Shiro’s Tips

Reading Shiro, a memoir by Shiro Kashiba, famous Seattle sushi pioneer, I ran across this tip by the sushi ‘sensei’:

In Seattle, there are plenty of sushi bars that serve raw salmon. I highly recommend that you don’t indulge unless you know that is has been flash-frozen first. I’m afraid that in some establishments, the process is skipped because the chefs don’t know their fish.

Not any fish can be eaten raw and fresh. Sometimes, for safety’s sake, it’s necessary to lightly frill or flash-freeze a fish to kill the bacteria and parasites inside. It’s the same reason we started cooking meat long ago.

Salmon (and many other river fish) are highly susceptible to parasites. The flash-freezing process kills them off. Plus, it still tastes great. So make sure you or your sushi chef don’t skip this process.

I had no idea this was something to look out for! I wonder if I’ll annoy the next sushi chef I ask about it. Here’s the book:

And another tip, which happens to cover a pet peeve:

I don’t know how many times I’ve had I’ve had to hold my tongue behind the sushi bar when a diner soaks a piece of sushi in soy sauce as if putting a tortilla chip in a bowl of guacamole. Using too much soy sauce kills the fresh flavor of the fish and rice. Remember that sushi rice has already been seasoned. Dip the fish side of the sushi briefly in the soy sauce to enhance the flavor, not overpower it.

Also, when eating sushi, you don’t need to put wasabi in the soy sauce [emphasis mine]. First-time sushi-goers might not realize this, but the sushi chef applies the wasabi when making the sushi.

This is different from sashimi, where you may want to add a hint of wasabi to your soy sauce before lightly dipping the slab of fish in.

So remember: soy sauce with sushi is not like ketchup with fries. Just a drop or so will enhance the taste. That’s all you need.

Preach it, Shiro! Great, easy-reading book about what sushi was like in America before it became a craze, from one of the first, actual Japanese Itamae in America.