 Uni from Japan, aji...
We visited our favorite sushi bar Sunday night and ordered a couple of the
special sushi items. First was uni, which had some sort of notation scribbled
beside it in Japanese. We've never ordered it at this particular sushi bar,
having previously been disappointed at other local places. But we thought
we'd give it a chance. The sushi chef explained that this was uni imported
from Japan, so it wouldn't be like usual. And it wasn't. The sacs seemed
smaller, firmer, creamier and sweeter than what I'd had previously at a sushi
bar in San Francisco. Very good! But the price ($7.50 for two pieces of
gunkan maki, ouch) will keep us from ordering it very often. Perhaps we'll
try the regular uni another time, too. I'm ordinarily very wary of asking
for it, but this place does get a lot of regular Japanese clientele.
Aji was offered as a special too, and we'd never had it. Wow, I can see what
the fuss is about now. We got to watch him filet and slice the small fish,
tweezing out the bones. He served it with a dab of fresh grated ginger and
minced scallion, and it was fantastic. I guess I sort of expected it to be
like regular mackerel, but it wasn't marinated in vinegar (obviously) and had
a nice creamy texture to it. I'd love to have it again.
While we ate and watched, the itamae prepared another horse mackerel for a
large party of Japanese businessmen. The fileting process left a translucent
layer of flesh surrounding the spine and bones, so he stuck a skewer through
the tail and eye, curving the fish up to look like a sailboat--or like it was
still alive. He cut one of the flippers so it stuck out. The aji filet was
chopped and mixed with more grated ginger and scallions, then chopped some
more and formed into a neat little "cake" using just his hand and a pair of
chopsticks. It was nestled in the curve of the fish, with a slice of lemon
cut and shaped to look like an ocean wave. Nice!
Oh, and our appetizer (while not sushi) was very good, too. We ordered
santen-mori, a chef's choice of three appetizers. I have no idea where he
gets the ideas for them, he just seems to make it up, and we haven't had the
same thing twice yet. This time, the trio was:
1) Something he said was Japanese rhubarb? Think swiss chard. It was braised
in dashi, then sprinkled with bonito flakes and served cold. Surprisingly
good, and I'm not usually that big on swiss chard.
2) Two spears of asparagus, wrapped in a thin slice of fish and tempura
fried. Simple, but perfectly executed.
3) A tiny quail, marinated in miso and grilled, then cut into quarters.
Imagine balancing a tiny drumstick in your chopsticks... :)
Ariane
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