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Blog Details for "Sushi Otaku"
Sushi OtakuSushi OtakuThe musings of a sushi freak with information, commentary, and observations about sushi, sashimi, and related Japanese cuisine. Articles
Fugu - The Russian Roulette of Sushi?
2008-05-28 16:59:00 I recently added a writeup about Fugu (Puffer Fish) to the FAQ which hopefully provides some insight into why people eat such a potentially deadly dish. I’ve also included some interesting tid-bits about how the poison can be used in other ways, and how a person can actually eat fugu with no fear of being ... More About: Russian , Sushi
When sushi is more than sushi
2008-04-06 00:01:00 At times, the most minor difference can make a tremendous impact; something that may not seem obvious but leaves a tip of the tongue realization. A new restaurant has opened near me and has grown on me quite a bit, but it is easy to know why. It is a seemingly small difference, however it ... More About: Sushi , Hamachi
Wasabi - Our sushi chat forum is live again
2008-02-23 19:43:00 While I prefer to post fascinating tidbits of piscatory goings-on, I wanted to mention to everyone that Wasabi , the Sushi FAQ forum, is back in action. After an onslaught of spam (Close Encounters of the Nasty Kind) the cleanup effort caused a minor (OK, major) explosion in the database and all posts have been lost due ... More About: Chat , Forum , Live
Has Sushi Jumped The Shark?
2008-02-19 03:36:00 Sushi has been a popular item in the west for a few decades now and as with anything that makes its way across cultures, it has readily changed to better match western palates. But unlike noodles and soybeans, sushi has not merely changed to fit our preferences; it has begun to shape how we view ... More About: Sushi , Shark , Hamachi
Where to buy sushi grade fish
2008-01-31 21:50:00 Making sushi at home is fun, easy, and actually less expensive than going out to a restaurant. Aside from the intimidation factor, the big issue that many people seem to have, and ask me all the time, is where do you get sushi grade fish to make sushi at home? While I have a few ... More About: Fish , Sushi
Restaurant Certification 1, Sushi Police 0
2008-01-29 20:12:00 In what is good news for California Roll eaters, today Japan has formally announced a campaign for certifying Japanese food overseas without Big Brother inspecting the sushi. Initially covered back in December of 2006 in my piece ?The sushi police are here to see you,? the Japanese ministry of Agriculture, along with a ?non-governmental group ... More About: Restaurant , Police , Sushi , Certification , Cert
A Tuna Tempest
2008-01-26 17:29:00 The fish hit the fan the other day with the publication the New York Times article regarding the risk of mercury in tuna, which I covered in my entry Some More Mercury With Your Tuna ? But was it junk science? Or was it something that needed to be said? Rebuttals came swiftly, and among them, ... More About: Tempest
Some more mercury with your tuna?
2008-01-24 02:43:00 You are what you eat. While I always questioned this in a literal sense as a child, it is pretty much the case. But I don’t want to be made of heavy metals, and my body agrees. It is no news to anyone that we are poisoning our oceans, and unfortunately that means our food ... More About: Tuna , Mercury
Troubles for Tuna IV - An End to Toro
2007-11-20 17:17:00 (N.B. This is a follow on article from Troubles for Tuna III) At the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) meeting last week, a critical decision was to be made regarding the 2008 bluefin tuna quotas, a decision that could be one of the most important in saving the species. While the head ...
Troubles for Tuna III - Toro Tomorrow?
2007-11-17 22:00:00 One of the most popular sushi items, bluefin tuna, from which we get maguro, and toro, is almost gone. I have made a few posts about declining tuna stocks in Troubles for Tuna and Troubles for Tuna II, and am quite happy to be able to write that there may be some good news for ... More About: Tomorrow , Morrow , Tomo
Sushichefsecrets Is Stealing My Content
2007-10-22 02:36:00 It has come to my attention that sushichefsecrets dot com is illegally republishing my content, verbatim, as well as that of sushiordeath.com, and sushiday.com. It is sad that in this day and age, when it is insanely easy to find this stuff out, that sleazy individuals resort to the theft of other’s hard work, ... More About: Content , Stealing , Tent
Troubles for Tuna 2- A Reprieve?
2007-09-19 19:33:00 Declining bluefin tuna stocks have been in the news with growing frequency, and have also been the subject of a number of my blog entries over the past year (see Troubles for Tuna ). When any species faces potential extinction it becomes a grave issue, but the popularity of this fish makes any news pertinent to ...
Oyster Warning (kaki)
2007-08-30 18:11:00 I just wanted to pass along a little information I received recently. Apparently six people became ill with Vibrio parahaemolytics from raw oyster consumption in the source state, Washington. The raw oysters were distributed to 11 other states and five countries (Canada, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand). No other illnesses have been ... More About: Warning
Living Sushi
2007-07-14 20:10:00 Firstly a warning to my readers, the following entry contains graphic descriptions of what may be considered animal cruelty by some, and may be a bit extreme for some readers. If you do not want to hear stories of the preparation of living sea animals for food, please do not read this entry. Caveat lector. Many ... More About: Living , Sushi , Ving
First Albacore Tuna Recipe Competition
2007-07-11 17:34:00 I received this email a few moments ago and wanted to pass the information along to readers of this blog. While this is a generic competition in the sense that it is not specific to sushi, I can think of a ton of ways to serve tuna in it’s raw form (and perhaps I’ll ... More About: Competition , Recipe , Tuna , Petit , Reci
The Sushi FAQ is in Health Magazine!
