Holy shit. (Believe me, the language is totally justified.) The Snook and I went to dinner tonight to our new favorite Newtown place, “Asakusa”. It’s Japanese. The first time we had tempura and chicken and gyoza. Tonight, though, I was feeling adventurous. Not only did I eat an entire tempura prawn (that’s a big shrimp, to you Yanks), I also had “futomaki”, which is also known as “california roll” (seaweed wrapped around rice, prawn, egg, cucumber, and avocado). But even that isn’t the Highlight of the Week. My “bento box” came with gyoza, kara age chicken, and three pieces of actual sushi. Yeah, vinegared rice with pieces of raw salmon on top. It didn’t smell fishy, so I decided to give it a go. As per the Snook’s instructions, I put a tiny amount of wasabi on top and drizzled it with soy sauce. Then… a bite. It was good! In fact, I didn’t taste the fish at all. I was pretty surprised. The way some of y’all rave about sushi, I expected it to be a magical experience. Instead it was just… okay. I don’t get the fuss. The wasabi though… WAAAASAAAABI! Love it. I ended up eating the whole thing! Even the Snook was surprised. So this is pretty amazing, right? My family should be crapping themselves, at any rate. I have been pretty much phobic about any and all fish/seafood my entire life. And tonight I ate it RAW!
11 responses
i’m glad to hear you’re expanding your culinary horizions, especially if sushi is involved! you’ll be ordering sea urchin before you know it! 😉
Yeah, you’re definitely on your way to sushi fandom. I’d recommend trying toro and unagi next. Mmmmmmmm… suuuushiiiii…
Wait until you taste the raw tuna (toro / maguro)–HEAVEN! You are in for a treat!
i was only half kidding about the sea urchin—i’ve yet to foray to that part of the sushi menu. eel and tuna are my personal faves (the mister loves him some salmon), and don’t forget the miso soup & edamame for starters! ahh…i could eat the stuff every other day and never get sick of it.
oh look—lunch time! 😉
Heh! Sushi rocks. I’m especially a big fan of the “California Rolls,” but I also love sushi containing salmon and tuna. It took me a little while to love the wasabi, but once I finally made myself actually USE the stuff, I was in love. I’ve heard a lot about miso soup, but I’ve not had the opportunity to eat any yet. There aren’t any sushi bars (that I’m aware of anyway) in Waldorf, Maryland. I’ll have to head on up to Germantown, I hear, but the 2 hour ride would be well worth it for the $7.95 All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Buffet Extravaganza.
Heh. I’m pretty sure I spelled “buffet” incorrectly. Pfft. Can’t spell.
I like the sushi ‘experience’ as much as the raw fish itself. I wouldn’t be excited about eating raw pieces from a hunk of tuna in the fridge, but when you combine it with rice, seaweed, soy & wasabi it’s divine. I can appreciate & enjoy fresh vs. not-so-fresh fish, but it wouldn’t be the same without the accessories. Mmmm….
I gotta be honest: I WOULD be excited about eating raw pieces from a hunk of [sushi-grade] tuna in the fridge. That would be my dream meal. The only time I have ever been to a super-fancy right-by-the-ocean seafood restaurant, I ordered a grilled tuna steak. The waitress asked me how pink I wanted it in the middle, and I told her (God’s honest truth), “Just warm it up a little, that’s all.” That thing was the closest to a big hunk of raw tuna that I’ve ever seen, and I ate the whole shebang. I’m disgusting, aren’t I? (My tablemates thought so, anyway.):-)
one of life’s lessons that i keep having to relearn: no matter how good it looks, supermarket sushi sucks it. FWIW.
I’m going to steer clear of the California Rolls in the future, if only because of the cucumber. I hate that stuff! Seriously, that was the only potential gag of the evening.
You and the Snook should get along fine if we ever go out to dinner, Max. He likes his meat bloody. He keeps threatening to prepare “steak tartar” for me. *shudder*
Seriously though, I felt kinda queasy all day. But here’s the thing – I’m 99% sure it was all mental. I just have such a fish phobia that I kept thinking about it and I started to feel sick. But if I analyze the situation calmly, I know that I’m totally fine and it tasted good. So now I know I don’t actually have some weird seafood allergy. It’s just all in my head. Baby steps…
Don’t give up on Cali rolls just yet… my fave ones (and a lot of them they serve here in LA and SF) don’t have cucumber at ALL (which rocks, b/c I hate it in sushi, too). Just find a place that doesn’t throw that crap in there!
I’m with Max; raw tuna is the best. I’m surprised the chef at the super-fancy seafood restaurant didn’t recommend the tuna rare.
I do like it with wasabi & soy sauce, rather than just plain, though. Add a little chopped avacado and cucumber to the mix, sprinkle on the sesame seeds, and you’ve got a tasty salad.
Mmmm…. steak tartar… I’ve never actually had it, but I like my hamburgers warm and gooey in the middle, so I think I’d be a fan.
I actually went and ate sashimi for lunch yesterday after reading about the sushi love.