Sushi Otaku

Faithful reader, Hayato, has asked me where to order sea urchins, so I thought I’d post that information for all to see. While the company I got mine from isn’t around anymore (online at least) I have found another place for them. Since you are on the west coast anyway, Hayato, Catalina Offshore Products has sea urchins here and while I have never ordered from them, I’ve heard good things about them and they are on my list for my next sushi party. You can order both Uni and live urchins. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Warren
The Sushi Guy.

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About 6 or 7 years ago I started the Sushi FAQ and it was merely a hint of its former self. It wasn’t really a FAQ yet, but more of an idea and, believe it or not, a list of Japanese restaurants and food stores in New York and Connecticut, complete with submitted reviews (and mine as well). One day, I’d like to re-include such features (and expand the geography) but the reason that I mention this is that I had links to mail order seafood places.

One day I received an email from a small diving operation in Maine that sold Sea Urchin (uni) fresh from the sea. They asked me if I would include a link to their homepage and in return, they would ship me a few urchins. I jumped at the chance since I wouldn’t have to make any false statements of credibility, just post a link. A no brainer, IMHO.

A day later I received a large box via FedEx, and inside were tons, and I mean tons of urchins, all wiggly and spiky. I couldn’t believe how many there were. Too many for me, that’s for sure, so I headed over to my cousin’s and we had a party. Opening urchins is no easy task, you need gloves so you don’t get poked, and you need to cut them open properly to scoop out the mustard colored goop inside. We made a large pot of sushi rice and got to work.

Fresh uni is really the most amazing thing. The stuff you get in a good sushi-ya is great too, but eating it while it’s still alive (sounds gross, but you do it with oysters and clams too) is a whole different experience. It tastes like the sea, fecund and salty, and there are no interruptions. It really blew my mind and the texture was perfect, it held together just long enough to make you know what you are eating, unlike the uni that often becomes too soft after sitting in the restaurant for a while and after having been shipped across the country or further. It actually had a really interesting texture, something I never realized, as I am used to uni being more of a paste-like consistency. This is not to say that it had a firm texture, but right out of the shell it was still completely hydrated and rich with flavour.

I have never since had the opportunity (meaning bottomless wallet) to gorge myself on uni and I may never again. I still order it when I go out, but I always remember how good it was only minutes old when I did the work myself. I believe there are places to order urchins online still, but I haven’t checked recently. I’m starting to get myself excited again, though.

Warren
The Sushi Guy

N.B. You can find uni at Catalina Offshore Products (among other sushi grade seafood).

3 Comments »

I went to Sushi Yasuda in New York City last night and oh boy! This was a great experience. Firstly, they are a very traditional sushi-ya, no spicy rolls, or other American funkyisms. And they made this pretty clear when my dining companion (a colleague of mine) asked about a spicy scallop roll. But, our waiter was very nice and polite and steered us towards interesting specials and made us aware what the itamae suggested that night.

I started out with something I’d never had before; flounder roe. It was very interesting. whitish/gray clumps that were very subtle, and tasted like a combination of all the delicate flavors of green onion and the ocean. Very unique. I went on to Ankimo (monkfish liver), one of my seasonal favorites, and then started ordering sashimi and sushi with gusto.

Before our sushi arrived, the waiter brought out a seaweed salad comprised of 5 different types of seaweed with a bowl of dressing for dipping. Some of these were the norm (wakame) and it was missing some I am used to (hijiki), which wasn’t a problem. But it was great. A very rounding experience and the textures were something at which to marvel.

Then our dinner arrived. Each piece was perfect. Not perfect in the sense that it looked like a machine measured and manufactured it, but perfect in they way the food was balanced. They use fresh wasabi there without even being asked (a sure sign of high quality) and the itamae had really put the perfect size neta on the nigiri-zushi . The whole piece fit in my mouth perfectly so there was no embarrassing ’squirrel mouth.’ And it was very fresh. The otoro was amazing and the buri was definitely the best I’ve had in years. What was really neat was that the presentation was very simple yet beautiful.

My usual place is great, but Sushi Yasuda was really a whole new experience. The service was great, the food was incredible, and we drank too much sake (but it was worth it and I wasn’t driving anyway). It’s really great to have the experience of dining in a traditional sushi-ya as well, I didn’t miss any of the fancy, flowery rolls and mixes. I was there for the fish and I got more than I expected out of the dinner. It was a fancy dinner with what seemed minimal effort (which is entirely untrue, they put a lot of effort into their presentation). And it blew my mind. It would have blown my wallet too, but I was being treated

If you have an opportunity and don’t mind paying up for it, check out Sushi Yasuda. You don’t have to be on your best behavior, but you do have to be there on time (they don’t hold tables, they are so busy and popular). And definitely look for the specials.

Warren
The Sushi guy.

3 Comments »

As usual, I did take-out sushi on Monday evening (it’s a once a week thing in my house) and this time my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I ordered way too much sushi and ended up with a pile left after we were torpid with food. This is not a completely uncommon occurrence, and usually when I have some left over I pop it in the ‘fridge for a bit and eat it later. But I never will eat it the next day, only within a few hours.

It’s a psychological thing, I’m sure the fish is still fine the next day, and the avocado tastes the same even though it has turned a nasty brown, but I just can’t get myself to do it. So my question to you, faithful readers, is do you do leftover sushi? Please feel free to comment and let me know.

Warren
The Sushi guy.

6 Comments »