Question about Sushi

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
61
Hey guys, i have several questions about sushi:

#1) Instead of using white rice, could i use brown rice or wild rice? Has anyone tried using that?
#2) I dont understand how i am suppose to purchase and store fresh raw tuna and salmon. How long can it last in the fridge?
#3) When i ate tuna and salmon sushi in sushi restaraunts, the texture of the fish was very um...jello like. It didnt really have that stinky fishy smell. How do i get that texture and get rid of that smell?
#4) When making sushi rice, i know you are suppose to use vinegar, but what else? Is their a specific type of vinegar?
#5) If anyone has any links on how to make sushi that would be great!

Thanks guys!
 
There are quite a few people on here who know alot about sushi, I am not one of them, so I can only answer some of your questions. I dont think brown or wild rice would be sticky enough to hold the sushi rolls together. As far as purchasing your fish, it should be sushi grade, meaning extremely fresh and use it right away, I wouldnt keep it more than a day if you want it as fresh as possible. Iron chef can probably help you alot with your questions.
 
See below...

Buffwannabe said:
Hey guys, i have several questions about sushi:

#1) Instead of using white rice, could i use brown rice or wild rice? Has anyone tried using that? You can, but like Amber said, it won't be as sticky. You'll have to add some sort of binder or develop the starch to use it. Brown rice will be ok because it has some level of starch but wild rice doesn't.
#2) I dont understand how i am suppose to purchase and store fresh raw tuna and salmon. How long can it last in the fridge? Well, you ask the fishmonger which is the freshest he has available and you store it tightly wrapped/covered in a sub 40 degree C fridge. If handled and stored properly, it will keep for a few days. The fish should bounce back when you press down on it. As a general rule, don't buy fish that have already been portioned out into styrofoam containers and wrapped. Try to buy the unpacked fish that they will cut and weigh for you. Generally, chained supermarkets will carry the lower grades so go to a specialty seafood vendor if you have one available.
#3) When i ate tuna and salmon sushi in sushi restaraunts, the texture of the fish was very um...jello like. It didnt really have that stinky fishy smell. How do i get that texture and get rid of that smell? By purchasing fresh fish, good quality fish.
#4) When making sushi rice, i know you are suppose to use vinegar, but what else? Is their a specific type of vinegar? You use rice vinegar. Here's a recipe by Ming Tsai which is pretty good and easy to follow:

http://www.foodtv.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_9941_PRINT-RECIPE-FULL-PAGE,00.html

#5) If anyone has any links on how to make sushi that would be great!

This website is a good starting point:

http://www.sushifaq.com/

Thanks guys!
 
Ironchef has good points, except as far as the fish is concerned.

If you plan to try & make your own sushi using raw fish, you can't just go to your local fishmarket & buy fish, unless you live in an area that regularly supplies SUSHI-QUALITY fish. It's not just a matter of freshness or how cold you maintain fish meant for sushi, but also a matter of parasites.

Fish sold as sushi quality is not only super fresh, but has been closely inspected for parasites. And in many cases, the fish is frozen at temps that will kill such parasites if they exist. Purchasing fish that is just "fresh" does NOT ensure that such fish is parasite free. This is really important when consuming raw fish.

When purchasing fish you plan to use in sushi, TELL the fishmonger that that's what you plan to do with it. They may very well discourage you from your purchase - which is a GOOD thing.

If you are really into making your own fresh raw seafood sushi, there are several on-line purveyors who guarantee the freshness of their product for raw consumption in homemade sushi. Just do a websearch for sushi ingredients. I'd purchase from them long long before I'd buy from any local purveyor here in Virginia.
 
An excerpt from this article. Also, most places (at least on the West Coast) already get the fish inspected and/or subjected to freezing temperatures to kill any parasites remaining. This is usually taken care of prior to sale. Just ask the fishmonger if you are not sure.

FISH PARASITES
by Paul Carnes, M.D.​

FISH PARASITES THAT INFECT HUMANS
AND FISH CONSUMPTION RELATED ILLNESSES

...Parasitic infections are most problematic when fish and shellfish are consumed in the raw state. This is not to say that eating either as "sashimi" isn't safe. If you do consume raw fish/shellfish make sure it's not a freshwater species. Believe it or not parasitic infections from freshwater fish/shellfish are very problematic in some parts of the world (e.g. Southeast Asia.)​

There are over 50 helminthic infections from fish/shellfish (i.e. parasites that parasitizes the human gut) that can infect humans. How do we avoid becoming a "victim". Well for most the answer is just cook your fish (however other problems may still occur-see below). However for others, especially those who love sashimi (like me!) there are a couple of precautions you can take. I will discuss these a little bit later. Luckily most parasitic infections from ocean fish are rare. Pelagic fishes, such as tuna probably have the least amount of parasitic load. This is mainly due to their wide roaming migrations. This is because tuna, who are near the top of the food chain, may consume prey that have parasites, but are not in an area long enough to ingest many prey that might have a high parasitic load. What this does is decrease the likelihood of becoming infected.
 
Last edited:
Not living on the West coast, I can't comment on how the seafood there is handled. What I can say is that you can't count on walking up to your local seafood counter & assume that you can eat anything purchased there raw & automatically assume you won't get sick.

And to be perfectly honest, unless I had an honest "relationship" with a reliable seafood purveyor (which is fairly impossible where I live in Virginia), I still wouldn't believe what they told me about the freshness of the fish. Unless I was purchasing what was authoritatively told me was "sushi quality" fish, I either wouldn't use it as such, or, if I knew the fish was extremely fresh but wasn't sure about possible parasites, I would freeze it for several days at zero degree temps before use.

