Sashimi

SASHIMI roughly translates as "pierced body". Usually raw product, but sometimes cooked. Most often creatures that come from the sea; but those raised on a farm, or foods from the field are certainly not unheard of. No rice invloved. Slices of the finest product a Japanese Chef can procur for his guests goes under the name of "MORIAWASE". A mixed plate of the best available sashimi items.

An example of Sanbiki's "Moriawase" sashimi includes (left to right); Big Eye tuna, squid, tamago (savoury omelette), BC Albacore tuna and Sockeye salmon)

MAGURO refers generally to tuna. In Canada, salmon and tuna are bestsellers. BC Albacore is a wonderful, sustainable "white" tuna that has a mild flavour and melts in your mouth. "Red tuna" is usually Big Eye or Ahi and has a meaty texture and deeper flavour than Albacore. The very expensive, very delicious King of Tuna is the Bluefin. Sadly it has been fished to near extinction in most of the waters where it was once plentiful. Big eye is an excellent alternative and our choice for the "red" tuna we serve at Sanbiki.

Big Eye Sashimi, hook and line caught from the Pacific. Sustainable sashimi!

"SAKE" or salmon, has traditionally not been served raw in Japan. Usually it is prepared salted and grilled. Salmon can harbour parasites that can cause serious illness if not destroyed by cooking or freezing the fish. No doubt there were more than a few cases of food poisoning that made past Japanese Chefs realize salmon was not the best candidate for sashimi/sushi fans! Nowadays, all salmon served as sashimi must be  frozen under Health Department regulations. This ensures the fish is safe to be consumed raw.

                                             Wild Sockeye salmon sashimi at Sanbiki

Other popular sashimi seafood includes "HOTATE" (Scallop) In Japan the best of the best scallops come form the North (Hokkaido and northern Honshuu) Firm and sweet they are sometimes garnished with TOBIKO or flying fish roe. The tiny orange or gold eggs add a touch of saltiness and provide a splash of colour.

                                               Scallop Sashimi from Aomori in Northern Japan

"HIRAME" translates as "flounder", although in Japan there are many different species, large and small served as sashimi. "TAI" is another delicate "white fish" that is perhaps the most prized fish in Japan and a symbol of good luck. Like many fish, some parts are served raw as sashimi or sushi, but nothing goes to waste. The head and cheeks are often grilled, and any leftover bits and pieces find their way into hot pots or stocks.

                                 Like many "white fish", HIRAME is served very thinly sliced with a ponzu (citrus  soy) dipping sauce. Wasabi and straight soy would destroy the fish's delicate flavours.
                             
SABA is mackerel. A fish with a high oil content, it is often lightly cured in a vinegar mix before serving. This balances the natural oiliness of the fish. Very finely chopped fresh ginger or green onion commonly accompanies saba sashimi. Again, it adds a lovely fresh, herbal note to the dish.

Saba sashimi

IKA is squid. Sometimes served completely raw, but often blanched or seared to make the texture firmer and crunchy.

                                                    Ika sashimi right out of the sea!

Another member of the "cephalopod clan" is TAKO (octopus) For sashimi and sushi the octopus is often blanched to transform some of the creature's chewiness into crunchiness. Squid, octopus and cuttlefish may be large or small species and adults or babies depending on where and when they are served.

Octopus ("Tako") sashimi

TORO is the fatty belly of the tuna and melts in your mouth. Interestingly, toro is a realtive newcomer to the sashimi plate. Fatty tuna used to be considered lower quality than the lean loin part of the tuna. Some people say that as Japan opened up trading and ties to Western countries, richer, fatty foods becamer more prized. As tastes changed, people began to appreciate the fatty tuna.

Various cuts/grades of toro show their differing fat contents and marbling

Horse meat is uncommon in North America but in Japan it can be found served raw as sashimi. Again different marbling and fattiness can be seen in the various cuts.

Basashi (horse meat) sashimi

TAMAGO is a slightly sweet and savory omelette that also finds its way on to sashimi plates. Many Japanese sushi fans will order tamago to start their meal when they visit an unfamiliar sushi bar. It is said that if the Chef can handle the preparation of tamago well, then chances are other sashimi will be delicious.

Tamago is prepared using a special rectangular "omelette" pan

Sushi and sashimi quality seafood can be difficult to obtain outside of Japan. Most Western countries insist that all seafood served in raw preparations be frozen to ensure that potentially harmful parasites are destroyed. This is particularly important with salmon and certain kinds of reef fish. It may surprise some Canadian sushi fans, but studies have shown that over 90% of the seafood served in their local Japanese restaurant was frozen at some point. Usually the quality is also better if a fish is Frozen-At-Sea (FAS) and stays frozen until it is ready to be served.

In Japan fresh is of course preferred. However eating good sashimi and sushi in Japan involves taking the Chefs advice on what is in season, locally sourced and delicious. What you find on a menu in Japan varies widely depending on where you are and the time of year. Of course, some frozen product is used in Japan and Canada exports lots of frozen tuna, Spot Prawns and other seafoods abroad.

                                    Frozen sashimi quality seafood is available at Mori Mori Grocery

IKIZUKURI is the somewhat contraversial preparation of live seafood. A Chef will pluck an unfortunate creature from a tank, slice up the body (leaving the internal organs intact) and reassemble the body to be consumed by waiting diners. Lobster is also served this way. Antennae weaving even as his body is consumed...

There are many more kinds of sashimi out there. Sanbiki has all your favourites and we always have sustainably-sourced options available. In season, we can also sometimes get specialty items like UNI (Sea Urchin Roe) Hope to see you soon for Sashimi Supper!

