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!

Sanbiki's making movies!

We're on youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eGpVT_lnU0

May is the BC SPCA's City Challenge month! Kamloops vs. Prince George, who can raise the most cash to help our local critters in need??

Sanbiki has organized a fundraising dinner with special Bento boxes (Japanese multi compartment box filled with tasty treats!) Choose from Teriyaki chicken, Sushi (california/Dynamite roll) or Variety with spring rolls, veggie and potato croquettes and much more! Meat free is no problem. $20 with all profits ($10) to our local Kamloops SPCA. Prepay/register at Sanbiki or the Kamloops shelter.

   Watch the video, find out what we really want, tell us at the   dinner and get a freebie! May 14 at 5:30!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eGpVT_lnU0

Also available are homemade Hello Kitty cookies! $2 ($1 to SPCA) They are a hit so far with our customers! Large pre-orders/"cookie platters" available too!

Friends on 4 legs have not been forgotten! Hills Science Diet has donated high quality dog treats...we've dressed them up and they are on sale at Sanbiki and next door at Mori Mori Grocery!

                       
                      Help us support the Kamloops SPCA, May is City Challenge Month!

Dim Sum

Any opportunity to visit Vancouver usually involves work; picking up restaurant supplies and checking out new products and suppliers. Any free time provides an excellent opportunity to eat ethnic and eat often. All in the name of "market research"...
Dim Sum is perhaps a Chinese version of Western brunch. An afternoon affair usually offered up between 11:00 and 3:00, "Dim Sum" roughly translates from Cantonese to English as "touch the heart". It is also known as Yum Cha ("tea tasting"). Many small plates of food are served and shared, over fine tea, with friends and family. Dumplings, steamed buns, veggies and sweets are all to be enjoyed.

Sun Sui Wah, near #3 Road in Richmond is one of our favourites. Like most Chinese restaurants in the area, it's filled with large round tables packed with families, and groups. It's always busy, parking is a bitch, and if its a weekend afternoon and you show up without a reservation, you will wait for a table. So we arrive sans reservation and we sit and we wait. It's worth it.

Most restaurants have English language menus with pictures, and dishes are cooked to order. Some serve Hong Kong style Dim Sum from carts that servers push around the restaurant. This is fun because you can see exactly what you are getting. Trouble is sometimes you can't identify what is on the cart and the server may not know the English to explain. "This dumpling". "This pork". Get the picture? The details may be few and far between.

Some non-Chinese diners prefer this style of dining as they can see exactly what they are getting. Ordering "Phoenix Talons" from a printed menu may sound exotic. But those not in the know are sometimes disappointed receiving chickens feet....

Sun Sui Wah has easy to read menus with pictures and everything is cooked to order. There are lots of lovely steamed dumplings, savoury buns, "potstickers", deep fried favourites (like spring rolls) and sweets for after. To simplify things, they leave an order sheet for you to fill out. Start slow. Watch what the table next to you has. You can always add more items. It's easy for you and your server, and even Dim Sum virgins will enjoy their first time.

We started with some familiar favourites. Steamed shrimp dumplings (har gow), gai lan (steamed leafy Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce) and shu mai. For round two, we added spring rolls and steamed BBQ pork buns (Char Sui Bao).

Har gow; steamed shrimp in rice dumpling
Dishes were flying out of the kitchen. Within minutes, spring rolls and dumplings materialized on the table, small dishes of dipping sauce alongside. Many dishes did not require any additional seasoning but a little vinegar, soy sauce or chili oil provided a nice kick. Perfectly cooked chunks of steamed pink shrimp could be seen through the translucent dumpling wrapper of the "har gow". Yum. Chive and prawn dumplings were pan-fried; crispy outside, a bit chewy inside, and stuffed full of prawns and Chinese chives. Steamed gai lan made eating healthy veggies easy.

