Maguro/Tuna is undeniably the most popular sushi item in the world, while many say that Toro/Tuna Belly is the King of sushi. The highly prized toro also comes with high price - $50/lbs. to $100/lbs. at a fish market, which makes one piece of sushi anywhere from $10 - $30 easily at a reputable sushi bar. Despite its popularity, tuna was not widely consumed in Japan until the Edo period (1603-). Two main reasons being: Tuna used to be called "Shibi" in Japanese. It has the same pronunciation as "day of the dead" and was considered unlucky to eat. Japanese preferred Tai/Read snapper over tuna because the word "Tai" rhymed with "celebration." It is also said that its unpopularity was due to the size of tuna - it can be as long as 15 feet and weigh over 1,000 pounds. Because of the lack of refrigeration technology, it was difficult to keep it fresh. Around 1830, Edo had a large catch of Tuna for many years and had an abundant supply of tuna, which lowered its price down. Since it became so cheap, some of the sushi restaurants decided to try using tuna, which caught its popularity. The way they served tuna is called "zuke" - a soy-marinated tuna nigiri. By marinating in soy sauce, tuna lasted longer without refrigeration. It also brought a different flavor to tuna. Until then, tuna was either grilled or cooked and was considered not tasty. Toro, tuna belly started to get popular around 1930. It is unclear the exact reason why it became so popular. One theory says it is due to the changing diet of modern Japanese. #Tuna #Sushi #100SurprisingFactsAboutSushi #Ingredients

(Sushi rice for nigiri is called "Shari Dama" meaning sushi rice ball) What comes to your mind when you hear the word "Sushi"? Would it be a California Roll with crab, avocado, or Unagi/Fresh Water Eel Nigiri with sweet Eel Sauce? If that was the case, then, you are only half correct. The word “sushi” refers to vinegared "Sushi Rice," not rolls, not nigiri, not even fish on top of rice. (nor Sashimi, a slice of fish for that matter.) The word sushi is said to come from the word “Su-meshi.” “Su” means vinegar and “Meshi” means rice. When abbreviated, it became “sushi.” Therefore, sushi means cooked rice mixed with sushi vinegar. Thus, as long as you use "sushi rice," it can be called sushi. When the Japanese think of sushi, mostly they refer to Nigiri. In America, most people think of Rolls. There are many different types of sushi from rolls to pressed sushi using both fish and vegetables. Here are some examples of different types of sushi: Maki Sushi (pronounced as makizushi) - Rolled sushi with ingredients inside Nigiri Sushi (pronounced as Nigirizushi) - Sliced ingredient on top of the ball of rice. Temaki Sushi (temakizushi) - Ice cream cone-shaped hand roll. Sashimi - Means sliced meat, not Sushi. Can be either fish, meat or vegetables. Oshi Sushi (pronounced as Oshizushi) - pressed sushi #100SurprisingFactsAboutSushi #Sushi #Rice

This recipe came to me when I was working at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles. One day, I noticed that there was an unopened bottle of truffle oil. I’ve never used truffle oil before, so I thought the way to using it. I opened the bottle and then came a very strong and nice aroma of white truffle. Then, I thought it would go well with white fish like Tai. The aroma is wonderful and it's a perfect match with snapper. It's been a constant hit with our clients. They all told me they never tasted anything like this before.
 Ingredients: • Tai/Red Snapper • Kombu Kelp • White Truffle oil • Lemon Juice • Himalayan Salt • Pink Peppercorn • Chives Cooking Instructions: 1. Fillet Tai/Red Snapper to four pieces. 2. Slightly wet kombu with water, then wrap Tai with kombu, cover with plastic wrap. 3. Store Tai in refrigerator for half an hour to an hour. 4. Remove the kombu and thinly slice Tai sashimi. 5. Plate Tai, sear it with a butane torch until the surface turns white. 6. Pour truffle oil, lemon juice and sprinkle Himalayan salt. 7. Garnish with pink peppercorn and cut chives. #Recipes #Sashimi

We love what we do - showing our clients how fun it is to make sushi. There is nothing more satisfying than our clients telling us how much fun they had at our team-building sushi class. Recently, we hosted a sushi class for the SurveyMonkey team and they sent us this note! #TeamBuilding #SushiClasses

