sushi newbie - educate me, please

[Anonymous]

If you've not had wasabi before, go light. It can be rather spicy. If a particular fish's flavor is enhanced by the wasabi, the chef often puts some between the fish and the rice. You don't want to unintentinally double down. Both wasabi and soy sauce should be consumed in moderation - they're supposed to enhance the flavor of the fish, not overwhelm it.

I agree with talking to the chef. It's better to identify yourself as a newbie and ask for advice rather than try to muddle through it on you own. Just have fun with it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Todai

You'll figure out what you like, and what you don't.

Todai is a chain buffet. It sucks balls. Don't go there.

Check the Sushi World Guide for a place near you.

http://www.sushi.infogate.de/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. What a bunch of pretentious idiots.

Also, never drink wine except at the vinyard, and after inspecting the grapes. Never buy milk, except straight from a dairy. And never eat beef unless you personally shook the rancher's hand.

OP--storebought sushi is surely not as good as that made in a good sushi house. But you can eat it without sitting next to people who tell you they lived in Japan and you're not holding your mouth right. (I agree that you should get it from some place where they have a person rolling. And look it over carefully.)

Food rules to live by:
1) don't drink wine out of a box;
2) don't buy milk that is not organice;
3) don't buy hamburgers from McDonald's;
4) don't eat grocery store sushi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. What a bunch of pretentious idiots.

Also, never drink wine except at the vinyard, and after inspecting the grapes. Never buy milk, except straight from a dairy. And never eat beef unless you personally shook the rancher's hand.

OP--storebought sushi is surely not as good as that made in a good sushi house. But you can eat it without sitting next to people who tell you they lived in Japan and you're not holding your mouth right. (I agree that you should get it from some place where they have a person rolling. And look it over carefully.)

Food rules to live by:
1) don't drink wine out of a box;
2) don't buy milk that is not organice;
3) don't buy hamburgers from McDonald's;
4) don't eat grocery store sushi

You forgot "Don't follow 'rules to live by' from a pretentious ass on DCUM"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Todai

You'll figure out what you like, and what you don't.

Todai is a chain buffet. It sucks balls. Don't go there.

Check the Sushi World Guide for a place near you.

http://www.sushi.infogate.de/

But Todai is on your list!

And ball-sucking is good!

[Anonymous]

Grocery store sushi is not very fresh no matter whether you see them make it or not. The biggest issue is the freshness of the fish. Grocery stores do not carry as fresh of fish as the better sushi restaurants. If it is made early and then you eat it later, the age of the rice becomes an issue and the refrigeration/out of refrigeration/refrigeration situation becomes an issue. It is nowhere near the same quality as you would find at a good sushi place.

That said, I'm not above it. I just stick to rolls. That would be a good time for things like spicy tuna rolls, which already hide the flavor of the fish.

[Anonymous]

Responses to some of the other posts and some other basic things to think of when eating sushi and selecting a restaurant.

Wasabi in your soy sauce at a true sushi bar is inappropriate. The chef should be putting the correct amount of sabi on the nigiri or on the roll. Wasabi is put in the soy for sashimi and then the restaurant should give you a new soy dish for your sushi. Note that this also means the restaurant should know correct order is sashimi then sushi, part of why I no longer go to Kaz, simple rule of meal order they screw up every time.

Do NOT get things like spicy tuna. It is typically made from older tuna going bad, unless you know it was made fresh, or that the restaurant definitely goes through enough volume that they have to use fresh tuna. They also might use cheaper types of tuna for spicy tuna.

Do NOT eat your ginger with the sushi. What's the point then? Another trick of sushi chefs is to put ginger right next to pieces of fish that are at the end of their shelf life for being served raw. Sometimes a strategically placed lemon does the same.

Eating with your fingers is fine.

Start with things such as tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and whitefish such as snapper or flounder. Unagi is another really good one if you can deal with the idea of eating eel. Avoid sea urchin and salmon roe.

For rolls, you can get the creative American style rolls, but for good traditional Japanese style rolls, go with the old standbys of tuna or cucumber (tekka/kappa maki), salmon skin (like eating bacon in a roll), or unakyu (again if you can get over the idea of eating eel, nice combo of sweetness of the eel and crispness of the cucumber)

Sushi Taro is probably the best sushi place in DC, they have a happy hour with discounted sushi so that's probably the best way to go. You have to sit at the bar.

There are very few purveyors of good fish and most places do order from the same places. It does make a difference who is preparing it however as two different chefs can produce vastly different product. Obviously, there are some places that do serve really bad quality fish. I would avoid pretty much anyplace where it is a Chinese or Korean restaurant that also serves sushi. most Asian Cafe type places probably are not going to have the greatest quality either.