2007-07-01 16:31:00 I can’t think of why I didn’t post this last month, although I actually thought I did, but I was contacted by an exceptionally nice food editor at Heal th Magazine to help her out with an article she was writing on sushi and calories. This was months ago, and the article was finally published. ... More About: Sushi
Bad seafood from China, a sushi nightmare?
2007-06-29 06:22:00 “The US Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert today to detain farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace (related to carp), and eel from China until the shipments are proven to be free of residues from drugs that are not approved in the US for use in farm-raised aquatic animals. ” This was part ... More About: Nightmare , Seafood , Sushi , Mare
Venison Sushi? Oh Deer?
2007-06-27 19:47:00 Japan is a fascinating country. Steeped in tradition, yet quick to adopt new technologies and trends, Japanese culture is an fascinating melange of the old and the new. That said, while they took the transistor from its western inventors and changed the world, some things I’m hearing don’t sound like progress to me. If you ... More About: Deer , Sushi
The Sushi-Ya-Pedia Sushi Bar Finder
2007-06-20 04:52:00 I have recently set up a wiki that I have entitled the “Sushi -ya-pedia” that I would like to turn into a community powered sushi bar finder and restaurant review resource. In my opinion, there is no better reviewer than diners ourselves, so I’m working hard to get every restaurant in the US (and eventually the ... More About: Finder
Sushi and pigeons and cats, oh my!
2007-05-28 18:52:00 Every once in a while I read something about the restaurant business that makes me so incredibly happy that I am a regular at a few sushi places and trust them implicitly. I walk in, they know I am a regular and I am treated as such. There is a reason that I am a ... More About: Cats , Sushi , Pigeons
Is that fugu in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
2007-05-27 16:17:00 And people ask if sushi is safe to eat? The FDA has issued a warning to consumers regarding monkfish, as, apparently the Hong Chang Corp. has imported potentially deadly puffer fish (fugu) into the US and labeled it ?monkfish,? While fugu is a well regarded (and potentially dangerous) sushi dish, if not prepared properly the ... More About: Happy , That , Pocket , Fugu
What is Sushi Grade seafood?
2007-04-30 20:55:00 I’ve continuously gotten questions about the requirements that make any fish ’sushi grade.’ I’ve also always tried to find a good answer. But as it turns out, there isn’t one. By that I mean, in the United States, there are no FDA rules for what makes seafood ’sushi grade.’ Basically, there is no such thing. ... More About: Seafood , Sushi
Is sushi finger food?
2007-03-12 01:04:00 How many times have you wondered whether it is acceptable to eat sushi with your fingers? And how many times have you been told that it isn?t? As a matter of etiquette, many cultures eschew eating with one?s fingers, which seems to be ingrained particularly deeply in western behavior. But be at ease, sushi fans, ... More About: Food , Finger food , Sushi , Finger
Troubles for Tuna - Could This Mean No More Toro Sushi?
2007-02-24 17:25:00 According to a recent World Wildlife Fund report, tuna stocks worldwide are at risk of depletion due to overfishing. Could this mean no more maguro and toro for sushi fans? Currently, tuna fleet capacity is far greater than required to catch a sustainable level of the fish. This, coupled with disputes over allocation of fishing ... More About: Sushi , Tuna
Is sushi safe for pregnant women?
2007-02-18 21:41:00 This is a question I get asked a lot. I have always been pretty conservative in answering for a variety of reasons, mostly because there *are* risks to eating raw foods for anyone, especially during pregnancy. That said, there are also reasons why pregnant women might want to eat sushi. Seafood is good for you. Seafood ... More About: Women , Pregnant , Sushi , Safe
Tuna - Maguro, Akami & Toro
2007-01-27 17:34:00 I’ve recently added an item profile for Tuna , otherwise known as maguro or ahi. If you’ve ever wanted to know just what the heck toro is, or the difference between akami, chu-toro and o-toro, you might want to check out the profile page at: Sushi Items - Maguro (Tuna) More About: Kami
The Sushi Police Are Here to See you
2006-12-03 17:01:00 Apparently the sushi police are on their way. With the popularity of sushi spreading worldwide, it should be no surprise that everyone and their brother wants to jump on the bandwagon. The problem is that now, it is as easy to find horrible food that is supposed to pass for sushi, being served by people ... More About: Police , Sushi , Poli
Yes, sushi *is* good for you
2006-10-22 16:01:00 There has been much back and forth over the years about the safety of seafood due to the potential of mercury contamination as this heavy metal moves up the food chain. While the health benefits of eating seafood (and that means sushi) are already widely known, the actual risk that consumers take upon themselves has ... More About: Sushi , Good
Omakase Sushi
2006-10-07 16:41:00 I?ve had a number of questions about ?omakase? meals in a sushi restaurant and thought to take this time to explain what true omakase is to those unfamiliar with the term, or who just want to know more. ?Omakase? literally means ?entrust? and basically means ?chef?s choice.? The Itamae (sushi chef) is given the opportunity ... More About: Sushi |
