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This delicacy gets a raw deal -- it's healthful, delicious and rarely includes uncooked fish By HELEN SCHWAB Knight Ridder Newspapers If it's the raw fish you're worried about, relax. If it's not knowing what to do with chopsticks, take it easy. If nutrition's your concern, settle in. Sushi's got good news on every front. And if it's the expense that's got you buffaloed -- well, no, it's not cheap. And no, we're not going to chip in for you. But you don't have to spend a fortune to have a fine sushi meal. Cities across the country increasingly are blessed with places purveying palatable, pretty, potent plates of sushi. But in 16 years of reviewing restaurants, I've found there's no meal that freaks people out quicker. That's a raw deal. Sushi is great stuff. Let's demystify it for those still on the fence, and offer some lesser-known tidbits to dabblers. First things first: • Sushi doesn't require raw fish. It's named for the short-grain rice seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and often some dried kelp, used in every piece or bowl of it. (Yes, sometimes sushi comes in a bowl.) For this rice, every detail -- from the specific rice used, to the humidity of the kitchen, to how the rice is cooled -- is critical, and experts judge a sushi restaurant largely on the quality of its rice. Raw fish is used in some sushi (served alone, it's called sashimi), but some add only cooked seafood and/or a variety of vegetarian-friendly ingredients. By the way, commercial flash-freezing, used more than you might think, kills what you might worry about. Sushi, properly prepared, is not only safe but remarkably nutritious. Sushi is comparatively low in calories and fat. Estimates vary, but a single piece of nigiri-zushi -- the name for a pad of sushi rice capped by a piece of fish or other topping -- ranges from 60 to 90 calories, with less, often much less, than a single gram of fat. One chart is at the entertaining Web site Sushi Encyclopedism: http://homepage3.nifty.com/maryy/ eng/eng.htm. It's OK not to know what you're doing in a sushi restaurant or bar. You're not expected to know everything, and you won't get kicked out for doing something wrong. Some places are easier than others for newcomers -- at these, you can just look curious and someone will offer to help -- but if you appreciate good food and are willing to ask a few questions, you'll be fine anywhere. But it is nice, not to mention more respectful, to know some basic guidelines. So, here you go: One thing before you even leave the house: Skip wearing fragrance. It'll interfere with the delicate taste. It should go without saying that smoking will, too. Enter your chosen venue and ask for a seat at the sushi bar. You'll often be brought oshibori: a warm hot towel with which to wash your hands. Do so and lay it back on whatever it arrived in. Prepare. Remove the wooden chopsticks from their paper; pull them apart and set them down -- on the paper, if there are no holders -- parallel to the edge of the bar. Don't rub them together as some do to remove possible splinters: You're implying they're cheap, and that's insulting. You won't get a splinter. You don't need chopsticks for eating nigiri-zushi (fingers are fine for this ''finger-'' or ''hand-shaped'' sushi), but you'll use them to transfer sushi and the pink slices of pickled ginger from the communal plate to yours. Use the ends you don't put in your mouth to do this. You'll also use them to eat single slices of pickled ginger, called gari, to freshen your palate between pieces of sushi. Don't treat gari like slaw; it's not a salad. Pour a little soy sauce (also called shoyu or murasaki) from the lidded carafe at your place into the little saucer meant for this. A tip: Skip the hot green wasabi paste entirely. Your chef puts this on the sushi as needed. If you like things a little hotter, tell the chef. Now you're ready to go. Order. Do this by telling the sushi chef, ''Omakase'' (oh-mah-kah-say), which means you're asking the chef to choose for you -- always a good idea, since who knows better what's best that day? Just 'fess up if you're new and you'll get simpler things. Don't order drinks or anything else from the sushi chef: your server will handle that, along with getting you the bill and handling your money. A final eating tip: Try to eat nigiri-zushi and slices of maki in one bite. That preserves the balance the chef has created. If you can't finish it in one, at least don't set down the part that's left; hold it while chewing, then eat the rest. Posted on Wed, Aug. 25, 2004 http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/living/food/9490800.htm |
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