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?