Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Confusion between your sense of taste and sight


I was so astonished when I saw a California roll for the first time!  Rice and seaweed are inside out and it has avocado inside.  It was a way extraordinary idea from mine or Japanese common sense.  But, it’s actually quite good!   Nowadays, sushi is popular all around the world.  There seems to be gorgeous creative rolls and wraps enjoyed in other countries.  What type of sushi can you have at sushi restaurants in your country? Can you have those many innovated sushi or Japanese traditional ones?
 
 
I appreciate those new types but I also love our classic sushi.  I think that sushi is made simply to enjoy the taste of the ingredients.  There are various types of fish and shellfish used.  Can you name those different kinds?  I personally love hirame(bastard halibut), akagai(ark shell) and uni(sea urchin).   Akagai and uni taste differently depending on price or restaurant.  Cheap uni can be bitter or has chemical flavor while good uni is sweet.  What sushi do you like? 


Ikura

Today, I did not intend to talk about sushi.  I saw these sushi on TV the other day and I took pictures of them.  Don’t you notice something weird?  They are not real sushi.  They are all made of wagashi, Japanese confectionery.  Can you believe that?  They look so real but it is actually very sweet if you eat them!  Of course, they are special and you can’t buy them everywhere.  I don’t want to see them in a tea ceremony.  My brain will be confused with the difference between its taste and appearance, hahaha.  Wagashi often depicts a flower, scenery of the nature or a seasonal object.  The beauty of formative design is in the realm of art.  The technique and ideas to create an admiring wagashi is superb!  They can even make sushi out of it!!

Uni



What  is he making?


Red bean paste into a container


Coating the surface with rice flour


Pour more of the bean past on top of it


Repeating those steps and Forming layers with the red past and rice flour


Slicing it like sasimi


Ta-dah!  Tuna sushi!!


12 comments:

  1. Sure looks delicious...

    In France, there is a big demand for sushi, so we have many sushi restaurants, but very few actually propose real japanese sushi, maybe 1-2%. When one does not live in Paris, it is better (and cheaper) to make your own sushi using fresh fish than going to a sushi restaurant which is often going to be disappointing.

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    1. I see … It is very rare to see the restaurants that serve real Japanese sushi in France. That means that they have very creative and interesting sushi that we don’t have in Japan. I want to try them if I have a chance to visit France. I want fresh sushi so maybe I should look for one in Paris, hahaha.

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    2. Well... not exactly. In France, there are a lot of "sushi places" because it is the trend right now. Also, it is low fat food and people like that. But the big majority of these restaurants are cheap and not that good restaurants, pausing for japanese restaurants but often not managed by japanese people at all. It has nothing to compare with the quality of a real japanese sushi. Really.

      So I am afraid that you will be disappointed by these places. The best ones are still found in the real japanese restaurants. But this doesn't mean that you should not come to Paris and taste local food ! :)

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    3. I think it's the same in America. Many sushi places in my area are actually owned by Chinese people. Even the cheapest places I ate at in Japan were better than the most expensive places in the US. :(

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    4. Maybe because, Japan has good logistics for raw fish??

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  2. Wow, that is so... strange and funny and interesting and impressive at the same time. :p

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    1. It’s interesting isn’t it? There is no exquisite flavor created with tuna and wasabi nor the excellent feeling of vinegared rice in your mouth. What you feel with this sushi is nothing but the sweet taste, hahaha.

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  3. Incredible and weird..

    My favorite sushi is the simple kind. More about freshness of fish than type, but salmon is probably my favorite. Also fatty tuna.

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    1. Salmon is popular here, too. Yah, Freshness is quite important, I agree.

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