Gai lan (Chinese brocolli) with sauce

No need to feel guilty indulging our sweet tooth after all the savoury goodness. Dessert for lunch? Absolutely. The egg tarts were already sold out so we went mango instead. "Mango pancakes" were like crepes (rice flour?) stuffed with fresh whipped cream and slices of sweet and tangy mango.

The damage? Lunch (with take home leftovers) tea, dessert, tax and tip; for 2 very full adults was less than $50. You could certainly do Sun Sui Wah for less. But we don't mind over indulgence once in a while. All in the name of "market research"...

IKIZUKURI=Eaten Alive!

They say fresh is best. Well, it doesn't get any fresher than this...

IKIZUKURI is live sashimi. Not a typo. "Live", as in "not yet dead". Usually fish, however squid, shrimp or an unfortunate octopus may also find itself plucked from a tank, sliced, quartered and served "reassembled" to waiting guests. Usually the Chef is careful to leave the organs and internal structure intact. The body is filleted, quivering, and ready to be devoured even as the heart beats on...

Red snapper ikizukuri. After, the head, bones and skin are used as well

To many this may seem barbaric and certainly some Japanese are also uncomfortable with "ikizukuri". Not something you'll see on the menu at the next PETA fundraiser to be sure. The goal from the Chef's point of view is to present the sashimi as fresh as possible. In a strange way, it's perhaps an attempt to show the ingredient/creature respect by serving it as delicious (fresh) as possible. The ultimate sacrifice made for the greater culinary good?

Squid, shrimp and lobster are also served in ths manner

Often the head, bones and other parts of the fish are simmered or used to make a hot pot. So rarely is anything wasted. Even the skin and fins may be toasted and eaten.

A Snapper's simmered (and now very dead) head
Eating the living is not unique to Japan. "Yin/Yang Fish" is now banned in Taiwan but still popular in mainland China. A live fish is deep fried from the head down and served immediately. The "live head" shows how very fresh the fish is. Personally, I'm ok taking the Chef's word for it....

"Drunken shrimp" are another Chinese delicay. Large prawns are soused in liquor before being consumed. Being drunk is said to make them more amenble to being eaten...

In Korea, "Sannakji" involves consuming the tentacles of live chopped octopus. Its food that "sticks to your ribs"...and your chopsticks....and everything else. Every year several people choke to death eating the dish. Even baby octopus don't go down (your throat) without a fight...

Are the above examples of "extreme freshness" too much for Canadian diners? Possibly. However we still slurp back live oysters by the plate full at restaurants from coast to coast to coast....

Sanbiki is not looking to incorporate "ikizukuri" onto our menu anytime soon! But our guests are often interested in learning more about Japanese cusine and culture. We've got many cook books, Japanese magazines and kids books available at the restaurant for you to read. And we are always eager for more topics to research and blog about!

Gyoza!

Every cuisine has at least one, often many. Call them dumplings, potstickers or perogies, they are all delicious little packages of yumminess. Usually they're savoury but sometimes sweet. You'll find them pan fried, deep fried or steamed. In Japan they're"gyoza". Gyoza fans are hard core. Tokyo has a "Gyoza Stadium" where you can sample hundreds of different varieties...

Sanbiki is no gyoza stadium! But we make our gyoza by hand from a Tokyo friend's recipe.

SoonJa makes gyoza by hand in our open kitchen. In Korea, similar dumplings are called "mandu"
Circular pieces of flour dough are filled with a mixture of blanched cabbage, Chinese chives ("Niira") pork and seasonings. The wrapper is then folded over and the edges pinched to keep the stuffing inside.

When customers order, the gyoza are placed flat side down in a hot pan with a bit of oil and left uncovered. The bottom crisps up to a golden brown. Then water is added and the pan is covered as the gyoza continue to cook through. When they are plump and juicy, they slide out of the pan and get served with a simple sesame sour sauce made from soy, sesame oil, vinegar etc.

Want quick and easy? Not a problem! Gyoza make a great takeout snack, and we have them at Mori Mori. A minute or so in the microwave and they are ready to go...

