Questions about Sushi

[gadget]

So my lady and I have been on a bit of a sushi kick lately.
I believe I saw a few people talking about it here so I figured I would put some of our questions up.

We have thought about making our own and bought a “cook book”.
I am not sure I feel comfortable buying fish from Market Basket and eating it without cooking it first.

Where is the right place to purchase ingredients?

I have made sushi rice by boiling but have also heard that steaming is better.
Is there a big difference? Should I invest in a steamer?

When you are at a restaurant that serves sushi should you leave an additional tip in the jar that the chef has up at the bar or is leaving a good tip with the bill enough?

What about places like Great Buffet?
If there is a Sushi Bar in a buffet should I leave a tip in the jar or with the bill?

Where are some of the best places around Southern NH for sushi?

Do you have any suggestions on what to order?

Are there etiquette that should be followed or things that people do all the time that are rude?

Any advice that you have is welcome.

[eboos]

I haven't tried making my own sushi yet and, like you, I am a little concerned about the fish at the grosery store.

I've always tipped the server, didn't think otherwise.

Good Eats had a good sushi episode, you should be able to find it on Food Network .com

For etiquette, one piece is one bite. The ginger isn't a condiment, it is to clean the pallet after.

[DucDave]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

The actual process for handling sushi grade fish is pretty complicated but I'm not sure how much effect that would have? I think the salmon and tuna at a grocery store would work fine. I love sushi but I mostly love having it prepared for me!

We ought to get together at Dynomite sometime ... soon!

[R1]

So my lady and I have been on a bit of a sushi kick lately.
I believe I saw a few people talking about it here so I figured I would put some of our questions up.

We have thought about making our own and bought a “cook book”.
I am not sure I feel comfortable buying fish from Market Basket and eating it without cooking it first.

Where is the right place to purchase ingredients?

I have made sushi rice by boiling but have also heard that steaming is better.
Is there a big difference? Should I invest in a steamer?

When you are at a restaurant that serves sushi should you leave an additional tip in the jar that the chef has up at the bar or is leaving a good tip with the bill enough?

What about places like Great Buffet?
If there is a Sushi Bar in a buffet should I leave a tip in the jar or with the bill?

Where are some of the best places around Southern NH for sushi?

Do you have any suggestions on what to order?

Are there etiquette that should be followed or things that people do all the time that are rude?

Any advice that you have is welcome.

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

The actual process for handling sushi grade fish is pretty complicated but I'm not sure how much effect that would have? I think the salmon and tuna at a grocery store would work fine. I love sushi but I mostly love having it prepared for me!

We ought to get together at Dynomite sometime ... soon!

Dynamite sushi is great. their sushi is some of the best i have ever had. try etsogo in lowell. sushi is a little better than dynamite and they make this mango sashimi salad that is better than anything dynamite has. seriously.

my parents swear by this korean place in nashua. Ill get the name.

making your own sushi is not difficult, but sushi grade is required as well as an extremely sharp knife. bad cuts can effect the flavor of the fish in the worst way.

a good fish market will sell the stuff, but in S. NH there is Mckinnons in salem that i believe carries sushi grade fish....

Alicia and I are down for a sushi night sometime soon.....

[TheIglu]

I've made my own, just tuna though. Most high volume specialty fish markets will have sushi grade tuna once a week.

Sushi rice needs to dry out and cool. Can't just cook and wrap. Make it that morning or the day before. I spread mine out on a large cutting board after cooking.

Best sushi I've had is at BaBa in Worcester. I think Ray-Ray bartends there, or so his profile leads me to believe.

The art of sushi relies on a strong foundation: the rice. Perfect that before dropping any coin on expensive high quality tuna. Make a few batches until you nailed it.

[TheIglu]

If any of you newbies want to meet up at BaBa one night, I'll give you an fooducation you won't soon forget.

[Ray-Ray]

I have worked with sushi a lot and it can get quite complicated as far as food handleing storage and quality... The last thing you want to do is contaminate or make yourself sick.


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Where is the right place to purchase ingredients? Yes. Go to a local fish market that specializes in only fish. Places like Market Basket, Shaws and Stop and Shop are klind of the end of the line as far as getting quality.

