I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by a team from CNN on sustainability issues in the sushi industry. I explained what I call the “four S rule” – a simple, if somewhat crude, guide to eating in a more sustainable fashion at the sushi bar. As I discuss in the video, there are four…
California sushi roll is a very common and popular type of sushi, or more specifically, maki sushi. It’s also known as “Western” or “American-style” sushi recipe. This means that it is not made with traditional Japanese ingredients, such as rice flavored with sweetened vinegar and fish seasoned with wasabi and soy sauce. This California roll…
Source: Wild Mercury Risk: Low One of the most easily identifiable items at the sushi bar is the dimpled purple and white tako. Tako is prepared octopus sushi, usually of the species Octopus vulgaris (madako in Japanese). Unlike many fish that are offered raw, octopus is cooked and brined before it is served as sushi. Japan has a large octopus preparation industry….
Source: Wild, Farmed Mercury Risk: Low Gindara, in English: sablefish, black cod, or butterfish, is caught along the North American coast from the Bering Sea to Baja California. Most of this fish catch has historically ended up in Tokyo sushi restaurants, where the delicate white flesh of the sablefish is prized for its flavor and texture. What is…
Source: Farmed, Wild Mercury Risk: Low Shrimp is the most popular seafood item in the United States. Over the past two decades, it has transformed from a relatively expensive delicacy into a staple of the American diet. Shrimp has recently surpassed such long-standing fish icons as salmon and canned tuna in popularity, and it is now…
Source: Farmed, Wild Mercury Risk: Low The abalone is a slow-moving, algae-munching snail with the unfortunate quality of being absolutely delicious. Many abalone stocks are threatened or endangered, and as such, wild abalone must be avoided at the sushi bar. As a matter of fact, an American sushi chef serving awabi sushi, or wild abalone, is…
Source: Wild Mercury Risk: Low Although not overly common in the United States, monkfish—and more often, monkfish liver (ankimo)—is certainly available in many upscale sushi establishments. Monkfish liver is similar to a fine pâté in texture and is often smoked or steamed and served with scallions, daikon radish, and red-pepper sauce (momiji oroshi). Monkfish is also…
Source: Wild, some farmed Mercury Risk: Low There are two types of eel that one might encounter at a U.S. sushi bar. The first, unagi, is the more common option and is discussed in the entry on freshwater eel. The other, anago, is less common, but recognition among American sushi patrons is growing. What is Anago (Conger Eel)?…
Source: Farmed, some wild Mercury Risk: Low Not a traditional sushi fish, the stocky humpbacked barramundi is a transplant from the coasts of Australia and the tropical straits of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is quite rare to find barramundi on North American sushi menus, but if it is raised responsibly, farmed barramundi can be one…
Source: Wild Mercury Risk: High Call it escolar, butterfish, walu, super white tuna, aburasokomutsu, or whatever you’d like – by any name, this medium-sized ocean fish poses a confounding set of challenges and is problematic at best. In fact, the commercial sale of escolar is banned in Japan and Italy. There’s a good reason for that. Why is…