(Photo from Ezu Restaurant) It is true that the majority of sushi is fish - tuna, crab, salmon, shrimp, yellowtail, and freshwater eel. However, there is plenty of non-fish sushi out there event a vegetarian person can have a complete meal without ever eating one fish sushi. Here is a list of non-fish sushi. Traditional Japanese Non-Fish Sushi Kappa - Cucumber roll. Japanese maki standard. Refreshing, so it's good to eat between fish nigiri to cleanse your palate. Oshinko Maki- Pickled daikon radish roll. Another maki standard and favorite. One of the finishing pieces before dessert. Kanpyo Maki -Dried shavings of calabash, cooked in soy sauce and sugar. Nothing like this in Western dishes. Chewy texture with sweet soy flavor. Natto Maki- Cut or hand roll. Natto is fermented soybeans. It has a very strong "foul" smell, yet is loved by many Japanese. (though it is also true that there are many Japanese who are unable to eat natto.) Shitake Mushroom - Mostly cooked in soy sauce and sugar, sometimes grilled makes nice nigiri sushi. Wasabi Maki - cut or hand roll. Yes, fresh wasabi has a wonderful aroma and sweet flavor. Cut into small matchsticks, wasabi is rolled into hosomaki - a thin roll or temaki, hand roll. Tamago - egg custard. Some eat it as a finishing dessert piece place for, say ice cream. It's sweet, juicy, and has a fluffy texture. It is said that you should order tamago to find out the sushi chef's skill. There are of course many many other vegetable sushi out there including red peppers, asparagus, zucchini, eggplant - virtually any vegetables you can find (and goes well with sushi rice.) My personal discovery is to use wine vinegar and fruit vinegar instead of rice vinegar. Champagne vinegar also makes nice sushi rice which goes well with vegetables. #100SurprisingFactsAboutSushi #Sushi #Nigiri

What I love about Song Tea & Ceramics is simplicity. Just like Sushi is made up of sushi rice and fish (mostly fish, and lots of vegetables, too!), the shop is about tea leaves and hot water. Peter, the owner of Song Tea & Ceramics has done a beautiful job decorating the store (he told me he did most of the work himself), arranging such eye-pleasing teacups, accessories, and ornaments to create a warm, comfortable, and inviting environment for the enjoyment tea. Whenever I drop by, he invites me to sit down and enjoy a variety of teas he has – oolong, green and red tea – mostly from Taiwan. For a person like me who grew up drinking green tea every meal, Peter’s invitation is very easy to accept. He offers me three to four kinds of tea to try. I’ve done tea tasting in China and China town, here in San Francisco. All I can say about Peter’s tea is they taste different, and I like his tea. Even Oolong from Taiwan tastes different from the one from China. Taiwanese Oolong to me tastes a lot sweeter and milder. I like that. When brewing tea, even most Japanese use boiling water. I’ve been doing that all my life until now. However, using hot or boiling water brings out bitterness from green tea (not from Black tea. Black tea should be brewed using boiling water.) According to Fragrant Tea.com, to brew Japanese green teas, the ideal temperature is 140°F - 185°F. Bitterness comes from “tannins” or “polyphenols,” which dissolve at 176°F (80°C). Gyokuro, one of the highest grades, is best brewed at 122°F - 140°F (50°C - 60°C). Spring-picked Sencha tastes best at 160°F - 170°F (70°C - 80°C). Summer-harvested Bancha and Genmaicha will exhibit their best flavor with a short infusion at higher temperatures of 170°F - 185°F (80°C - 90°C). (source: http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/green-tea-brewing-tips) Peter adjusts the water temperature according to the type of tea he brews. We start talking about how the tea tastes first, then after a few cups started talking about which is our favorite sushi restaurant and so on. (Kabuto was Peter's first-ever sushi restaurant. Coincidentally, I've worked with the first owner, the legendary Sushi chef of Kabuto Sushi, Sachi Kojima.) We probably spent a good hour tasting the tea and talking. About what? Anything from tea, food, Japanese magazines to which cafés in San Francisco he is selling his tea for. (he also told me that he practices cello in the morning, and I am assuming that is why he named the store “Song” Tea & Ceramics.) So if and when you’re in the neighborhood, I highly recommend dropping by at Song Tea & Ceramics and saying hello to Peter. Song Tea & Ceramics 2120 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94115 MON-SAT 11 AM-6 PM Closed on SUN #SanFrancisco #Tea

Sushi is more than raw fish. In Japan, many vegetables are used for sushi. For example, Kappa Maki is a traditional seaweed out cucumber roll. The other popular roll is a Japanese pickles roll called Oshinko Maki. Umeboshi – pickled plum and Natto – fragmented soybeans are the other popular sushi items. Then there is Yellow Garlic Chives, “Kinira.” It has a very slightly sweet flavor and aroma. It takes two years to harvest Yellow Garlic Chives and it is considered a premium vegetable. #Fish #Sushi #JapaneseFood

Shishamo ししゃも It’s a rather small fish – about 15cm (6inches) in length, silver. Only caught on the Pacific Ocean side of Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. Normally, Shishamo is grilled or fried. In Hokkaido, local Sshishamo fishing is allowed only during October – November. During this time, it is served as sushi or sashimi because of its freshness. Its taste is similar to Hirame/Halibut and a lot sweeter has almost no “fishy” smell. It goes well with soy sauce, however, eating with just a pinch of salt brings out the most flavor, according to many sushi chefs in Hokkaido. #Fish #Sushi #Ingredients