I have made sushi rice by boiling but have also heard that steaming is better.
Is there a big difference? Should I invest in a steamer? Steaming is much better and more"proper". A litle advice with prepping the rice: cold wash it and "knead: or "scrunch" it and rinse until the water runs clear. then fill a bowl with the rice and cover it with water and let soak for 20-30 mins.It will turn whiterWhen you are at a restaurant that serves sushi should you leave an additional tip in the jar that the chef has up at the bar or is leaving a good tip with the bill enough? Leave a tip at the bar. Bc sushi chefs are paid by hourly+tips wth a low hourly. The tip you leave the server: they only get a small % of that.

What about places like Great Buffet?
If there is a Sushi Bar in a buffet should I leave a tip in the jar or with the bill? Yes

Where are some of the best places around Southern NH for sushi? I've been to YUki in Manch. they are pretty great and so is aloe garden in goffstown. if you EVER make it Worcester, stop by BaBa Sushi on Park ave. We have won Best chef in Worcetser 5 times. BEST sushi around!

Do you have any suggestions on what to order?Volcano maki and tiger eyes are pretty much a staple in every sushi place. delicious

Are there etiquette that should be followed or things that people do all the time that are rude? Dont rub the chop sticks, dont snap your fingers, and be patient. Sushi is hand made to order, and if they get busy it may take a while to get your food. sometimes 45 mins.

Any advice that you have is welcome.
Anything you want to know, ask

[Ray-Ray]

If any of you newbies want to meet up at BaBa one night, I'll give you an fooducation you won't soon forget.

Doubtful bc I work there Anytime you want to meet man let me know!!

[gadget]

Thank you for all the great information.


I don't want to sound cheap.
I normally tip 20%.
I will tip higher than that when the service and food is above expectation.

It is difficult for me to understand what the breakdown is.

I always suspected that all the tips are "pooled" and then split up between all of the employees.

Ray, you mentioned that the Sushi Chef does get some of the tip left with the bill. Why is it thought proper that once a person leaves a tip that is 15-20% of the bill that they should then leave another tip at the Chef's jar?

How do you calculate the correct amount that should be left for the chef?

Should I lower the percentage of the tip left with the bill (i.e. 10% to the server and 10% to the Chef)?

Having multiple tip points confuses and frustrates me since it seems that it is just a way to "fleece" the customer but I do not want to offend the Chef.

Like I said, I am not cheap and do not want people to think that but I do not like being taken advantage of.

[gadget]

Doubtful bc I work there Anytime you want to meet man let me know!!

He did mention this earlier in his posts, btw.

....Best sushi I've had is at BaBa in Worcester. I think Ray-Ray bartends there...

[eboos]

If any of you newbies want to meet up at BaBa one night, I'll give you an fooducation you won't soon forget.

I'm game. Let me know when you are free.

["Dangerous" Dan K]

The Meat House locations throughout NH have really good sushi grade tuna. On The Vine in Exeter, NH comes to mind, but any Meat House location should have it. Great stuff!

[Ray-Ray]

Thank you for all the great information.


I don't want to sound cheap.
I normally tip 20%.
I will tip higher than that when the service and food is above expectation.

It is difficult for me to understand what the breakdown is.

I always suspected that all the tips are "pooled" and then split up between all of the employees.

Ray, you mentioned that the Sushi Chef does get some of the tip left with the bill. Why is it thought proper that once a person leaves a tip that is 15-20% of the bill that they should then leave another tip at the Chef's jar?

How do you calculate the correct amount that should be left for the chef?

Should I lower the percentage of the tip left with the bill (i.e. 10% to the server and 10% to the Chef)?

Having multiple tip points confuses and frustrates me since it seems that it is just a way to "fleece" the customer but I do not want to offend the Chef.

Like I said, I am not cheap and do not want people to think that but I do not like being taken advantage of.

Sushi Rest. are diff everywhere.... Baba uses a pool system, 15% of total tips goes to the sushi bar, therefore patrons dont tip the sushi bar. But some places, if you actually sit AT the sushi bar, then you would treat it like you would any bartender, they are the ones helping you and getting your drinks orders and such. Some places just ad a tip jar if you wanf to ad more tips specifially for them so that no precentages get taken out by anyone else like the house or bartenders.

[xrocket21]

dont rub your chopsticks? I always do that, it smooths them out and gets the splinters off

[rice_rocket]

A few things to add if you're off to make your own sushi:

Supplies.. unfortunately not a good place to find any other than whole foods (at least you get "kinda close"). Chinatown in Boston .. or a real chinese store in Quincy/dorchester. Of course for you guys in NH, it's a long hike.

