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favorite sushi

what is your favorite sushi? (nigiri only)


  • Total voters
    40

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
I don't think eel counts as sushi in the raw sense, but as far as it always being on the sushi platter... well, eel is pretty tasty.

Does your question allow for versatility? For example, I like salmon, but also like salmon skin rolls, so if it's all things salmon, yeah.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
i ran out of options (no mirugai, sweet egg, and others missed the cut too) but wasn't looking to count rolls. too much rice/nori, imo.

i'm no sushi snob (though westy and IAB will certainly argue otherwise) but i don't think that cooked fish automatically disqualifies it from being sushi (ie, both the shrimp and octopus are also cooked).
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,289
MTB New England
i'm no sushi snob (though westy and IAB will certainly argue otherwise)
I don't like sushi so I can't tell if you are a sushi snob or not.

The closest thing I eat to sushi are those brown rice and shrimp rolls that are cooked but I dare not even suggest that is sushi in present RM company.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,016
Sleazattle
I haven't had the chance to try everything but my favs are tuna, unagi and uni. I haven't had scallops yet but I want to try it.

I prefer sashimi but I do pick up some spicy rolls at the grocery store once a week because they are relatively cheap.

Do you mix the wasabi into your soy sauce or put it straight on? I used to mix it in then dip now I prefer to put the wasabi on top and only occasionaly use soy sauce.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
i went from loading the wasabi straight on the fish, to muddling the soy w/ it, to really not using much if any at all. the sushi chef will put some on the rice, under the fish.

i also used to drape the pickled ginger over it. i've learned better sushi etiquette now (i think)...ginger is eaten to cleanse the palate between sushi types, and eaten alone. the *fish* side of the nigiri is dipped into the soy, not the rice side.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
I don't think eel counts as sushi in the raw sense, but as far as it always being on the sushi platter... well, eel is pretty tasty.
They make raw eel sushi and sashimi, but its just that most of the places in the US serve cooked eel.
 

BikeGeek

BrewMonkey
Jul 2, 2001
4,573
273
Hershey, PA
Technically, sushi is food made with vinegared rice, so both raw and cooked count as sushi as long as the rice is there. Sashimi is raw served without the rice.

I'm no snob, I only know because a nice old Japanese woman took the time to teach me and a friend all kinds of crazy sushi etiquette one day over lunch (proper order to eat the fish, how to dip, how to receive your plate from the chef, etc). Apparently our dining habits were insulting the chef. Don't know if it matters much since it seems most of the places I go are run by Koreans, not Japanese.

I voted for tuna, and I prefer the fatty cuts.
 

Spero

ass rainbow
Jul 12, 2005
2,072
0
Tejas
Unagi and tako are my favs, but I'll take ika without the daikon leaf underneath. Though it's not sushi, anything tempura kick ass, as does nigiri with the scallop stuff (I'm not sure what it's called - the orange mix of scallops, roe and mayonnaise-like stuff).
 

X3pilot

Texans fan - LOL
Aug 13, 2007
5,860
1
SoMD
wow, a lot of rules that I didn't know about, but I am an ugly american..

Only have eaten salmon raw, it was OK. I like the rolls...
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Love raw scallops, you gotta try 'em. I usually see them with a little chopped green onion and tobiko. So good.

Pretty much impossible to pick a favorite but I went with salmon too. Hamachi is a close second but the quality seems to vary more than salmon.

My local sushi chef once told me that he really doesn't care if his customers follow all of the minutiae when it comes to etiquette, but he really appreciates it when people at least make an attempt to learn. Basically he says it's all about attitude - mainly respect for cultural differences. I've taken that to heart, not just for sushi but all foods. I don't sweat all the details but I do keep an open mind and try to learn something.
 

DirtyDog

Gang probed by the Golden Banana
Aug 2, 2005
6,598
0
Ahi and tempura shrimp rolls are my favorite, although spicy tuna is a close second.
 

BikeGeek

BrewMonkey
Jul 2, 2001
4,573
273
Hershey, PA
My local sushi chef once told me that he really doesn't care if his customers follow all of the minutiae when it comes to etiquette, but he really appreciates it when people at least make an attempt to learn.
Most don't care or expect it. It was interesting to hear about all the rules though. Like a lot of Japanese traditions, I've only ever seen older folks following any of them.

Anyone ever order omakase?
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Anyone ever order omakase?
I have only had one full meal that way but we always ask the chef to prepare one or two special items of his choosing. In my area it usually ends up being more complex preparations than we would otherwise order (like a fancy roll or something), but sometimes will be a simple sashimi with a pristine fish we had not already ordered. My experience is that the chef's really appreciate the trust involved.
 

Spero

ass rainbow
Jul 12, 2005
2,072
0
Tejas
for dark horse favorites, i always go w/ mackerel...it's got almost a citrus-y flavor, and is always amongst the cheapest options.
Second on the mackerel. Most people I know don't like it. I'm guessing it has to do with the oils in the fish...most fish in mackerel family I've eaten are pretty oily.
 

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
I have only had one full meal that way but we always ask the chef to prepare one or two special items of his choosing. In my area it usually ends up being more complex preparations than we would otherwise order (like a fancy roll or something), but sometimes will be a simple sashimi with a pristine fish we had not already ordered. My experience is that the chef's really appreciate the trust involved.
Indeed. There's a local place by me and I once asked for "something out of the ordinary"....I don't remember what it was called, but it involved about 3 different kinds of fish, a handful of wasabi, a little rice, and some veggies....oh, and a hearty helping of something else that added to the spicyness.... holy crap it was good...but boy did I pay for it the next day...kinda glad I don't remember what it was called cause I'd prolly order it every time I was there...and that's just not good business practice for the 'ol starfish...
 

disasterarea

Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
137
0
I would have to say ikura. The mackerel always taste a bit like rollmop to me but not nearly as nice.
 

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
Chef's special. Always interesting and always a good way to start out a night at a sushi place.

There was a great article a while back in Men's Health about sushi etiquette, it was eye-opening.

Best sashimi I've ever had was from a commercial fisherman who handed me a sea urchin (uni) that had dropped out of the nets as he was transferring it to the truck. Most succulent piece of food I've ever had. I think it might have still been alive when I ate it.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
what's with all this "etiquette"?
ask Morimoto

Flay honed this type of social brutality during his storied appearances on "Iron Chef." At the end of his first battle against Japanese Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, a smack-talking, posturing Flay jumped triumphantly onto the counter. Standing on his cuttingboard and doing that dorky "raise the roof" hand gesture, Flay lead the crowd in chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!" All of this, but primarily the standing on the cutting board part, grievously offended Morimoto and the rest of the Japanese contingent.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,016
Sleazattle
I need to stop opening this thread. I might have to get sushi again tonight. I'm going to bankrupt myself.