me what was missing. They noticed several things: no wasabi (more on that here) and no rolls (which I’ll get to in a future post). And then they…
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