Do you like sushi?

There´s nothing wrong with raw fish, as long as it´s properly handled (and as long as it´s not Fugu fish). When we´re at the beach, we regularly eat ceviche, tiraditos (thin strips of raw fish) and oysters. I also love tuna, barely sealed on the outside and raw in the middle.
Taking it a little bit further, smoked or pickled fish is not really far away from being raw, either.
 
GadgetGuy said:
I don't eat sushi on account of the raw fish / seafood that's used to make it. I'm too afraid of getting sick from it! :yuck:
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The fish comes either from farms (the less expensive types) or from the ocean. When it comes from the ocean, all fish is deep frozen to kill all parasites, so you're safe 😉 -- at least in Japan. I have no idea what they do at outside Japan.
 
madebyyouandi said:
The fish comes either from farms (the less expensive types) or from the ocean. When it comes from the ocean, all fish is deep frozen to kill all parasites, so you're safe 😉 -- at least in Japan. I have no idea what they do at outside Japan.
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That interesting that you say all sushi grade seafood is frozen first in Japan. That is not my understanding. Fresh tuna for example come into the Tsukiji market daily and is auctioned off before they open to the wholesalers selling this tuna where they'll then process this tuna, then the public including many chefs show up and purchase this fresh tuna. From what I understand as well, many of these wholesalers will age the tuna before they sell it, then the many chefs that purchase this tuna will also age the tuna when they get it back to their shops before they serve it. This process apparently produces a more desirable product. I would imagine that a frozen product is also available when otherwise the supply of a specific product is not available.

Other varieties of seafood from my understanding are sold live and then dispatched in front of the chefs by a process that has evolved in the market using a metal rod that is then inserted down into the nervous system and this apparently reduces or eliminates rigamortis making the flesh less stressed and mouthfeel is enhanced. Like I said this is my understanding.

In Ontario Canada where I live there was a push by the provincial gov't to mandate that all sushi grade fish be frozen first like many other provinces in Canada but there was a protest organized by the chefs at that time, which i was part of and that was overturned allowing sushi restaurants to provide a fresh product. We can also buy sashimi grade fish in supermarkets that are fresh.
 
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Morning Glory said:
Not mine either but I'm no expert. madebyyouandi lives in Japan so I would think he knows. An interesting discussion...
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I know that my husband's buddy he plays poker with owns a sushi restaurant and all of theirs is flash frozen. That's the only knowledge I have concerning the subject. I have eaten sushi elsewhere and never asked. All I know is it tastes damn good and I have been blessed to never have gotten any parasites!
 
All sushi grade tuna in the US must be frozen first. I buy mine still frozen, and thaw it myself -- not for sushi, but other dishes. It is frozen for the same reason, parasites.

CD
 
I love sushi and sashimi. I have made both, but when I use to catch fresh fish, I think I most enjoyed the sashimi atop a rice bowl. Let me see if I can find a picture of that...
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garlichead said:
That interesting that you say all sushi grade seafood is frozen first in Japan. That is not my understanding. Fresh tuna for example come into the Tsukiji market daily and is auctioned off before they open to the wholesalers selling this tuna where they'll then process this tuna, then the public including many chefs show up and purchase this fresh tuna.

Other varieties of seafood from my understanding are sold live and then dispatched in front of the chefs by a process that has evolved in the market using a metal rod that is then inserted down into the nervous system and this apparently reduces or eliminates rigamortis making the flesh less stressed and mouthfeel is enhanced. Like I said this is my understanding.
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I've been to the fish markets, I've never seen "fresh" UNfrozen tuna there. Here's a video showing what it looks like in the market.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-eoIxfycf8


Same with other fish. Keep in mind, when they go deep sea fishing, the boats are out there for a long time -- and they are huge boats. Per what they show of the process on TV, the just caught fish go by conveyer belt into a deep freeze to preserve the fish and, as they say on TV, "to kill the parasites".

Farmed fish is a bit different. For example, farmed salmon is called samon while the same ocean caught fish is called shake (which is always frozen in the super markets). The explanation on TV is that salmon in the ocean can get a nasty parasite from what it eats and needs to be cooked whereas the farmed salmon is fed a particular diet and can be consumed raw (which is what is sold in sushi). I don't know about freezing on that particular parasite.

You can buy all kinds of seafood live here, and in some restaurants the fish will be served seemingly alive on the plate (it's mouth moving though it's body has been filleted). My assumption is that those are farmed and not from the sea, but they're always small fish.
 
Here's another video. As well as showing fresh tuna, later in the video a large shrimp is dispatched in the sushi restaurant just before consumption.


View: https://youtu.be/yWwfNmIIc_Q

Tsukiji Market - Tokyo's largest fish market

The Tuna Auctions​

If there's one thing in the Tsukiji market that interests tourists from all over the world, it's the tuna auction. Every day between 5 and 6:15 am tonnes of freshly caught (and frozen) tuna is sold.


Here's a another video showing the dispatching of fresh fish using a metal needle.

 
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