Also look for places that have the full piece of fish in their case. Precut fish saves the chef time, but leads to quicker spoiling of the fish, easier transfer for taste from one fish to the other due to increased exposed surface area, and dried fish. Same is true for conveyor belt sushi, grocery store, or all you can eat places. That fish is sitting out a while and can get pretty dry. Also when you refrigerate sushi as in the grocery store, the fish may keep better with the refrigeration, but the rice is getting cold and hard. Sushi ideally should pair cold fish with body temperature or slightly warmer rice.

[Anonymous]

Also don't go on a Tuesday, as many restaurants are closed Mondays and will serve the weekend's fish after it's set around. It can be more fishy then, not unsafe, just not fresh tasting.

[Anonymous]

Thank you PPs for the tips!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Todai

You'll figure out what you like, and what you don't.



Todai is a chain buffet. It sucks balls. Don't go there.

Check the Sushi World Guide for a place near you.

http://www.sushi.infogate.de/



But Todai is on your list!

And ball-sucking is good!

Is it rude to put wasabi on the balls before sucking them?
And do you dip them in soy sauce, or brush the soy sauce on with the ginger?

[Anonymous]

I've been mixing wasabi with the soy sauce, and topping sushi with ginger for 15 years, and have never had bad looks or been told it's rude.

However "wrong" it may be, the mix of flavors is incredible and makes me feel like I'm ingesting some kind of momentary mind-altering drug.

Sushi newbies, I'd suggest going extremely light on the wasabi at first - it's easy to go overboard without realizing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Todai

You'll figure out what you like, and what you don't.

Todai is a chain buffet. It sucks balls. Don't go there.

Check the Sushi World Guide for a place near you.

http://www.sushi.infogate.de/

But Todai is on your list!

And ball-sucking is good!

Okay. I'll amend my statement to say check the list for a place near you that has good reviews and isn't a buffet. I'm not eating raw fish from a buffet. *shudder*

[Anonymous]

ginger is for cleaning your pallet. When you eat sushi, you tend to eat more than one type, each with a different flavor. Eating a small piece of ginger in between different types, allows you get experience the subtle flavors of the sushi.

[Anonymous]

If you go to a good sushi place, try roll rolls with the soy. I bet you will not miss it. It does not add much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Responses to some of the other posts and some other basic things to think of when eating sushi and selecting a restaurant.

Wasabi in your soy sauce at a true sushi bar is inappropriate. The chef should be putting the correct amount of sabi on the nigiri or on the roll. Wasabi is put in the soy for sashimi and then the restaurant should give you a new soy dish for your sushi. Note that this also means the restaurant should know correct order is sashimi then sushi, part of why I no longer go to Kaz, simple rule of meal order they screw up every time.

Do NOT get things like spicy tuna. It is typically made from older tuna going bad, unless you know it was made fresh, or that the restaurant definitely goes through enough volume that they have to use fresh tuna. They also might use cheaper types of tuna for spicy tuna.

Do NOT eat your ginger with the sushi. What's the point then? Another trick of sushi chefs is to put ginger right next to pieces of fish that are at the end of their shelf life for being served raw. Sometimes a strategically placed lemon does the same.

Eating with your fingers is fine.

Start with things such as tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and whitefish such as snapper or flounder. Unagi is another really good one if you can deal with the idea of eating eel. Avoid sea urchin and salmon roe.

For rolls, you can get the creative American style rolls, but for good traditional Japanese style rolls, go with the old standbys of tuna or cucumber (tekka/kappa maki), salmon skin (like eating bacon in a roll), or unakyu (again if you can get over the idea of eating eel, nice combo of sweetness of the eel and crispness of the cucumber)

Sushi Taro is probably the best sushi place in DC, they have a happy hour with discounted sushi so that's probably the best way to go. You have to sit at the bar.

There are very few purveyors of good fish and most places do order from the same places. It does make a difference who is preparing it however as two different chefs can produce vastly different product. Obviously, there are some places that do serve really bad quality fish. I would avoid pretty much anyplace where it is a Chinese or Korean restaurant that also serves sushi. most Asian Cafe type places probably are not going to have the greatest quality either.

Also look for places that have the full piece of fish in their case. Precut fish saves the chef time, but leads to quicker spoiling of the fish, easier transfer for taste from one fish to the other due to increased exposed surface area, and dried fish. Same is true for conveyor belt sushi, grocery store, or all you can eat places. That fish is sitting out a while and can get pretty dry. Also when you refrigerate sushi as in the grocery store, the fish may keep better with the refrigeration, but the rice is getting cold and hard. Sushi ideally should pair cold fish with body temperature or slightly warmer rice.

lol.