It should also be noted that, at least in the United States, “sushi grade” is a marketing term with no certification or regulations supporting it. Essentially, “sushi grade” means “fish that we’ve decided to serve raw.” So it can be any old fish. It doesn’t have to be particularly fresh (though if it isn’t not many are going to want to eat it).
Also, in the United States, FDA regulations require that, except for certain species of tuna, fish that will be served raw or partially raw must have been frozen at certain temperatures and lengths of time to eliminate parasite risk. So you’re not likely to find many operations catching fish and serving it raw immediately.
ETA: Here’s the FDA regulation. See Section 3-402.11. In addition to certain tuna, aquacultured fish meeting certain criteria and roe are also exempted from the freezing requirement.
Indeed, in some states to serve sashimi without freezing it is frankly illegal.
Of course, “purists” like devilsknew decry such things, but personally, I prefer to have my sushi without living intestinal parasites. Sort of how I prefer pasteurized milk to raw milk with a helping of pathogens.
Why, even in those transitional times of Yohei’s Kitchen, you might even say, that he perhaps experimented with Edo Bay Fish and his audience, perhaps serving some naturally fermented fish and rice as his original dish, or cooked fish, but experienceing a really huge and natural foot traffic (Great Location) noticing that every thing he did took too long in relation to the demand. So he took the most natural and nuanc3ed shortcuts. He came to the medium of marinated raw fish and vinegared rice. perhaps each fish was addreseed properly as to flesh, spirit and texture, and which process worked best or was most toothsome to the local audience. Why you even see it with the Mediterraneaen sardine traditions, or the maatje of the Germanic Nordseee. i don’t know why the Japanese believe they are the only Pacific Rim Nation and fish tradition… other than exceptionalism.
Anchovies and Sardines are salted and pickled or oil preserved, Tuna is preserved in oil. Maatjes and its natural aft-cursor, Rollmops and the lactic preservation and “milding” with the dairy.
Others have pointed out that this is not true, but I’d like to provide cites. We know that the menu of Edo era sushi stands was more limited than today. In the Morisada Manko （守貞謾稿）, an encyclopedia of popular culture originally written in 1837, Morisada lists the sushi toppings available in Edo. They are:
Of these, only two are seemingly raw, the tuna and the icefish. However, it was customary to marinate the tuna in soy sauce, even for sashimi. The icefish was likewise marinated, either in soy sauce or in vinegar.
See the Japanese Wikipedia entry for Edomae sushi. (And of course Morisada Mandan if you want primary sources.)
Raw fish on sushi didn’t become the norm until the 20th century, with the arrival of modern refrigeration technology.
Edo era nigiri were larger than they are now, four were enough for a meal. The vinegar used had a much stronger flavour than that used today, and flavourings, such as chopped shiitake were sometimes added to the rice. See this picture for a recreation of Edo sushi.
[QUOTE=devilsknew]
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been to some good and some bad sushi places, invariably the difference was the freshness and quality of the seafood… In something as simple as sushi the freshness and quality of the fish is the number one factor.
[/quote]
Back when I was still a student, there used to be a cheap conveyer belt sushi place close to my university. We used to go there, because that was pretty much all the sushi that broke students could afford but it was crap. It was a crap restaurant but it did have a large aquarium where various soon-to-be-food fish swam. That’s not particularly uncommon in Japan, and it was an unremarkable feature of the establishment. Now, there was no question that the fish we ate there was fresh. Sometimes it was still living when you ordered it (helpful tip: unless the place is packed and there is a very good turnover, don’t pick sushi off the conveyer belt, have it made on order). So the fish was fresh, as fresh as it could be for sushi, but the nigiri were still crap. The American exchange students thought it was the best sushi they every had so YMMV.
And that is no different than my claim- what I wrote and what you cite are in total agreement. Of those, the typical fish nigiri hand rolls are topped with “sashimi”, made with raw fish that is lightly marinated in soy or vinegar, and which is what every sushi chef would typically give me today if I asked for nigiri in an Anerican Sushi Bar. I never disputed the fact that he served other fermented or cooked items like fish, shellfish, or eel, or egg. The “revolutionary” nigiri was revolutionary because of the raw rather than fermented fish. I was not disputing any other claim than that it typically used raw fish when it used fish, not egg, or shrimp or eel.
The owner of a well-known and highly-regarded place in Silicon Valley maybe was joking when he said he did not like the facial expression of a living fish from which you make hamachi that he saw in the Steinhart aquarium in SF.
But my guess is, being able to pick out good fish consistently is pretty hard.
