Sushi Lesson: How to eat sushi properly, Part 8

What not to eat with sushi
A friend of mine may be angry if he finds out that I am disclosing the name of his favorite sushi place in Fremont, Yuki Japanese Restaurant (1932 Driscoll Rd. tel. 510-656-4255). As a diver and abalone fisherman, he knows what the fresh fish is and how it should be priced. Yuki is located kind of out of nowhere, if you are resident in Peninsula or in San Francisco, but it definitely serves good sushi at a reasonable price and is worth visiting. I knew the place served good fish from the smell of good broth upon entering the restaurant.  Read the rest of this entry »

Sushi Lesson: How to eat sushi properly, Part 7

Rice and sushi
Homma’s Brown Rice Sushi in Palo Alto serves sushi with genmai (brown rice). When I first heard of the combination, I was skeptical about how the harsh texture of brown rice would go with raw fish that has delicate taste. But after my recent experience there, I was impressed how Mr. Homma prepared brown rice to the right stickyness and softness. (The setting of the place is very simple and functional.)
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Sushi Lesson: How to eat sushi properly, Part 6

And wasabi…..

I had never eaten sushi with garlic or nuts until a recent meal at Mobo Sushi in Santa Cruz. You can eat enormous variety of rolled sushi there, combining fish with ingredients like basil, cilantro, garlic, macadamia nuts and broccoli. In this innovative context, I thought having rolled sushi with wasabi — something I would not usually do — might not be such a bad idea.

Wasabi (here or here) is a small root vegetable, or rhizome, green in color, hot is taste, and grown very carefully with clear running water. It usually comes inside sushi or accompanying sashimi (sliced raw fish without the rice). Because of the labor involved and lack of pure natural clear water in most places, the vegetable has become so expensive in Japan that people now use prepared paste version in tube, which you can also buy in many Japanese or Asian markets in the US.  Read the rest of this entry »

Sushi Lesson: How to eat sushi properly, Part 5

Something about soy sauce
Although California is abundant in fresh fish, you might want to try Sakae Sushi to experience fresh fish airlifted from Tsukiji, the large fish market in Tokyo. In this season, you can enjoy seared bonito or Japanese shad. The atmosphere is that of a typical Japanese neighborhood sushi place with some interesting table wares, including soy sauce pot shaped like a little persimmon.

Soy sauce is actually a very difficult thing to deal with when it comes to sashimi or sushi. Although I generally think people should eat sushi as they like, soy sauce is something I feel like preaching about when I visit American sushi restaurants. Read the rest of this entry »

How to eat sushi properly, Part 4

The order of sushi eating
Many people miss Toshi Sushi, a popular and vibrant sushi restaurant that used to be on El Camino Real in Menlo Park. But I wonder if everybody knows that Toshi has since opened a fabulous Japanese restaurant, also in Menlo Park on Sharon Park Drive, called Kaygetsu. He has sharpened his intricate style and created an upgraded restaurant which serves a full course kaiseki (a meal served in tea ceremony) as well as la carte dishes and sushi. Looking at him make sushi in a smooth rhythmical way, I almost feel that I am back in Tokyo. Although he has also upgraded the price of sushi, it is worth having such a meal in a nice and calm setting once in a while. Read the rest of this entry »

How to eat sushi properly, Part 3

The Encounter
In the US, many sushi places are huge and theatrical. One is Ozumo in San Francisco, which serves pretty good sushi, but the dramatic atmosphere is typically American. In Japan, sushi places are more private and personal. This is exactly why you wonder where you should sit when you step into a sushi restaurant.

I told you already that the counter is not for people who are novices in sushi eating. This is because the counter is where you see the chief chef eye-to-eye across the counter, so you should be ready to make most out of that location. Read the rest of this entry »

Sushi Lesson:How to eat sushi properly, Part 2

Part 2: Some History

Have you been to Pink Godzilla in Santa Cruz ? They have surprising variety of rolled sushi, many of which are new to me. The restaurant is very innovative in the combination of different fish and vegetables.

In fact, rolled sushi is largely an invention of the US, especially the kind like avocado rolls, hot spicy tuna rolls, and many more complicated-named rolls, and has now been imported back to Japan as a hot trend. This is adding another page in the long history of sushi eating. Read the rest of this entry »

Sushi Lesson:How to eat sushi properly, Part 1

The experience of going to eat sushi in the US is quite nice because it is casual. You probably do not know that many people in Japan are apprehensive about going to a sushi restaurant, especially if they are new to the place. They worry because they are not sure their knowledge about sushi, and their manner in how they eat it, matches the earnest or sometimes rigid ways of the sushi chef who runs the place.

Sushi is among the most carefully prepared food to be served in Japan, together with soba (buckwheat noodle) and some kinds of coffee. Chefs who prepare sushi and run sushi restaurants need to be highly Read the rest of this entry »