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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2952 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 26, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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What is the appeal of sushi? Specifically the raw fish. I decided to try a big bowl of raw fish at my local sushi bar, and like, it was fine. I ate it, but all I could think about was how much better it would be thrown on the grill with some MSG.

As a man who's lived in Japan 25 years, and who goes to sushi restaurants regularly, but does not eat the sushi that is served in these restaurants, I do not know. I do know that the people around me who eat sushi and enjoy it have various levels of quality in mind to rate sushi and sushi restaurants, and sushi restaurants outside Japan are always relegated to "not really sushi" by these people. Even in Japan people are finicky. There is a conveyor-sushi up the road from me where we sometimes go, and if my father-in-law ever is up to visit and goes there with us he will either not eat or eat one or two pieces grudgingly and you can see he is trying to hold back his disgust. (Edit: Because he thinks their sushi is shit. He only goes to places he thinks have high quality sushi.)

Japanese tastes are not my tastes. Fatty tuna or マグロ maguro (see the correction to my innacuracy in this below from /u/bonsaii ) is generally held to be a delicacy. But then so is Kobe beef which I find interesting but it doesn't feel like eating beef to me when I eat it. More like something you would eat on another planet where they bring out something and say "We have tried to create something that is similar to your earth-food, but we feel we have improved upon the taste and texture" in their alien language that you can understand for some reason. You then eat the wagyu Kobe beef and you see what they mean, but you know that you will enjoy more that tenderized beef off the grill at your buddy's house more. A lot more. And where are the baked potatoes? Not in Japan, I will tell you that right now. I won't even get into chawan mushi or natto or namako or the many other foods that I see people eating and enjoying as if they are all part of an elaborate prank to get me to also eat it and rave about it. I refuse.

I think that sushi is enjoyable in occasional doses. I wouldn't eat it all the time. I do find the taste of the sushi rice pleasant, and some fish are tasty when raw. I also think that, as someone else said, sushi rolls are quite nice with the different textures and flavors you can get.

Also, as with all things, us Americans have taken sushi and converted it to our tastes so you can get some stuff here which I would imagine would never fly in Japan. For example, here's a roll they serve at a sushi joint in Denver: "Cream cheese, California mix and smoked salmon, tempura fried and then broiled in a spicy Japanese aioli and drizzled with sweet soy". I'm sure that if he saw this, your father in law would spontaneously manifest a grave just so he could roll in it, lol. But it is good even if it's the least traditional thing you could possibly get in the realm of sushi.

I'm with you on fatty tuna though. I tried it once because I know it's highly regarded, but it was pretty meh. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I'll ever order it again. Not really very good, and way too expensive on top of that.

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