Still, you can make your own rice, buy some short grained sushi rice and/or .. grind as Ray mentioned. The key to actual sushi rice is the rice vinegar. You need to add a little as you let it cool off. To be good, you want to "cut" the rice/vinegar into it, and let it cool in a nice wooden bowl/cutting board is great. Most of us, even myself, don't have it.. so I just let it go as is. Try not to cut/smash that rice anymore than it is, it makes it worse.

Buying sushi grade fish, whole foods again sells it. If you have a nice market or fresh fish, just stick with salmon. I know some people in Boston with restaurants.. the fish comes from the same place, often salmon, and ONLY salmon is the same. Tuna must be snap frozen, so you need to get that grade.

If you want to cheat, get the fresh salmon, and either quick pan fry it, or cut it in small slices and nuke it all of like 5 -10 seconds, cooks it through but doesn't make it dry. You'll know when you went too far

Again, if you have a good asian supply store, buy a whackload of eel. It's frozen and cheap. Warm it up in the oven/toaster oven.. and it's the same as the store has.

Buy some frozen fish roe, leave it in the freezer, works great.

Seaweed.. you can buy it at whole foods even (oh I forgot to mention, also rice and rice vinegar can be found). Also can find fake crab sticks, avocado, cucumbers, scallions.. yup

Keep it a small bag, if it soaks up humid air, it sucks.. so don't buy a 50 pack unless you really eat it all. (seaweed)

Hope that's some good tips, if you want more elaboration let me know... ya I make my own a lot, and I've had some training. It's tough to do it "right" but you can easily make do.

If you hit up the market in chinatown Boston you can save more than half on your $$$ so you can stock up. Heck, you can get the "rolling mats" for like $0.50 where whole foods probably charges $5 bucks for that thing!

[Nazo]

Buy a rice cooker, thats the way to get real "sticky rice". One of my roomates in college was from Japan and he had a good rice cooker. Let the rice sit over night in water to saturate the rice and when you use the cooker in a microwave it creates a good sticky rice that you can roll.
Look them up online, I'm sure they aren't much money. No other way I've made white rice comes out with that texture.
As far as fish, I would look up your closest fish market. I live over by Boston so there are multiple fish markets with really fresh fish. Just my $.02

[Honclfibr]

You can get sushi grade Tuna at http://www.freerangefish.com/ in manchester, fun place with friendly staff, worth checking out.

I've heard good things about Dynamite's sushi but I wouldn't know as of the 20-30 times I've been there I've never order anything other than their bibimbap. I love sushi and all but for me, bulgoki bibimbap >>>>> NH sushi.

Jay house in Londonderry is decent, tuna's usually fresh, yellowtail seems to be hit or miss. Now and again they have toro, I haven't found anywhere in NH that stocks it consistently which is sad, I love toro. If you haven't tried it you should, it has a wonderful texture that just melts in your mouth.

If you're making sushi rice at home don't forget the rice vinegar.

[gadget]

Jay house in Londonderry is decent...

yup, Jay House is about half a mile from my house. We go all the time.
Just recently we have been exploring their Sushi before that for years we ate their regular fare and have never been dissapointed.

[Fitz]

I work about a mile from Dynamite. I live less than a mile from Aloe Garden in Goffstown. Neither of these two things help my sushi addiction.

Fitz

[DuncanMoto]

I love Sushi....

Perhapse I should ask my wife to make it for me tomorrow night. ;-)

[R1]

just had dinner from etsogo in lowell...

gonna have to stop there one bike night instead of the gahden this summer...

[TomBrady]

Funny this thread comes up today, I just watched this earlier today on my Roku --

http://www.chow.com/videos/show/your...-trevor-corson

Also: Don't cheap out on your fish or your rice cooker.

Cheers,
Adam

[obsolete]

Don't rub my chop sticks? I wouldn't if places didn't have cheap ass chop sticks. Ever have a bamboo sliver stab your lip? I did... Once... Now I rub the fuck out of them. lol

[gadget]

I love Sushi....

Perhapse I should ask my wife to make it for me tomorrow night. ;-)

I've heard legends about your wife....

Do you think she would ever consider giving lessons on making Sushi?

[eboos]

I've heard legends about your wife....

:tagteam::3some:

lol, see how messed up that could be, taken out of context.