Shiro Ebi means white shrimp is only found in Toyama Japan. It’s about 6-7cm (2-2.5inches) in length, living deep-sea about 100-600meters. It has a slightly pink color when arrives and becomes white after it dies. Because it must be very fresh for raw consumption such as sushi until recently, it was only served at local sushi restaurants in the Toyama region. As such, many Japanese are unfamiliar with Shiro Ebi Sushi. It has a very sweet flavor like sweet shrimp. Because of it’s beautiful color, it is often referred to as the Jewel of Toyama. I have a chance to try this shrimp when I visited Toyama during summer, and it was just fantastic! #Fish #Ingredients #JapaneseFood

Thank you so much everyone for attending Saturday's class! #SushiClasses #Recipes

Thank you so much for attending Saturday's class.
 If you enjoyed the class, please leave your review here to let others know how much funds you had. (we are going to have a class in Peninsula starting in August) Domo Arigato!! TOOLS Makisu (Rolling Mat) A bamboo rolling mat to make rolls. Available both online, in Asian Stores, and in Kitchen Stores including Sur La Table and William Sonoma. Daiso is a great place to buy them at a great price ($1.50) If you buy a large one (27cmx27xm), it will fit perfectly into the one-gallon Ziploc bag. Rice Cooker If you’ve always used a pot to cook rice, I highly recommend using a rice cooker. Why? Because it’s so nonchalant! You put rice and hit the switch. After thirty minutes, your rice would be ready. So which brand should you buy? If you want the best, I recommend Zojirushi or Tiger, which are both Japanese make. There are many other brands including Aroma ($30) Hangiri/Handai (Rice Mixing Tub) You need to mix rice with sushi vinegar to make sushi rice. They are available at Soko Hardware in San Francisco Japan Town, Tokyo Fish Market, Marukai, and Mitsuwa. You can also purchase one online here. Made in China is less expensive than Made in Japan. If you want superior quality, go for made in Japan. Knife (Yanagiba) The Knife I use in the class is Miyabi Birchwood Slicer. INGREDIENTS Rice Most Japanese rice is Short Grain (some Medium Gran) Rice. We use Lundburg Organic Sushi Rice. It’s labeled as Sushi Rice and what it is Shor Grain. Available at Whole Foods and most natural stores. Rice Vinegar We use Marukan Organic Sushi Vinegar. It so happens that Marukan uses Lundberg Organic Rice, so naturally, it goes well with our rice. Fish All of our fish are sustainable. Our fish supplier is Monterey Fish Market, Pier 33 in San Francisco. They email us a price list with where and how the fish is caught, so only order sustainable fish according to Seafood Watch Guide by Monterey Bay Aquarium. The founder of Monterey Fish Market, Paul Johnson has helped to create the guide. Nori/Seaweed Nijiya Brand Nori is a good one to use. Wakame Seaweed (Dry) They are available in the Japanese Market and many Asian Market also. Hydrate in water for 30 minutes, then season with sesame oil and soy sauce. RECIPES AND GLOSSARY Cucumber Seaweed Salad (serves 4) Ingredients: Persian Cucumber 3 Seaweed Mix or dry wakame (soak in water for 15 minutes) Instructions: Thin slice (1/16") cucumbers, put into a bowl In a bowl, sprinkle ½ TBSP salt, gently rub, and let it sit for 15 minutes Squeeze cucumber, drain water the plate Add seaweed and serve Sushi Rice Use "Short" grain rice or rice labeled as "Sushi" Rice such as Lundberg Farm Rice. To cook rice, wash the rice in the water a couple of times. Drain water put it in a rice cooker, then add water - the rice: water ratio is 1:1.1. (I used "Lundberg" Organic Sushi Rice - available at Whole Foods Market) Let it sit for at least fifteen minutes in summer and up to thirty minutes in winter before cooking rice. This helps the rice cook better and brings out sweetness from the rice (the flavor of the rice is in the core). Using mineral water or filtered water dramatically increases the taste of rice (which is what I do). Key Points: 1. Use mineral water to wash the rice 2. Let rice sit in water for 15-30 minutes before cooking 3. Use organic ingredients Ingredients: 3 cups Organic Short Grain Rice Sushi Vinaigrette: Ratio - Rice Vinegar:Sugar: Salt=5:3:1. For example, 5 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of salt. 1 1/4 cup Marukan Organic Rice Vinegar (Available at Whole Foods Market or Natural Grocery Store) 3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar 1/4 Sea Salt Instructions: In a bowl, put rice and pour mineral water to soak all the rice. Quickly drain water. Repeat one more time. ( you can use tap water for the second time, but for the first rinse, use mineral water) Pick up a handful of rice and rub it gently with your hands. Do so with entire rice. Pour water (tap is OK) all