sushi and "The Zen of Fish"

[Icantread]

Have any of you read this book, "The Zen of Fish", by Trevor Corson? It poses as a real life look into the world of sushi, at least from an American standpoint (99% of it takes place in the California Sushi academy), and slowly unravels information on the history, culture and biology around sushi and the sea life involved. I thought it made for a very interesting read, though I'm not particularly versed in sushi background and was looking to see other chowish opinions on it, as well as other recommendations.

[E Eto]

I think I would have been more interested in the book more if it was just about the history and economics of sushi. But that doesn't make for a good read unless you're really interested in the subject. The stories of the people (students/instructors) at the California Sushi Academy grew to be more interesting, especially in the context of the demand of sushi dining across the world and what "sushi" has come to mean especially in the US. It was implied in the book, and understandably, Mr. Corson deosn't delve further into the subject of the impending crisis of the world's fish supplies as a result of the growing popularity of sushi worldwide. For this subject, I would recommend reading Sasha Issenberg's book, The Sushi Economy. Mr. Corson does discuss the dangers of eating only the fish that are the highest in the ocean's food chain (e.g., salmon, tuna) and it only reinforces my refrain from eating so much sushi outside of Japan. I always wondered if people who are concerned with slow food or the carbon footprint of dining also think that eating sushi are some of the worst violations on those fronts. I guess I'm lucky that I go to Japan on a semi-regular basis and I can enjoy sushi/sashimi as a local food, especially outside of Tokyo, where I can eat without it straining my conscience.

Another thought I've always had was expressed by Mr. Corson in his book. I hope I don't violate any copyright rules with this small excerpt below (the full citation is included). I've always taken reviews of sushi restaurants here on CH with little more than a grain of salt, and that's because it's very possible that one's experience at a sushi restaurant will not be replicated by another diner. I've always known about the liberties taken by sushi itamaes (chefs) and it is very well illustrated below. Even at the highest calibur of restaurants (as in Sukiyabashi Jiro, one of Tokyo's top sushi destinations, whose chef is referred to below).

Corson, Trevor, _The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket_, Harper Collins: New York, NY, 2007. p. 272

"You also need to be able to adjust your nigiri, depending on the customer adn the situation," Tetsu [an instructor at the California Sushi Academy and sushi chef] went on. The sushi chef's job waasn't simply to make sushi. A good sushi chef had to make snap judgments about every customer who sat at his sushi bar.

"Maybe they want a quick lunch," Tetsu said. "If so, you make them nice, fat nigiri with more rice. If they're here for a leisurely dinner, you only want to put a slim little pack of rice under each piece of fish—and even less if they're drinking sake. You learn to tell by watching their faces if they've come to drink or to eat.

"And, of course, for a man, you usually make the nigiri a little bigger, and for a woman, a little smaller. But it's different in every case. Look, if a big, fat guy sits down at the sushi bar, you figure he likes carbohydrates, right? So you make his nigiri with more rice. But you also have to figure out what kind of mood they're in, and what's their purpose in coming to the sushi bar that day."

Tetsu chuckled. "With American customers, it's different. You've got to judge how much experience they have eating sushi. A lot of Americans dip the rice side of their nigiri in the soy sauce instead of the fish side. Well, of course, in that case a properly made nigiri will just fall apart. So you have to squeeze the nigiri together much more firmly for them. But if you do that to Japanese people, they're going to tell you your sushi sucks—it's too hard and doesn't melt in your mouth."

This was a practice that the venerable sushi chef in Japan, Jiro Ono, followed when he encountered a Western customer. "For foreigners, I make the sushi so hard that Japanese customers would refuse to eat it," Ono once told an interviewer. It's likely that many American sushi enthusiasts have never experienced a proper nigiri. ...