Many frozen options exist as well. Spicy Korean kim chi flavour, pork, seafood, or veggie are all available. Cook them from frozen in a pan (same method as described above at Sanbiki). Some are precooked and microwaveable. Check the label for best results!

More dumpling posts to follow...Have you tried Chinese shu mai or har gow ? In Korea, mandu is the name of the dumpling game. Tibetens have "mo-mo". Parlez vous francais? Can you say "Quenelle"? Stay tuned for more! I do love my research work...burp!

UNI=Gonads!?!

"A mouth from front to back" Or so Aristotle thought when he described the sea urchin in his "History of Animals". A long time ago. And they have quite the mouth. Filled with self-sharpening teeth, they can chew through coral, stone and pretty much anything else that gets in their way. And they do move (albeit not terribly fast) on many tiny hidden feet.

It doesn't get fresher than this!
"Uni" is usually translated as "sea urchin roe" In fact, its the "gonads"(that's right; the testicles and/or ovaries...) not just the eggs which are consumed. Uni is served up in Japan, Korea and coastal areas of Spain, Portugal and other countries. Almost always in a raw preparation. In Japan, nigiri sushi or sashimi is very popular.

Uni nigiri sushi is usually served "gunkan"("battleship"shape) style

Winter is considered the best season in Japan and Canada. At its best, uni tastes something like the ocean smells. Slightly salty, but clean and fresh. The texture is buttery but firm, and melts wonderfully in your mouth.

BC is blessed with an abundant, well managed uni fishery. It's taking time for Kamloops palates to warm to the taste and texture of uni, but we've managed a few converts!

A few fun uni facts too interesting to ignore....

Sea urchins are humans closest relative in the inverterbrate world and we share more than 30% of the same genetic make up.

It appears that sea urchins have one of the most highly developed immune systems humans have studied. Researchers hoping to cure Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease as well as cancer are very interested in uni!

Some red sea urchins have lived to two hundred years old!

They've got no brain...but they've got very great tasting gonads! And Sanbiki's got them, but only at certain times and limited quantities to ensure top quality.

More curious culinary blogs to come....

Bento!

A bento is a Japanese-style lunch box. Not just for kids, bento are enjoyed by everyone and can be found all over Japan. Pick one up at the train station, where they are referred to as Ekiben; "eki"=station. You'll pay around 1000 yen (about $12) and have a varied and delicious meal for the ride to or from work. If you are indeed living in Japan that is probably how you will be spending most of your time. Going to work. Working. Working overtime, drinking with co-workers after work, and going home to sleep. All rested and ready for....you guessed it...work!


In a restaurant, bento are often served in beautiful black laquer boxes called Shokado Bento. Similar to the disposable take out bento boxes, there will be a variety of different foods displayed in multiple compartments. However Shokado Bento will often include local, seasonal delicacies and the presentation will be more elaborate.


Care to eat a (Hello) Kitty for lunch? A Japanese Mom can show you how. "Charaben" are bentos for kids with food items arranged to resemble popular animation or cartoon characters. Charaben can be outrageously detailed with moms battling for bento supremacy.

Sanbiki's bento boxes may not look quite as spectacular as that! They are however, popular with Kamloops customers who haven't got a lot of time, but crave variety at lunch and want it fast and fresh. Our $10 Sushi Set is the most popular, with cali/dynamite rolls, salads and tempura. The Chicken Bento is a good hot option with rice, sushi, tempura and sides. A vegetarian option is always available, alongside our "Variety Bento". Raw foodies love the Sashimi Bento with sustainably-sourced Wild Sockeye and BC Albacore tuna.
Bento are available for take out from the restaurant as well. Call us at 250 377 8857 and tell us when you'd like to pick it up and we'll have it waiting. No time to order ahead? Grab a sushi pack from next door at Mori Mori's Asian Deli. Freshly made sushi, rice bowls and appies starting at $2.50! And we deliver!

Thanks to Fadamoranga and vingt_deux for the amazing bento pics! More photos and postings from our Sanbiki/Mori Mori team coming soon...