Monday TeaDay 3/8/10 Sushi/Sashimi with your tea?

[Chip]

Yesterday we discussed TeaGenerations. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

WELCOME one and all to TeaDay, brew lots of tea and come share what is in your cup today, all day! Be sure to check out what fellow TeaChatters are drinking as well. If you need to, you can reflect back on your TeaDay.

After our food discussion the other day, I began to wonder about one type, Sushi, well two, and Sashimi! I wonder how many TeaChatters enjoyed Sushi and/or Sashimi.

Please remember, Sushi can be completely vegetarian or include seafood...well, the variety is actually endless. The common components are rice and nori. So, who wants sushi ... and with or without tea? Sashimi on the other hand is raw fish.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone on TeaDay. Bottoms up...refill...repeat.

[Ebtoulson]

I like most sushi, if it is fresh. The only sashimi I've ever had was salmon, which I did not care for.

I normally drink water with my sushi because the restaurant I order sushi from, only serves canned tea while not terrible it is no comparison to just brewed.

Just tried to make my own hojicha from some old sencha I found...didnt turn out well. Had to much of a char taste, probably try again tomorrow.

[debunix]

I do enjoy sushi and sashimi occasionally, and have had some that was really delicious, but between worries about sustainable fisheries, and difficulty eating enough to feel comfortably full, I don't ever really seek it out.

But when I do, I like it with hot tea. But then, I like hot tea with a lot of different meals.

Sunday's Tea Day started with sencha, moved on to dragonwell, was sustained with a purple bud puerh and capped with some ya bao and mao feng mixed together.

[Chip]

Just tried to make my own hojicha from some old sencha I found...didnt turn out well. Had to much of a char taste, probably try again tomorrow.

Great, don't give up. Fun stuff! What was your method?

When you roast sencha to make houjicha, you need to keep it moving and remove it from the heat and pan before you think it is done or it will likely get too roasted.

And find a place that brews tea fresh for you when you eat sushi ... changes everything!

[LazyKat]

Maybe sushi, not sashimi. I just don't like fish
Don't know if I'd drink tea with it. But if I did it would at least be a black tea first, 'cause I just generally prefer black teas.

Cream (flavoured, not actually cream) and Irish Breakfast in the mug.

[Trioxin]

Long time no see teachat. I love sushi and sashimi, and have gotten really good and making it. The new Moritaka knives have really helped with the preparations. Well worth the price. Usually I drink a lighter oolong with sushi, I think last time it was a Lishan.

[omegapd]

I didn't even know what sashimi was until I read Chip's post...

Guess that answers the question on how much I like to eat it.

Vietnam BP1 in my cup this morning. A nice, mild, sweet, black CTC tea that favors a typical China Black to my tastebuds. No complaints but not interesting enough to drink often.

[Victoria]

I will politely say no thanks - I don't care for either. I usually don't eat with tea anyway. Except for breakfast.

[brad4419]

Hey Trioxin glad to see you back!

I love sushi. Even though If I haven't eaten any in a long time then it will make me a bit queezi the first time I eat it again but its totally worth it. For the sashimi, I think I have had it but am not sure Maybe it was just sushi with fish in it.

I decided to take a break from wuyi today, so Im having some green Bao Zhong this morning from Rishi.

[Chip]

More wasabi, please!

I really love sushi, made fresh, not a prepackaged prep sitting on a store shelf (which scares me anyway if it contains raw fish). And the more skillful the sushi chef ... well, just really love it. Usually the sushi I like includes fish, but not always ... and usually raw, but not always. I love the coming together of flavors and textures of the fish, nori, rice, veggies, spice, etc. Add a little wasabi and soy sauce ... and yummm

Sashimi, I enjoy as well, just not as much as sushi. With sashimi, the fish stands alone, so it is usually pretty mild and "pure."

The sushi bar Mrs. Chip and I frequent is very friendly, super clean, transparent (gives confidence in the product), and great servers. When we walk in and sit, a fresh pot of genmaicha in a tetsubin is brought to the table w/in seconds by Yao, a young Chinese man who likes tea and tea discussion. The genmaicha pairs very well with the food and includes free refills since we are regulars ... well worth the $2.

As much as I love to cook, and love Asian cuisine, it is surprising I have never made sushi, I must learn how!!!

