Oysters, Sushi and Sashimi

[MaineWriter]

Hmm, I think the littlenecks are littler than the cherrystones.  I don't like them raw; rather, I like them barely cooked.  I put them on the grill, put the top down, sixty seconds later, they pop open.  Dip them in melted butter with finely chopped garlic and parsley.  Yum.

That sounds like a recipe worth trying. They are a pain to open when raw, I will admit!

L

[David In Indy]

I'm getting more and more curious and curiouser as we speak. Intrigued actually.

Maybe once we can get past the idea of actually eating raw fish, it might be pretty good.

[David In Indy]

Oh, I LOVE raw oysters! They're yummy. I have them every time I go down to New Orleans to visit relatives. If you dabble a little hot sauce on them they are quite tasty.

[Shasta542]

Oh, I LOVE raw oysters! They're yummy. I have them every time I go down to New Orleans to visit relatives. If you dabble a little hot sauce on them they are quite tasty.

I've had those. In a restaurant sitting beside the Mississippi River. They're pretty good.

[LauraGigs]

David if you love raw oysters, you'll have NO problem with sushi!  In my experience it's much milder and less "slithery" than raw oysters.   

What's always mystified me is how much to order.  You get a little check-off list for a la carte individual pieces, and I'm like, how many should one person get:  3?  20?  100?

I'm so glad you started this thread Amanda.  I'm still relatively new at sushi and a bit mystified . . .

But I love how it makes me feel.  A nice protein fix, but light and very healthy feeling!

[MaineWriter]

David if you love raw oysters, you'll have NO problem with sushi!  In my experience it's much milder and less "slithery" than raw oysters.   

I agree!

What's always mystified me is how much to order.  You get a little check-off list for a la carte individual pieces, and I'm like, how many should one person get:  3?  20?  100?

For me, I find that 6 is the perfect number. If you are at a restaurant with different varieties (like Paul said) you can get 2, 2, and 2 for a nice taste comparison.

I'm so glad you started this thread Amanda.  I'm still relatively new at sushi and a bit mystified . . .

As I said to David, if you go with an experienced sushi-eater, you can learn alot over one meal! Another option is to go to a restaurant with a sushi bar and deliver yourself into the hands of the chef. I did that once (at a restaurant in Denver, actually) and had a great experience. I had only had a few pieces and a group of Japanese businessmen came and sat down next to me. Between them and the chef, I had a fabulous dinner and didn't feel like I was eating alone at all.

But I love how it makes me feel.  A nice protein fix, but light and very healthy feeling!

The miso soup is great, too. Health in a bowl, I call it.

L

[MaineWriter]

I'm getting more and more curious and curiouser as we speak. Intrigued actually.

Maybe once we can get past the idea of actually eating raw fish, it might be pretty good.

Don't think of it as fish, think of it as pure protein.

Start off with milder varieties of fish: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp (which you can get cooked on sushi rice). They also make an egg sushi which is good. I stay away from the eel--I think it is strong. I also don't like any smoked fish for sushi.

Most restaurants have a sushi combo plate which has a nice mix of the stuff on rice (negiri?) and the rolls (like the picture Amanda posted). They tend to include the most popular varieties so it is a pretty safe way to start venturing into the world of sushi.

That said, I still like sashimi better! LOL

L

[serious crayons]

Hey everybody, get this -- I have actually eaten sushi WITH AMANDA! Yup, when we met the first time, in Pittsburgh, she took me to a shushi place. I joked that we ate elk sushi, but of course it was just regular sushi.

So anyway, I love all the things above. With sushi, I like pretty much every kind -- the easy ones like salmon and tuna as well as the more challenging ones like eel. I love ones with roe (fish eggs).

And I also love oysters. When I lived in New Orleans I had them as often as possible. The saying with oysters is, only eat them in months with R in the name. In other words, don't eat them in May, June, July or August -- i.e., summer. I think they're more likely to make you sick in hot weather.

Here's a good oyster story. New Orleanians love shabby little hole-in-the-wall neighborhood restaurants, and most of them have really good food. There was this one place, Frankie & Johnny's, that was really popular. So one night my husband and I went there, and he ordered a dozen fried oysters. Usually we would eat them raw, but this time he got them fried. So the oysters came and when he started eating them, and at first they were good, but then he discovered that many of them were "bad." Like, too old or whatever. He took a bite of a bad one, and it was gross, and he could smell the other bad ones. Out of the 12 oysters, six were bad. So you'd think the restaurant might not charge him for his dinner, right, since they were serving poisoned food that could have easily made him sick? Nope. They gave him half off, because only half of the oysters were bad. Luckily, he didn't get sick and we never returned to Frankie & Johnny's.

However, that was the only time we ever had a problem.

For those who aren't familiar with sushi and/or oysters, a large part of the appeal of both is the sauce you dip them in. With sushi, you dip it in a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi, and top it with a little sliver of ginger. And with oysters, you dip them in a mixture of ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice and maybe a little Tabasco. So in both cases, you probably taste the sauce more than you do the fish.

[delalluvia]

And I also love oysters. When I lived in New Orleans I had them as often as possible. The saying with oysters is, only eat them in months with R in the name. In other words, don't eat them in May, June, July or August -- i.e., summer. I think they're more likely to make you sick in hot weather.

Here's a good oyster story. New Orleanians love shabby little hole-in-the-wall neighborhood restaurants, and most of them have really good food. There was this one place, Frankie & Johnny's, that was really popular. So one night my husband and I went there, and he ordered a dozen fried oysters. Usually we would eat them raw, but this time he got them fried. So the oysters came and when he started eating them, and at first they were good, but then he discovered that many of them were "bad." Like, too old or whatever. He took a bite of a bad one, and it was gross, and he could smell the other bad ones. Out of the 12 oysters, six were bad. So you'd think the restaurant might not charge him for his dinner, right, since they were serving poisoned food that could have easily made him sick? Nope. They gave him half off, because only half of the oysters were bad. Luckily, he didn't get sick and we never returned to Frankie & Johnny's.

Can't believe they're trying to pass off bad oysters.  At least they were cooked.  Fresh bad oysters - even though that look and taste fresh - can kill you if they have a certain organism in them. 

For those who aren't familiar with sushi and/or oysters, a large part of the appeal of both is the sauce you dip them in. With sushi, you dip it in a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi, and top it with a little sliver of ginger. And with oysters, you dip them in a mixture of ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice and maybe a little Tabasco. So in both cases, you probably taste the sauce more than you do the fish.

   So basically, like the comedian said, people don't really like the taste of the oyster, they really just like the taste of the sauces.

[Front-Ranger]

For those who can't get enuff of fish polls, here's the original "Who Loves Fish?"

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,2598.0/all.html

Amanda, I think it's great that you took your new friend to a fish taco place, and you took Katherine to a sushi place!! Makes me want to hop on a plane to Pittsburgh this instant!!