Sushi Otaku

Everything is not always as it seems. For reasons unknown, restaurants will sometimes sell something under a different name, confusing the customer (at best) and hurting them (at worst). Often, they get away with it, but sometimes… Well… you read the news.

I bring this up because there is an item served at sushi-ya called “white tuna” (shiro maguro), or “super white tuna,” that is sometimes actual white albacore tuna (usually the white tuna), but also sometimes another fish, called ‘Escolar’ (which is usually the super white tuna). Legal requirements aside, it’s bad enough to sell a product that folks think is something else, but particularly with escolar, as some folks just don’t handle that particular fish quite well. As evidenced by an Austrailian Government health editorial, there are oils in that fish that can cause significant gastro-intestinal distress in some individuals. Not fun if you are planning a night out.

Sushi is confusing enough for newcomers, and even those who are very familiar with the dish are sometimes not aware of practices such as this. And this is not to say that all white tuna is Escolar and every restaurant scams its clientèle, but you never know. But if you happen to get it, you’ll know soon enough.

Warren
The Sushi Guy

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I’ve heard people refer to sushi as “cat food” before and make fun of it in many other ways, but what many folks don’t know is that Bluefin Tuna, now suffering from incredible demand, was, until the 1970’s, a ’sport’ fish sold to companies for cat food or thrown away. Its fatty belly meat, known as ‘toro’ is now one of the more expensive items on the menu. I guess it’s all how you want to look at it.

All foods evolve as demand and supply issues tug at the markets and sushi is no exception. There was a time in the past when oysters populated our coasts like moss, and they were considered as food only for the poor. Even lobsters suffered the same opinion, and in fact were even ground up and used to fertilize soil in the early days of the European colonization of the Americas. It wasn’t until the turn of the century (well, the last century, the early 1900’s) that it started to be a “status” dish. Salmon is now a new ‘health food’ due to the high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids, but even in my lifetime was once dirt-cheap and not that popular. I remember being very young and eating it probably twice a week since my mother was a particular fan of the flavor (and I became a devotee myself).

Our perception of food changes over time, and foods that would otherwise be ignored are constantly being incorporated into our diets as existing stocks dwindle and new opportunities are exploited. And some foods that were simply not common in some geographical regions (e.g the U.S.) become popular after a period of exposure, like sushi. The Monkfish was a rare fish in our diet until the mid 1970’s, but now ankimo (monkfish liver) is an expensive delicacy around the world (in fact, wholesale prices for the livers have increased over 2,000% since 1982, and you can imagine what that does to retail prices over that same time). I could go on forever and talk about any type of sushi I want, but the point of this piece is that the folks who don’t understand what we sushi otaku appreciate simply don’t put our culinary world into perspective. So sure, call my sushi “cat food.” Technically, you may not be that far from the mark. But it’s the best darn cat food I’ve ever eaten!

Warren
The Sushi Guy

1 Comment »