the way so that all rice is underwater. Stir the rice with your hands gently, then drain the water. Repeat step 2&3 one more time Put washed rice in a rice cooker, add 3.3 cups of water and let it sit for 30minutes. This will bring out the sweetness and more flavor of the rice. (If you are using a pot, place rice in a pot and add water.) To mix sushi vinaigrette, add rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Mix until sugar and salt are dissolved. (you can heat the mixture over low heat if sugar and salt do not dissolve at room temperature.) Cook rice. Make sure to let the rice cooker sit for at least 15 minutes after the "cooking" light is off. (If you are using a pot, medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until all the water evaporates. Turn off the heat, let it sit for 10-15 minutes for steaming. Important: never open the lid, as this will release the steam and pressure inside the pot necessary to cook the rice.) 3 cups of uncooked rice should make about 8-9 cups of cooked rice. In a "handai" (sushi rice mixing wooden bowl) or a stainless bowl, put cooked rice. Using a wooden rice spatula, pour sushi vinegar over it and distribute it evenly to the rice. Mix rice with sushi vinegar in a slicing motion to keep each grain of rice intact. Avoid smashing, putting too much pressure, and mixing too much. We use about 1/3~1/4 cups of sushi vinegar to 4 cups of cooked rice. Let it cook until the rice is about the same temperature as the palm of your hand. Turn the rice over to let the other side cool to the same temperature. California Roll Ingredients: Sushi Rice 3 cups Nori Seaweed 6 half sheets Crab Meat (Chicken of the sea premium crab meat) Mayo 3tbl. Lemon Juice 2tbl. Soy 1tbl. Black Pepper to taste European Cucumber 1 Avocado 2 Sesame seeds as desired To make crab mix: In a bowl, mix crab meat, mayo, lemon juice, soy sauce, and black pepper to make crab mix. It is like making tuna salad if you will. Cut European cucumber into thin strings Slice avocado thin Instructions: Place nori, shiny side down Wet your hands with water Grab tennis ball size sushi rice Cover the entire nori surface with rice (place rice on the top left corner, cover the top half first, then the bottom) Sprinkle sesame seeds Flip it over so that rice is facing up, nori side down Place crab mix just a hair below the centerline, followed by cucumber and avocado Roll from the bottom up, use bamboo matt to seal, cut into 6 or 8 pieces Rainbow Roll Instructions are the same as California Roll. Just place your choice of fish and vegetable on top of a roll. BONUS RECIPE Sake Mojito Ingredients: • Momokawa Organic Jynmai Ginjo Sake 3oz. (available at Whole Foods or BevMo.)
 • Agave nectar 1oz.
 • Lime Juice 1oz.
 • Sparkling Water 3oz.
 • Shiso leaf 1
 • Mint leaf 2
 • Ice Instructions: In a shaker, muddle shiso and mint leaf with Agave nectar and lime juice
. (Alternatively, you can mix in a glass pitcher.) Add sake and ice and shake it well. Strain into a glass filled with ice followed by sparkling water. Garnish with a mint leaf WHERE TO GET SUSHI-GRADE FISH AND OTHER INGREDIENTS Your best bet in finding so-called sushi-grade fresh fish is to ask your fish seller if it's suitable for raw consumption. It takes years to acquire the skill to be able to tell if you can eat a fish just by looking at it. Generally speaking, you need to look for a firm, shiny skin tone. Monterey Fish Market 1582 Hopkins St. Berkeley, CA 94707 Excellent sushi-grade fish all caught in a sustainable way. We get fish from their wholesale on Pier 33. They cater to Chez Panisse. Tokyo Fish Market 1220 San Pablo Ave
B Berkeley, CA 94706 510.524.7243 Probably the best retail Japanese market to get sushi-grade fish and all the ingredients you need to make sushi Marukai 19750 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014 Good prices fresh sashimi-grade fish are available. Here is a blog post about Marukai. Mitsuwa Market Place 675 Saratoga Ave,
 San Jose, CA 95129 408.255.6699 The biggest Japanese Grocery Store in the US

. Nijiya Market Several Locations in Bay Area
 including San Francisco, San Mateo, and San Jose If you are cooking Japanese food, this would be the market to go
. Suzuki Supermarket 71 E 4th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401 Offers much popular sashimi and sushi fish such as tuna, salmon, yellowtail in prepackaged blocks as well as sashimi platters. Sushi Restaurant Recommendations: (in alphabetical order) Akiko's Sushi Restaurant 431 Bush St, San Francisco, CA 94108 Saru Sushi Bar 856 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94114 WAKO (Traditional Japanese Cuisine) 211 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94118 #Recipes #SushiClasses

Fantastic job, everyone!! #Recipes #SushiClasses