Sushi for Beginners

"Do you like sushi?"

I am 15 years old at my new best friend Haley's house. They have a swimming pool and water beds. Haley's Dad is a TV producer. I am positively desperate to appear worldly and impress them.

"Of course" I reply. What the hell is a sushi? I think it involves seafood. This further complicates things as I am a new (sort of) vegetarian. Yesterday fish were food. Today I have seen the light and recognize them as friends. I am hoping I can pick the corpse out of whatever this sushi is. Thankfully, the family has a dog who lingers near the dinner table. I can feed whatever appears morally questionable to her.

Haley's Dad dons his Raybans, revs up their BMW and roars off to pick up my first sushi meal. He's back in a flash, bearing food gifts in small, clear, plastic containers. Small black and white rolled things. Tiny round containers contain condiments. Globs of neon green; and slices of something shocking pink.

At least I recognize the rice and the soy sauce. "Their California roll is to die for" gushes Haley's Mom, who uses her perfectly manicured nails to manouver a few morsels onto my plate alongside the pink and green stuff. Yikes, I think. "Yum!" I say. I wait until Haley has food on her plate and follow her lead. Green stuff into soy sauce, Rolled stuff into resulting mixture. Insert into mouth. Close eyes and moan softly. Nod. Open eyes and say "excellent". Insert pink stuff in mouth between bites of rolls.

And so sushi-eating Heather was born. Fish soon lost their special "friend" designation and went back to being food. Thanks to Masato and my Japanese inlaws, I am still discovering new Japanese foods and learning lots about sushi.

For many of Sanbiki's customers, sushi is still a relatively new and novel food. The seafoods used and "styles" of sushi outside Japan are not nearly as varied as those you would encounter at a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant. But the basic forms that sushi can assume are pretty much the same. Interestingly, most people associate sushi with raw fish. In fact it refers to the vingegared rice. And the topping can be raw or cooked.

Sushi is believed to have originated in South East Asia. Originally the fish was packed in the rice and allowed to ferment. When it came time to eat the fish the rice was actually thrown away, and the fish consumed. Later on the rice was incorporated along with the fish in piece (nigiri) sushi and rolls.
Makizushi are sushi rolls and probably the best known sushi to non-Japanese. "Maki"=roll. Traditionally rolled with the nori on the outside, many Westerners prefer the rice on the outside ("uramaki"). Futomaki is a Japanese classic. A "fat roll" loaded with veggies, tamago (savoury omelette) and seafood. Very little or no soy sauce is needed for seasoning as there are plenty of flavours going on already. Sanbiki's futomaki is a customer favourite! Tekkamaki (tuna rolls) are another Japanese favourite. "Tekka" actually means gambling parlour. This is where they first gained popularity in Japan. The nori on the outside apparently prevented rice sticking to players hands and cards so the game need not stop for meals.
"Kappamaki" are cucumber rolls. Kappa is a Japanese demon/god who loves to eat cucumber. Outside Japan, California rolls, spicy tuna rolls and countless other new recipes have evolved.








Nigiri sushi originated in Tokyo where it was first known as "Edomae" ("Edo"=Tokyo) Small balls of sushi rice are formed by hand and topped with thin slices of fish or other items. The nigiri sushi can then be dipped into a small amount of soy sauce (fish first to prevent the rice dissolving in the soy sauce!)Eating sushi with your hands is completely acceptable; eating sashimi however, should always be done using chopsticks.
Traditionally, your Itamae (sushi chef) would instruct you as to whether or not soy sauce was neccesary. Similarily, he would decide how much wasabi would compliment the fish and would add it between the rice and the topping. Outside Japan, most sushi fans like to mix and add (or not) their own wasabi. "Gari" is the pickled ginger used as a palate cleanser between bites of different fish. Nowadays it is sometimes mixed in with sushi rice used to stuff "Inari" sushi, pockets of sweet and savoury fried tofu. It is also found in "Chirashi" sushi. Chirashi is a bowl of mixed sushi rice topped with slices of raw fish. At Sanbiki we use unagi (BBQ eel), tamago (omelette) and shiitake mushrooms in the mixed rice along with ginger, sesame, cucumber and nori. Wild salmon and BC Albacore tuna top the dish off.
Many other variations of sushi exist. "Battera" sushi (also called "oshi-zushi")is a pressed sushi usually made without seaweed in a wooden box. It's a specialty in Kansai (Western Japan) where Masato is from. Brown rice sushi is gaining popularity among the health-conscious, and "temaki"(sushi cones" are another favourite in and outside of Japan.Where does sashimi fit into all of this? As it is not served with rice it doesn't qualify as sushi. Usually sashimi refers to slices of top quality fish and seafood. Sashimi roughly translates as "pierced body". This could be a reference to the traditional harvesting methods involved in assuring sashimi quality fish. Fish were caught using a hand line and landed as quickly as possible. They were killed immediately with a spike "piercing" the brain. This ensures that the amount of lactic acid that built up in the meat of the fish was minimal. The same technique is used today by many of the B.C. Albacore tuna boats. Less lactic acid means better quality, a longer shelf life and a more humane end for the fish on the end of the line.

Whether your a fan of the raw stuff or prefer your food cooked, there is a sushi that suits your taste! Feeling particularly ambitious? Enroll in a "sushi-making class" and learn to roll your own! More sushi secrets coming soon...including the famous (or infamous?)...FUGU...People are dying to eat this poisonous Puffer...get it? "Dying to eat...."Oh, never mind!