Thursday, January 31, 2008

Sushifest 2008

Based on some droolworthy posts by one of my favorite bloggers, CityMama, I got it in my mind that I wanted to make raw fish sushi at home. One thing that really stood out in the second post was that she got an entire pound of tobikko. Yum! That is R and I's favorite! I made a comment asking her where to get tobikko (she used to live in my city) and she told me to go to Uwajimaya. In further correspondence, I asked her where to get sushi grade fish and she pointed me again to Uwajimaya.

Last Saturday, we took the kids and made the trek to Uwajimaya. The kids had a blast. The all loved the huge dragon hanging over the checkout counters. R got to meet her "Hello Kitty" needs and the boys wanted to sit in front of the live crab tank forever. As a raw fish sushi novice, I asked the nice man behind the counter to help me figure out what to get. Here is what ended up in our shopping cart: tuna (two cuts), yellowtail, salmon, octopus (my daughter wanted a piece the size of her head but we just got a few slices to try), tobikko (sadly no pound size containers!), and eel (unagi). We bought a variety of Japanese beers. I forgot all about the wasabi and the pickled ginger but happily, we had them both at home along with nori and avocado.

Our friends Nicole and Gene and their twins came over. Nicole had told me Gene was an experienced sushi chef. I immediately went to work with him to create nigiri, assorted rolls, and some sashimi (when we ran out of rice). Gene did turn out to be the master sushi chef (thank goodness). The kids had fun eating handfuls of tobikko (no kidding - there was tobikko EVERYWHERE!) and sushi rice while we were making the sushi.

It took us quite a while to make all the sushi. I had forgotten about that part! But in the end we all sat down at the table and had an amazing feast. R (who is 4) was game to try everything. Remember she was the one who wanted the octopus but in the end she didn't care for it.

Here is a photo of our spread. I can't wait until the next Sushifest!


5 comments:

Stefania/CityMama said...

licking computer screen. OMG. you rule!

Unknown said...

Yum, it makes me want sushi RIGHT NOW!

Anonymous said...

Ok,I didn't know about the "licking computer screen" until now. I'm so DOING IT!

Anonymous said...

Wow, looks like a great feast! Uwajimaya is a favorite of ours as well.

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