By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Tokyo

The Japanese are eating more meat than seafood, according to a new report from the government.

Figures show that in 2006, for the first time, the Japanese preferred meat over sushi. And in 2007 their appetite for meat increased even further.

The study said that changing lifestyles were responsible, with parents finding meat dishes quicker to prepare.

The government suggests supermarkets hold fish cookery demonstrations to help protect the seafood industry.

Despite these recent trends, people in Japan still eat more fish than those in any other major industrialised nation. But fish eating has been declining across all generations for the last decade.

The study, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said one factor was that children increasingly eat separately from their families because they stay on after school for exam-cramming classes.

The decline in Japan comes as global seafood consumption is increasing.

The worldwide popularity of Japanese sushi and sashimi is helping to push stocks of the most prized fish, bluefin tuna, to dangerously low levels.

I remember when Whole Foods first came out with brown rice sushi. I applauded their efforts for providing consumers with a healthier alternative to white rice, but the hard texture and the nutty flavor of the brown rice didn’t pair well with the other ingredients.

I was hungry after the Coffee and Tea festival and dropped by a Whole Foods for some quick eats. I walked over to the sushi section and noticed a giant poster board advertisement. It was for their new Multi-Grain Sushi. Instead of rice, 15 grains are mixed together where the end product resembles glutenous rice. The grains are, black rice, glutinous millet, corn, brown rice, non-glutinous millet, red bean, buckwheat rice, glutinous foxtail millet, black soybean, glutinous rice, Job’s Tears, white sesame, amaranth grain, barley, and black sesame. Also, it has a pinkish/purplish hue from the red bean.

I liked it much more than the brown rice sushi and sushi rolls. The multi-grain has a consistency to that of regular sushi rice. It’s stickier and a bit more chewy. Give it a try, I think you’ll prefer it over the brown rice sushi.

In case you are wondering what Job’s Tears are, here’s the Wikipedia definition:

Job’s Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Coixseed, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to East Asia and peninsular Malaysia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual. It has been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. Job’s Tears is also commonly, but misleadingly sold as Chinese pearl barley in Asian supermarkets, despite the fact that C. lacryma-jobi are not of the same genus as barley (Hordeum vulgare).

~ Kin

Sushi is “in” these days. As amateur sushi chefs and home cooks are handling more and more sushi on a daily basis, it is drawing concern from the international sushi committee that there isn’t enough communication or awareness on how to properly handle and prepare raw fish.

A lack of experience and training leads to mishandling of raw fish, and it can lead to serious bouts of food poisoning.  If this happened at only one restaurant and the media catches wind of it, it could deal a serious blow to the Japanese food industry.

Chef Yoshi Tome of the restaurant, “Sushi Ran” told Reuters, “Everybody thinks: ’sushi is so expensive — I can buy cheap fish, fresh fish, I can make it at home.’ It’s not true. Not every fish is suitable to eat raw.”

He even recommends avoiding consumption of raw salmon, due to the amount of parasites the fish could carry.

Source

~ Kin

First Course: Hamachi Hama – Grilled Yellow-Tail Neck (Should’ve ordered two of these!)

Second Course: Sashimi (tuna, salmon, scallops, white tuna, Japanese red snapper, sea urchin, and some others)

Second Course: Octopus

Third Course: Japanese Mackerel, the rest of the fish is fried and eaten

4th Course: Sashimi and Tempura Rolls

Fifth Course: Wasabi Tobiko

I also like to come to this place because they put an effort in presentation as well.  As father always says, “Your eyes always eat first.” That quote of his has always been stuck in my head ever since he first told me years and years ago. I’m still craving some more grilled Hamachi neck. *Drool*

If you live in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, check out Mikado.

Mikado
2320 Marlton Pike W
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

~ Kin

Despite warnings of high mercury levels in tuna, Sushi-lovers in Japan aren’t phased by the levels of mercury. There is a belief that Japanese tuna contains less amounts of mercury than the tuna sushi that is served in New York City. In fact, the Japanese believe the amount of mercury found in tuna isn’t as bad as the fats and oils found in fast food. Ouch.

Source: Associated Press via MSNBC

There’s something about making sushi rolls that I find relaxing. It’s not something to be rushed, so you will have to expect that it takes patience and time in preparation. I also like how I get to eat the rolls I mess up when I’m making them. I try my best to avoid eating white rice, so I substituted with short grain brown rice instead. The only raw item in this dish is the red pepper.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp – Sriracha Hot Sauce
1 Tbsp – Mayonnaise
2 Cups – Short Grain Brown Rice
2 Cups – Water
1 Cooked Salmon Filet cut into strips, about 6oz
2 Tbsp – Sushi Rice Vinegar
Nori Seaweed
1 Red Pepper cut into strips
Bowl of water w/ rice vinegar, about 4 parts of water to 1 part vinegar

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add the rice and the water into the rice cooker. After the rice is cooked, keep the lid on and let stand for 15 minutes. Transfer the rice to a large non-metal bowl and add the vinegar. Using a spatula, fold the rice until all of the grains are covered with the vinegar. Cover with a damp paper towel or cloth towel and let stand until the rice cools to room temperature.

Combine the hot sauce and the mayonnaise together until the sauces are well mixed and set aside. Thanks to Ki for telling me the sauce recipe!

Place the seaweed on the roller. Then dip your hands in the bowl of water so it makes it easy to handle the rice. Spread the rice out like so:

Image: sushimonsters.com

Brush the hot sauce over the rice and place the salmon and red pepper down the middle of the rice length-wise. Roll tightly, using your free fingers to keep the fillings from falling out of place.

Wet your knife with water, and cut evenly. Make sure the knife is sharp or you will not be able to produce clean edges and tear the seaweed!

Take a butter knife and dab a bit of the hot sauce on the top of the rolls. Serve with wasabi and soy sauce. I made about 30 rolls.

Cost <$6.00

I also made some with smoked salmon, avocado, and cucumber. The smoked salmon is going to run about $8.00.

As always, please make sure your food is throughly cooked before consumption.

Genius idea! These pillows are great. I had a chance to check them out last year at an event and not only are they well made, but they look like the real thing! Check out their website, theoriginalsushipillow.com for a catalog of nigiri, sushi roll, and appetizer pillows. At least they didn’t make the pillows smell like sushi…that would be disgusting.