Did You Know It's RAW?

Yes, that's how I ordered it. Sashimi translates to "fresh slice" and usually means raw seafood. If you walk into a sushi bar and it smells like fish, you should probably ask for the kitchen menu. Fresh seafood should smell like the ocean and doesn't have a fishy smell.

In a traditional Kaiseki multi-course meal, the sashimi course is served at the beginning. Heavier foods and dishes are served latter in the meal.

A Sashimi Course

At the sushi bar, the chef will always serve sashimi in odd numbered pieces, such as 3, 5, or 7. If you're served an even number, I would say they weren't trained in the traditional way or just have no idea.

Thinly Sliced White Fish

White fish is usually served with ponzu (citrus soy sauce), green onions, and grated daikon (giant white radish) with chili pepper.

Besides fish, sashimi also includes various types of seafood, including sea urchin (uni), spot prawns (amaebi), giant clam (mirugai), octupus (tako), etc.

Besides fresh fish, the thing about good sashimi si the freshly grated wasabi to go with it. Fresh wasabi isn't the hot, sinus blowing heat that we all know it to be. It's actually really flavorful and on the sweet side. But, we'll talk about fresh wasabi another time.

Freshly Grated Wasabi on a Sharkskin Grater

One of the best sashimi dishes that I've had was a plate of sliced albacore with fried garlic chips and dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a squeeze of lemon, it was unbelievable.

Anytime you have a great fresh fish, you should have it in its purist form. UMI will continue to bring you information about fish and sushi, let's continue to eat and enjoy sushi.

Please share your sashimi experiences with us.

Domo Arigato

Article by Jeffrey Nitta and Jay Terauchi

Eating Local Amaebi

Not many people know that California is known for its spot prawns. The spot prawn, also known as "amaebi" in sushi bars, is actually a shrimp. Shrimp have small side flaps that overlap on the first through third abdominal segments and prawns have first and second anterior segments that are closely the same size. Its OK if you didn't notice that either...

Santa Barbara Spot Prawn

People who live on the West Coast are fortunate to be able to get live spot prawns, as they live up and down the coast. A lot of these prawns are caught in the Santa Barbara Channel and San Diego area. They're kept alive in cooled oxygenated tanks. Most of the spot prawns are sold alive, while the others are shipped frozen. Besides restaurants and speciality seafood markets, chances are that you won't find many live spot prawn tanks. Once they die, an enzyme spreads through the body and the meat becomes mushy.

Spot prawns have a very sweet flavor and in Japanese, "amaebi" means sweet shrimp. Most Japanese restaurants serve amaebi raw at the sushi bar.

I was visiting Sushi Dragon in Sun Valley this week. As one of my sushi bar favorites, I ordered "amaebi" sushi. I was lucky enough to get a spot prawn that was a female, so I was also served the "amaebi roe" with a quail egg. There isn't anything better than roe prepared properly with one of the freshest quail eggs I've ever had, they get them from local farmer.

Amaebi Roe (with Quail Egg) and Spot Prawn Sushi

Chef Tommy Kosaka at Sushi Dragon is an experienced chef who has the "head to tail" mind set and uses the entire fish or prawn in this case. For his customers, they're able to try a part of the fish that most have never had before. Chef Tommy spends a lot of his free time in and around the ocean, some mornings you can find him at a local beach surfing.

Deep Fried Amaebi Heads

And YES, the amaebi heads were served just after being served sushi. I realize that not many chefs have the background or training to serve most parts of fish in a delicious manner, meaning we don't want to have "Fear Factor" when dining out. I have some stories, but will have to be for another time... With the problem of overfishing, we must conserve our food supply for generations to come. You might even find out that you like a certain fish part that is usually discarded.

Stay tuned to UMI for more sushi tips and let's continue to eat sushi one fish at a time. If you visit Sushi Dragon, tell Chef Tommy to Hang Ten!

Chef Tommy Kosaka

Sushi Dragon

8069 Vineland Avenue

Sun Valley, CA 91352

Article and photographs by Jay Terauchi