FEATuRE sushi EXpLAiNED - IBUKI Magazine

The key, he says, is delivering fresh, tasty, well-made pieces of sushi that
please his customers. That equation for success hasn’t changed since the
days of Edo.
Despite a plethora of fusion restaurants and rolls with all sorts of nontraditional
ingredients, the skill and aesthetic simplicity embodied in
Edomae sushi is far from lost. Chefs such as Yuki Goto of Fuji Sushi in the
International District spend day and night mastering the craft. Goto got
his start doing rolls in California, but now he’s doing traditional sushi in
Seattle. The difference? “Edomae sushi is complete deliciousness, which
the chef enhances,” he says. “Rolls are fun.”
“There’s the warmth of the rice and the coolness or warmth of the
topping – there are many levels at play,” says Nakazawa. “We try to serve it
at the best possible time, so we’d like you to eat it right away.”
Sushi a la Carte served in traditional boat
shaped plate at Shima Sushi in Walingford.
Photo By Kenji nakayama
Chef Tak Sasaki of Shima Sushi (4429 Wallingford Ave N, Seattle)
beautifully arranges sushi a la carte on a special boat-shaped
plate.
Sushi culture is filled with arcane trivia. Did you know that the chef and
staff in a Japanese restaurant have code words for numbers? That allows
the chef to yell out the total of a bill without embarrassing (or shocking)
the customer. There are other code words, too, which connoisseurs
can use to show off their knowledge. Call the soy sauce “murasaki” (the
Japanese word for “purple”) and you’ll sound like a pro. Or say “agari” at the
end of your meal and you’ll get a cup of green tea.
But most important to the sushi experience is to cut through the
mystery and embrace the cuisine’s essence: fresh, often local food served
with dexterity in a convivial atmosphere. It’s served quickly and should
be consumed quickly. It’s delicious, and it’s healthy. Not much mystery
in that.
On the following pages, we’ll introduce some of the most popular sushi
toppings, ask local chefs for tips and say farewell to a seafood pioneer.
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