The Master’s Technique that Japan Boasts to the World

As the person who deliberately arranged for his hotel in Tokyo to be near the Tsukiji fish market in order more easily catch its famous early morning tuna auctions, it's not surprising that I would jump at the opportunity observe the cutting of a whole tuna into blocks for sashimi at the Mitsuwa Marketplace...even if it's in New Jersey.

Every year, Mitsuwa presents a tuna cutting demonstration where they cut the largest the bluefin tuna: the giant bluefin tuna (also known as the northern bluefin tuna, or in Japanese 鲔，and more specifically, hon-maguro). I first heard about it when my coworker gave me a Mitsuwa weekly ad which advertised the event. To get a better idea of what I could expect to see, I googled it and came across Greg Takayama's fantastic page about when he and some friends went. It's a popular event. On Sunday afternoon, at the third demonstration of the weekend, there were easily more than 150 people there to watch and many more were there to buy the sashimi and the nigiri sushi that was prepared from the fish.

The demonstration area was a fenced enclosure whose the perimeter was surrounded by people trying to get a good view of the 680 pound fish that was lying on the table. I arrived about 1/2 hour early and was the second or third person back from the front. There was a presenter, one or two people who actually cut the fish, and a few other people who assisted with the packaging and selling of the fish.

A few minutes before the scheduled start time, a commercial fisherman who somehow became friends with the sushi chefs who were also fish cutters, gave an introduction to what we were about to see and was also friendly enough to answer any questions we might have. I learned a couple of things:

• At 680 lbs., the fish is one of the largest fish they've ever had.
• The fish was probably about 800+ lbs. before it was "dressed," i.e., gutted and the tail and head removed)
• The fish had been caught about 4 or 5 days earlier
• The fish is not killed until they are ready to drain its blood
• The temperature of the fish as it was being cut was about 35-40 degrees
• Tuna is worth roughly 10 times more at the beginning of their migration than at the end of it. Since they do not feed while migrating, they lose their fat.
• O-toro (the fattiest cut) makes up about 5% of the flesh
• Chu-toro (medium fatty cut) makes up about 10-25% of the flesh
• The quality of the fish can be determined from examining a cross section of where the tail meets the torso or cross sections at other parts of the torso
• The meat around the ribs, labeled kiriotoshi at the store (but called nakaochi), tastes very good and is relatively inexpensive (~$20/lb)
• The quality of fish offered for sale was said to be comparable to what you would find at high-end sushi restaurants such as Nobu and Yasuda.

Fascinating stuff. Unfortunately, one very important fact that was not mentioned was that giant bluefin tuna are critically endangered. Although a female can lay 40 million eggs, the population for this fish is declining for the sake of a $7.2 billion industry. Scientists say that the sustainable limit for global fishing for the survival of this species is 7,500 tons. Yet, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, an intergovernmental organization that seeks to manage and conserve tuna species set a limit of 22,500 tons.  Sounds like industry lobby got its way.

A large part of this problem is due to the popularity of tuna. It seems like every lunch place in New York sells tuna rolls or tuna nigiri. What a waste. At these places, the fish isn't even worth eating. Yet, everybody does. Conservation groups suggest avoiding this type of fish altogether, but I wonder if we can save the species simply by not having less than mediocre sushi. 

As I watched the cutting demonstration, I thought about how gruesome it was. Unless we're tending vegetables in our garden or watching a PETA video, many of us probably do not give much thought to what our food was before it was food. Most of us probably wouldn't go see a cow being slaughtered or watch the butcher in action. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of blood in the fish. Or maybe fish occupies a different position from cows in our hierarchy of sentient animals. After all, there are pescatarians.

Despite the guilt, it was very exciting. Definitely educational and worthwhile.  For those you interested, the Monterey Bay Aquarium offers this guide for the sustainable eating of sushi.

On that note, on to the pictures:

First, a picture from the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, Japan, to give some context as to where bluefin tuna starts its commercial life.

Workers at Tsukiji.

Waiting to spring into action packaging and selling the fish.

Beautiful pattern on the fish's skin. The fish is able to control each of those small fins individually.

The collar bone was the first to be removed.

This knife was virtually a sword.

One of the butcher's tools.

Sawing.

Opening.

This one might as well be called a sword too.

Scraping the meat from the ribs for kiriotoshi. I noticed that the people cutting the fish were saving much of it for themselves

Bored of the chunk of flesh in front of them

You call that a knife?

Removing the spine.

Bloody gloves at the scene.

Each block was about 1/4 lbs. That's about $300 worth of fish on the tray.

Each 1/4 lb of fish could probably produce about 15 pieces of sashimi, which would make a piece of o-toro nigiri just over $1. You'd probably pay over $5 for quality fish at a restaurant. Prior to 1970, the commercial value of this type of fish was 5 cents a pound.

