Sushi Confidential: What I know

The truth is that I know no other way.

There are certain red flags for me when it comes to restaurants. Be somewhat leery when it comes to restaurants with super extensive menus. Like truly, can you really be great at that many things? I prefer the old man or woman who doesn’t even know how to read but has made takoyaki for 50 years the exact same way.

Also, be very apprehensive about restaurants with cross cultural menus. I’m not a fan of fusion either but I mean a Chinese joint selling pad Thai. Thai joint selling sushi. Japanese joint selling…wait, Japanese don’t do that.

Do you know why Thai Korean Chinese etc restaurants sometimes sell sushi?

Because people assume that sushi is expensive.

Labor, rent, utilities, food…costs start to rack up and you gotta sell a whole lot of pad thai just to turn a profit. Easy fix? Buy the fish already filleted and cut into blocks. Buy the egg cooked and delivered as a block. Add some crappy rice and a bunch of Mayo jalapeño and you’ve got a super high margin that people will pay for. Not me. Might as well be a burger joint with a sushi bar.

To be fair, everyone is trying to survive and if the consumer will buy it, take the profit.

But I know no other way.

The place where I have been taught, whole fish delivered twice a week from all over the world, mostly japan. Cut off the head, pull out the guts, gently scrape out the blood, maybe keep the collar…I’m rambling.

Meticulously caring for the fish, wasting as little as possible while maintaining its integrity. Its simple in ways. I would actually argue that there is really so much to the process, but the education is out there. Why don’t restaurants do it this way then? Because it’s hard work, duh.

I can’t speak highly enough about the two individuals who taught me all that I know in sushi. It is because of them that I now know what I don’t know. And what I don’t know could fill libraries.

But what I do know, is the right way.

Cheers,
E