It would also help if you take my post in Context and direct reply to Broomstick, Hazel. Which is, unfortunately, my bad, as I didn’t quote her in my post, because I was composing several different replies scattershot.
Yes, that’s true… we do seem to have a more “refined” long grain rice tradition here in America, more in the tradition of India. But even our Indian (Native American) and native Long Grained wild rice isn’t quite so glutinous, but still quite glutinous. Yet I would be disappointed if I went to a Chinese or Thai restaurant and didn’t get sticky rice, all through my life. It is also quite true that I have also made some quite fine, and passable sticky rice in my evercontinuing welfare days with cheap generic American supermarkets bags o rice.
You have the history wrong. The change that Hanaya Yohei or Sakaiya Matsugoro (depending on which source you trust) introduced was pressing the cakes by hand instead of in a box. People had been using vinegar to accelerate or replace the fermentation of both rice and fish since the 18th century. Yohei’s sushi had the same rice and the same toppings as anyone else’s. The “lightly” marinated kohada or tuna do not taste raw. They taste marinated, not “fresh”. Have you ever had old-style sushi? Either boxed or nigiri? It certainly tastes different than what American eat at sushi bars. If you’re expecting raw fish, the marinated flavour can be a bit off-putting.
Actually I think “Kohada” is really better translated as “pickled” or “fermented” fish. Not marinated or lightly marinated… more in the tradition of Rollmops. Nothing like the revolutionary sashhimi nigiri which was actually a more noveau food as compared to the “pickled” Kohada which was more in line with traditional sushi (fermented rice and fish)/ The raw fish offered a different and more subtle texture than the more progressed pickled fish.
Maybe the disconnect here is that you’re talking about sushi as an American food, while everyone else here is talking about sushi in the context of Japanese culture.
I agree that if you want to impress the average American tourist, your best bet is to go out on a boat, catch some fresh fish and put it on any old ball of rice sprinkled with some vinegar. But I think most Japanese would consider it a cheap and stupid gimmick.
I said I wanted to be the Aunt Jemima of “gaijin sushi”, that was my only claim. How else can I be big in Japan and give them what they want as a white sushi chef? I’d go with an En Japanese Teppan Yaki cast of International flamboyant characters… I want a sushi ba that staffs extremely friendly characters of sushi chefs all of whom are white, black, mexican, and eskimo. Station them in Tokyo, sushi chefs that know their sushi and can deliver a night of entertainment and originality. The International House of Sushi.
I think there is also a strong African tradition of marinated, pickled, raw, and oil preserved and cooked fish, which includes some Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce marinated and cornmeal breaded Catfish deepfried tempura style.
With Sushi and some other simple foods with few ingredients, many Italian dishes come to, mind the sum is greater than the parts. Rice, seasoning, fish, nori, sauce. Individually not much. Expertly chosen perfectly prepared, proportioned properly, and presented nicely adds up. Slightly undercooked rice will keep it from reaching a sublime state. Or if any of the few ingredients are even slightly off it will make a major difference. Yea, toss them together and hack it up with a butcher knife in a bowl will still make an edible dish probably even good but not sublime. I feel many Italian dishes are the same. very few ingredients. But quality is paramount for a truly incredible dish. The fewer ingredients the more important the preparation and quality.
That being said:
The enjoyment of the foods we love and the places we eat at are mostly psychological. I feel at least 50% and probably 75% or more. Who is cooking it, the atmosphere, the buzz, expectations, smells, journey and such are intangible ingredients and nearly impossible to replicate. Take the same famed sushi chef and put him in a place were he has no control over some of the environmental factors and in a location that is not fitting and his fame hidden, his sushi will not be as good. Aura if you wish.
The first batch of cookies your child makes you all alone, a grandmothers pot roast, An Italian moms spaghetti sauce, the fist fish you caught on an on, will always taste better, even if good, than they have any right to.
What goes on outside of the plate while you are eating is majorly impactful.
I think you underestimate my understanding of Japanese culture. Tell me that my International House of Sushi concept wouldn’t go over well in Today’s Tokyo, where everything foreign and especially American is trendy. That’s the sushi bar for the young ones. Jiro’s sushi is for old and young Japanese businessmen that can afford something like that or write it off to the company… and actually, I think in the same market, a sushi cruise and chartered foodie fishing trip with several friends on a yacht with a kitchen and a “gourmet” sushi chef who prepares your catch very traditionally and safely (fish can easily be frozen on a boat… it’s standard practice.) would also be a very marketable idea and niche to the same rich people. There’s no reason you also can’t bring your own rice and ingredients or other fish on a sushi cruise, and perhaps as a special course one might serve fermented rice with the salt pressed mackerel someone might catch.