People clamored for the fish. At these prices, it's not surprising. I noticed that specific, presumably better, cuts were handed out to specific people.

Tuna, the other red meat.

Part of the line of people waiting for sushi.

Prêt à manger.

All nice and tidy.

The 32nd Flavor

I am visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Taipei at the end of August. I was reading my Time Out Guide to Tokyo and came across a brief mention of fried chicken ice cream.

A quick Google search revealed that that's not all I have to look forward to

http://subversivewriter.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/japanese-ice-cream-flavors-squid-eel-goat-not-for-the-faint-of-heart/

I've noticed that I seem to have written a lot about Japanese food...

Review: Japa Dog

The Japanese have taken something foreign to their culture and made it distinctly Japanese -- Again. I love it.

As part of travel planning, the epicurious are sure to make a list of places where they want to eat without any regard to proximity to their hotel. Once in the foreign city, however, practical considerations set in, and the list is pared down to the more easily accessible places. On my recent trip to Vancouver, I lucked out. A place that I wanted to try, the Japa Dog hot dog stand, happened to be right outside my hotel.

Japa Dog sells Japanese-style hot dogs and is a block from the main strip, Robson Street, in downtown Vancouver. The first thing you notice about the cart is that it is surrounded by people eager to place their orders and to pick up their orders. A blue rope is stretched out near the cart with the intended purpose of getting customers to queue up alongside it. However, because the side of the cart from which customers order seems to alternate after every third order, it's never clear whether the rope is there to line up those who have yet to place the orders or those who are waiting to pick up their order.



As you get closer to the cart, the next thing you notice about Japa Dog is that it relishes (no pun intended) its publicity and its celebrity customers.



Like the website, the cart excitedly lists when it has appeared in the media and who has had a Japa Dog, even mentioning what kind of hot dog the celebrity ate.



Japa Dog offers ten types of hot dogs. All the sausages are all freshly or recently grilled and the buns are toasted. Should you choose one of the six more traditional offerings, like the all-beef hot dog, your choice of condiments go beyond the standard ketchup, mustard, sauerkraut, and relish. There are several types of mustard, Asian chili sauces, and peppers with which you can top your dog.

The real reason why you would go to Japa Dog, however, is for the Japanese-style hot dogs:

Misomayo - turkey hot dog, kaiware sprouts, miso-sesame sauce, and japanese mayo - This dog was very mild in flavor. As it always is, the turkey sausage was tough. It is probably a good introduction for anyone not completely sold on the idea of a Japanese hot dog.



Terimayo - all beef hot dog, nori, chopped onion, and teriyaki mayo - The teriyaki mayo and the beef worked well together. The nori didn't add too much to the overall flavor other than making it a little more Japanese tasting. Still, it was good.



Oroshi - bratwurst (pork), daikon, scallions, and special soy sauce - This was by far my favorite. The flavors of all the ingredients were balanced and combined well to make a great tasting hot dog. This one is a must try.



The people working the cart are extremely friendly.



Since the cart is on a street corner with no benches nearby, you have no choice but to stand and eat your dog, sit on the steps of the wine shop that the cart is directly in front of, or sit on the edge of one of the concrete enclosures between the steps which hold some grass and trees and hope that the sprinklers aren't on. The wine shop doesn't seem to mind all the people hanging around eating hot dogs. All the better, I don't want to be hassled while enjoying my Japa Dog.

Niboshi (煮干し)

Fishy Memory

One of my earliest memories is of these 3-4 cm long little fish which are used to make dashi, a soup or cooking stock used in Japanese cooking. Growing up in a family of recent immigrants from Taiwan, I remember being fascinated by the plastic packages of small fish. I don't recall ever eating anything made with the fish.

At age 5, it didn't occur to me at the time how bizarre the fish must seem to Americans. Looking back, it is a little strange that this product was available in Columbus, OH in the early 1980s.

When I visited Taiwan last year, I went to a seafood marketplace which sold various types of dried fish and shrimp for use in cooking.



The conical piles of dried seafood did not seem strange to me. In fact, they felt comforting.

When used in making dashi, the heads are pinched off and the innards are removed in order to remove bitterness. The niboshi are then boiled in water and strained.

Some people have found creative ways of using niboshi, such as promoting it as the basis of a new holiday which would replace Valentine's Day. If this trend caught on, I would probably then not be the only one with memories involving these small fish.

Saba Battera - Sushi in a Box

New Jersey teaches a New Yorker learns something new about sushi.

At the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, NJ, I came across a tray of sushi labeled "Saba Battera." I knew that "saba" was the Japanese word for mackerel, but I did not recognize the second word. Since I've accepted the inevitability of encountering unfamiliar words when eating Japanese, what really intrigued me about this sushi was not so much the name, but rather, the fact that the rice was yellow and was speckled with scallions. The reasonable assumption was that "battera" refered to the jaundiced rice. It didn't.

