For the Love of Sushi: or, Sushi, How I Love Thee

This is what I had for dinner last night. Well, I didn’t eat all of it myself, but I had a good portion. I often find it more enjoyable to eat sushi as a take-out dish rather than in the restaurant. I know sushi is supposed to be bite sized, but I find the expectation that you are to shove an entire piece of sushi in your mouth at once to be ridiculous. They are usually much too big for this. It is nigh impossible to enjoy the flavor and texture of a food that you can barely get your mouth around. It’s a bit uncouth in a restaurant to bite your sushi in half, however, hence my preference for take-out. In the comfort of your own home you are free to look as unattractive as you want while wrangling your sushi into a more manageable size. It won’t taste as fresh, sure, so it’s definitely a trade off. One of my favorite take-out places is Kozue (ko-zoo-ay) in Wallingford. Their food is good but not too pricey, and they are always very nice.

If you are a sushi novice a safe place to start is the California Roll. I have yet to meet a person who does not like this roll. Not containing any raw seafood, the California Roll is very non-threatening. It’s inviting, even. It consists of “fake crab” (a white fish such as pollock that has been pulverized, re-formed, and cured to look like crab legs–tastes better than it sounds), cucumber, avocado, and either sesame seeds or tobiko, flying fish roe (don’t be afraid, they are tiny and cute). This is wrapped inside of sushi rice and seaweed and cut to form an attractive roll. While a good introduction for beginners or wusses, you can do much better. If this is not you first time eating sushi, or if you are a bit more adventurous, you need to branch out from the rolls (maki). Be bold. It’s not gonna hurt ya. Here are some of my favorite nigiri (hand-formed rice with toppings on): Ikura. Food of the gods. I swear, this is one of the best things that you can put in your mouth. A lot of people are put off by the appearance. Ikura is salmon roe, and it looks like something that you should use for bait while fishing. In fact, I think it might be. It consists of large (about the size of a pea) orange spheres filled with salty liquid that pop in your mouth in the most satisfying manner when bitten. I get all dreamy-eyed just thinking about it. The only way you can improve on Ikura is to have a quail egg served on top. Quail eggs are small, and just the yolk is used. The mild creaminess of the yolk compliments perfectly the sudden, biting saltiness of the roe.
Uni: sea urchin roe. I once heard this described as the ocean vomiting in your mouth. I agree with this in the most positive way. Yellow, mild, creamy, unlike anything else I’ve tasted. A bit pricey, but definitely worth trying. Hamachi (yellowtail): meaty, buttery, satisfying. This is what most people think of when they conjure up the image of sushi. Tuna (maguro, toro, o-toro): I don’t usually bother with maguro, the most inexpensive cut. The flavor is all right, but it’s often a bit stringy, which is a mouth-feel that I can’t handle. O-toro, on the other hand, is the good stuff. So rich, so soft, so…mmm. Just try it. You will not regret it. This is cream of the crop stuff. Unagi and Anago: eel. Eel was long the poor man’s food in Britain and eel pies used to be common pub fare. Unfortunately, everyone else has caught on to how good it is and it is now one pricey fish. The texture is tender, flaky, not fishy tasting. Unagi, the freshwater eel, is usually grilled with a thick, sweet sauce on top, and is a bit crunchy on the outside. It is like a sushi dessert. Anago, the saltwater variety, is a bit milder and fresher tasting and usually served plain with a touch of salt on top. One of the best things I’ve ever eaten was some anago I had at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. It was perfection, and I am permanently ruined for eel because nothing else can live up to it.

Well, now that you have had your crash course in sushi 101, go out and eat! And enjoy!!

 Here are some sushi places in Seattle that I like:

Kisaku: 2101 N 55th st, Seattle, Wa 98103 (206) 545-9050

Kozue: 1608 N 45th st, Seattle, WA 98103 (206) 547-2008

Toyoda: 12543 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125 (206) 367-7972 (try the potato croquettes)