[Mrs. Chip]

More wasabi, please!
Sashimi, I enjoy as well, just not as much as sushi. With sashimi, the fish stands alone, so it is usually pretty mild and "pure."

I like both, but LOVE sashimi! (But then again, I love steak tartare and could easily eat a raw hamburger if I felt it was safe to do so. )

We normally will choose a sashimi dish and then a chef's choice of 3 sushi rolls. As stated by Chip, since we are regulars everyone knows our likes and dislikes and the sushi chefs are remarkably astute and know exactly what Chip will like in the rolls!

Interesting organic green from Hankook this morning, not an everyday tea, but enjoyable ... just not the Japanese greens I prefer.

I hope everyone gets to enjoy lots of tea today!

[geeber1]

I like both, but LOVE sashimi! (But then again, I love steak tartare and could easily eat a raw hamburger if I felt it was safe to do so. )

This is kinda gross, but when I was little, we used to sneak bits of raw meat loaf or stuffed cabbage mixture when my mom was making it. We never got sick from it but maybe our meat was cleaner then?

I just say no to both Sushi and Sashimi - just don't like the taste.

A spicy Yunnan from Puerhshop was in my cup this morning.

[JBaymore]

One thought here....... keep in mind that sushi actually refers to the vinegared rice ..... not to the raw fish and other seafood that CAN be added to it. There are many types of sushi that involve vegetables and other cooked foodstuffs. The original sushi was more of a rather wet vinegared rice porridge with other bits of stuff mixed in. It was developed as a way of preserving foods.... sort of like making pickles. (I had the pleasure of being introduced to that form of sushi this past summer in Japan at a izakaya that specialized in that old format.

In the USA the nigiri form of sushi is the most familiar; a little ball of vinegared rice with a topping placed on it and maybe a dash of wasabi and/or other garnish. The topping most tend to think of here is a slice of raw fish or maybe cooked egg omlette or a cooked shrimp. Maybe second to that is the maki form: a roll surrounded usually with a thin sheet of nori (seaweed) and rice and a filling, often strips of raw fish.

That being said..........

I love sushi and sashimi of just about all types. And good green tea is a "must" at a Japanese restaraunt. But also along with that green tea........ Nihonshu (sake) is an important part of the sushi/ sashimi "ritual".

Here in this part of the USA I have found that good sushi is only to be had from restaraunts that serve a good selection of different types of Nihonshu as well as a GOOD cup of green tea. (If they serve "canned tea"......... I'd look for a different place to eat. Not because of the canned tea.... but because of the potential for the quality of the sushi/sashimi. )

I also have to say that the best sushi / sashimi I have had here in the USA generally does not stand up to the general level of food in Japan.

God, do I miss izakaya (small bar / eating establishments) here in the USA!! Chip... you are making me hungry.

best,

.................john

PS: Chip I make sushi frequently. I'm a hack....... but it "works" . Lucky to have a Japanese market place that has fresh fish of the qulaity and appropriate storage for sushi/sashimi nearby. I have a great sushi rice dressing recipe. If you want it, PM me.

[Mrs. Chip]

One thought here....... keep in mind that sushi actually refers to the vinegared rice ..... not to the raw fish and other seafood that CAN be added to it.

Maybe second to that is the maki form: a roll surrounded usually with a thin sheet of nori (seaweed) and rice and a filling, often strips of raw fish.

Good point john! The maki form is the one 'our' sushi bar serves. I don't honestly recall ever seeing the nigiri form.

And yes Chip, PM him!

Currently in my cup Hydrangea leaf tea from Hankook, wow is it ever sweet ... the 'natural sugar' flavor is unbelievable. I really do not care for sweetened drinks, however this is quite refreshing.

[brian]

I've been vegetarian for about 8 years now, so sushi is constrained to whatever can be done with veggies. We have a local Japanese restaurant that actually has a (small) separate section on their sushi menu for veggie rolls, so I do still get to enjoy sushi, just not the variety that I did years ago. For beverage, it all works for me, so I just go with whatever I'm in the mood for -- water, beer, sake (nigori sake, yummm), tea. They do a good green tea, I don't know the specifics but it's always had good flavor, not bitter, seems nice and freshly brewed.

Starting the day with Fukamushi Maki from Den's. Time for another cup!