Battera sushi is a type of hako sushi ("box sushi") which in turn is a type of sushi from Osaka named oshi sushi ("pressed sushi"). The word "battera" is derived from the Portuguese (the first Europeans to reach Japan) word bateria, which means small boat. According to the Sushi Encyclopedia, an Osaka restaurant, in 1893, began using "battera" to refer to its gizzard shad sushi because it resembled a boat. The term evolved, and today, battera sushi refers exclusively to boxed sushi topped with mackerel. Considering this, it was redundant for the label to refer to its contents as "saba battera".

As seen in the photograph, the sushi is much more brick-shaped than the hand-molded nigiri sushi with which most Americans are more familiar. With hako sushi, the rice is lightly pressed into a box-shaped mold and any toppings are laid and pressed upon the rice. This solid block is then cut into rectangular pieces.

Sushi Monster describes the making of battera sushi slightly differently. According to that site, a layer of asipidistra leaves are first placed at the bottom of the box. The next layer is the mackerel, and the last is the rice. This arrangement helps preserve the mackerel because it has minimal contact with air and is in direct contact with the vinegared rice. Sushi Monster also says that the mackerel is salted, then rinsed with a vinegar mixture. As I researched for this article, I learned that mackerel is almost universally first cured before serving. Eating raw mackerel is unsanitary, and is only done by fisherman and those in close proximity to where the fish is caught.

What of the yellow rice and scallions? I wasn't able to find information via Google about it, which suggests that it probably is not a common or recognized variant of sushi.

So, how did my $6.99 saba battera taste? As good as its vehicular equivalent, the Volvo, is curvy. The special rice added nothing to the flavor, and the fish was tough and dry in texture and bland in taste. This, of course, is not the result of the fact that it was battera sushi. The battera/hako process only has to do with shaping the sushi and has nothing to do with anything that would affect the flavor.

I'll be going to Japan for about a week in September. I'll be sure to try battera sushi with uncured mackerel and other non-nigiri sushis. As soon as I do, I'll share my experiences with everybody.

Arigato gozaimasu for reading.

Thanks to:

http://www.sushimonsters.com/tutorials-start-types-oshi.php
http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi/types_of_sushi.html
http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/blog/2007/10/04/portuguese-sushi-battera/
http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_menu/mackerel_sushi.html
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/fish/seafood/sushi-glossary.asp

Review: Soto

Behind the anonymous façade of Soto, the kitchen overshadows the sushi bar.

When I decided to go to Soto, I had planned on having sushi, but two-thirds of the menu at Soto is not sushi. The brilliant items on the first two menu pages lured me away from the sushi bar to the kitchen.

Most of the Japanese ingredients in the descriptions of the offerings from the kitchen were familiar to me, so I sought out what I considered the most creative combinations.



Hokki Nuta - thinly sliced sea clam with myoga ginger shoots and sesame, marinated in sweet miso mustard sauce - The acidity of the lime (seen in the picture, but not mentioned in the menu) made this a good opener. However, the lime overpowered all the other flavors, which is a shame because i really wanted to know what myoga ginger and miso mustard sauce tasted like. Still, I'll remember this dish for its soft texture and pleasant taste.



Shiro Ebi Tar Tare - seasonal white sweet shrimp with yuzu, shaved cured mullet roe, caviar, ikura, served with shiitake ginger broth - The sweetness of the finely chopped ebi was a perfect complement to the cool broth. The roes added just the right amount of saltiness and bursts of flavor. Interesting how the menu refers to fish eggs three different ways.



Steamed Lobster With Uni Mousse - layers of steamed Maine lobster and uni mousse in lotus wrap garnished with smoked uni and caviar - The lobster had the paradoxically perfectly firm, yet soft, texture that only well-cooked shellfish can achieve. The uni mousse was creamy in both taste and texture, pairing well with the lobster while remaining distinct. I felt as if I was eating soft and firm pillows. The lotus root provided a distracting vegetal firmness. Something crunchy would have better suited the lobster and the mousse.

From the sushi bar, 30 different types of fish were available, with several of them being varieties of the same type (2 types of eel, 2 types of uni, etc) and a few others being seared. What I had was fresh, but did not melt in my mouth. The rice was firmer than at most other sushi places, but still maintained a good taste. As is the practice with most higher-end sushi restaurants, the nigiri was topped with wasabi. What was new to me was that the nigiri was served tinged with soy sauce. Do other places do this?

Service was attentive, but not overly helpful in guiding you through the indecision inducing menu. The kitchen items were expensive ($28 for the lobster with uni mousse). Two omakases were available: 8 pieces of sushi for $45 and 12 for $58. A good sake and beer list completed the menu.

Date of visit: 6/7/08

Food Rating: 8/10

Service Rating: 6/10
Decor Rating: 7/10

Overall Rating: 8/10