Oh - & I would NEVER use any raw freshwater fish for sushi. That's a given. You're really taking your health in your hands to try it, & even diehard Japanese sushi fans will tell you that.
 
We had a sushi party here in the midwest (where there is no such thing as fresh ocean fish), and had a blast. Sorry, it has to be short grain white rice. You DO NOT need raw fish. YOU DO NEEDshort grain white rice. You can actually make sushi with scrambled egg or boiled shrimp. Crab and shrimp in sushi is usually cooked. But I cannot imagine using brown or wild rice. I haven't lived in Japan, but I did in Hawaii, and had a neighborhood sushi bar where we ate on a regular basis, and everywhere we lived we seek out sushi bars. White short grain rice (I think here in the US calrose rice is often used).
 
thanks everyone

thanks everyone for all your help and advice. all of it was extremely helpful to me. The reason why i asked if brown rice is because i am trying to make things a bit more nutritious and having more fiber content. Their might be sticky brown short grain rice somwhere, but i just have to see. I didnt realize tuna would have parasites, i just have to go to my local fish speciality store and ask them about their tuna. I am so excited about sushi. i want to eat tuna and salmons sushi everyday but i guess u can only store it for 2 days. i wonder how sushi restaurants store their fish :-/
 
I have read - but have no first-hand verification - that many sushi restaurants that are not within bounds of seafood purveyors who would deliver every couple of days keep their sushi fish in subzero freezers & thaw each day the amount they feel they'll use. Since most of these restaurants also offer various cooked seafood dishes, it wouldn't surprise me if what doesn't get used for sushi one day, ends up in the next day's pot - lol!!

Also - if you do a websearch on sushi, there are a number of seafood companies that specialize in supplying sushi-quality seafood in all the varieties you'd find in a restaurant. Most, if not all of it is in vacuum-sealed plastic pacs - whether fresh or frozen.

Once I manage to master making respectable California rolls - lol - I'll probably order some seafood from one of these sushi companies. I just don't feel comfortable purchasing fish for raw consumption anywhere around where I live.
 
ok i got a question on sushi

when i orderd plain tuna sushi (not spicy tuna) they put like this orange mayonase looking sauce in between the sushi and rice. What is that sauce?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This sauce is usually the spicy sauce - mayonnaise, chili garlic paste, chili oil (though I never seem to have any so I don't use it), and dark sesame oil. Now, there are some serious hotter sauces they use - but this one can be made weak or hotter depending on how you like it.



BUT, this should have a bit of spice to it! Maybe it was a weaker version?

Going back to your original question I have made sushi with brown rice. While it did not stick as well it was still really good - I also made a dipping sauce using a peanut sauce and soy sauce. It was really good. For the vegetarians you can use grilled tempeh as your "fish".

If you need further instructions with the spicy sauce mentioned above let me know.

Or was the orange just masago? Did the orange have a texture? ...cruncy little grains?
 
No it just kinda tasted like mayonase, it didnt taste spicy at all.
but it tasted great. im glad the brown rice worked out. However since brown rice is less sticky and not as soft as white rice, if u let it sit iin water longer will it be just as soft?
 
Usually, the only thing that would color the mayo orange and NOT be spicy would be a type of roe like KElf said. If it wasn't masago than it probably was tobiko. It could be that with all of the other textures going on you didn't detect it. Did the mayo have any tiny orange specks in it? I can't think of anything else used in a sushi restaurant that would color the mayo orange.
 
Last edited:
Another way of enjoying "sushi" is the "country style"--I'm not going to get the spelling right probably but it is chirasco. The rice and fish are put in a bowl. Can be topped with nori strips. Still delicious.
 
You'll enjoy it. It's fun to make and easy too.

There are lots of options, you don't have to use raw fish. You can use vegetables, crabmeat, etc.
 
i know but i want to use mostly salmon and tuna. Ok so i was thinking...i want to make sushi every day. im trying to eat 5 meals a day of good quality protien and complex carbs. I figured tuna/salmon and brown rice fit perfectly.
i need about 30 grams of protien each meal. soo...how many pounds of tuna and salmon should i get?
 
Buffwannabe said:
No it just kinda tasted like mayonase, it didnt taste spicy at all.
but it tasted great. im glad the brown rice worked out. However since brown rice is less sticky and not as soft as white rice, if u let it sit iin water longer will it be just as soft?

The orange probably came from a roe - either masago or tobiko.

About the brown rice - I don't think it will become stickier - just ickier :LOL: Seriously, you may need to add a bit more water, that might help. Let it cook longer versus "sit in water longer" - unless that's what you meant. That phrase just makes me think of soggy.

I had to squeeze and press the dickens out of it on the nori, but it worked ok. You have to have a VERY sharp knife so the rice won't want to fall off.

Gretchen - I have done the bowl before - I thought I was just being lazy, now I know it has a name! :mrgreen:
 
thanks for letting me know kitchenelf. i greatly appreciate since i dont know sh*t about sushi.

what do you recommend on my previous post:
know but i want to use mostly salmon and tuna. Ok so i was thinking...i want to make sushi every day. im trying to eat 5 meals a day of good quality protien and complex carbs. I figured tuna/salmon and brown rice fit perfectly.
i need about 30 grams of protien each meal. soo...how many pounds of tuna and salmon should i get?
 
Back
Top Bottom