*Mini Post* Inspiration from a master sushi chef

Anyone else feel like this about Mondays? Jiro is referring to his whole life, now there's someone who's committed to their craft.

Landlocked Limitations

   One of the key components of sushi, in many cases, is raw fish. When consuming raw fish or serving it to others, it is very important that you make sure has been handled properly for use in sushi. Otherwise, you could be consuming parasites and other contaminants...ew. 

   As it turns out, to my...not so much surprise, but disappointment, sushi-grade fish is awfully hard to come by in this area. I checked a couple supermarkets only to find out that their fish is far from sushi-grade ("Do you carry sushi-grade salmon?" "What's that?"). With a bit of research, I learned that most of my favorite youtube sushi chefs order their fish online from reliable companies that ship their fresh fish vacuum packed in a couple days....and at a steep price. A 1 lb. fillet of sushi-grade salmon will set you back $23 plus shipping. I would like to be able to purchase this at some point, but in the meantime I'll practice using non-raw meats. Tonight, since I wasn't able to find sushi-grade fish, I threw together a simple smoked salmon roll. This week, I'll check Kim's oriental store in Vestal to see if they have anything, as they were closed today. 

   My trials this weekend have brought to light the difficulties I'm facing being a landlocked, jobless 16-year-old trying to make quality sushi. Hopefully I can raise a little dough doing chores around the house these next couple weeks and be able to purchase a fillet of salmon. 

....Am I Jiro Ono yet? 

Rice Cooker

   You know what I enjoy doing on a Sunday night? Rinsing rice, and straining rice. And rinsing it again, straining it again. And again. This step in the preparation of sushi rice is definitely tedious, but according to people who know more about rice than I do, it's important. If anyone can figure out why, let me know and I'll give you all of this rice that I just cooked and don't know what to do with.

   I recently got a rice cooker, and tonight was my first time using it. I had previously tried the stovetop method, which resulted in burnt rice, and a burnt-rice scented kitchen. The rice cooker turned out a much better product: the perfect sticky, fluffy texture for sushi rice. Now I understand why this handy dandy tool is a must-have for almost every professional sushi chef!

   This method of cooking rice will make my learning experience much easier, as properly cooked sushi rice is vital in the preparation of quality sushi. It will be especially helpful when making nigiri, a type of sushi for which shaping the rice with your hands is required. 

   As for this abundance of rice, I will probably incorporate it into a non-sushi related dish for dinner tomorrow, as I plan to work on the fundementals of sushi-making before practicing constructing it as a whole. 

   

   The mirror selfie: rice cooker edition.