Hi, Jeremy here! Sushi, a mixture of textures, flavors, and smells. It seems every place I go to order sushi comes with a large variety, however it always seems as if it is a large variety of the same mixtures of fish, meat, and vegetables. I have never actually been to Japan, but it is one of my dreams to go and visit there. Obviously, one of the many things we need to try while we’re there is the sushi. I have heard of all the different types of sushi possible. The closest place I have had such a wide variety of sushi was in China – close but no cigar I suppose. Last week, me and Lauren went to Sushi Na Ra (check out their website), Lauren’s choice, and boy did she get it right. It’s like I always tell her, “when in doubt, Lauren wins” and “when in doubt, Lauren’s right.” We entered into Sushi Na Ra and I immediately thought to myself, “boy, I am horribly under-dressed.” The decor was out of this world for such a small place located in a strip mall setting. It was small, but comfy all at the same time. There was a group behind us having a good time which added to the feeling of warmth. We sat down to look over the menu and I was impressed at how affordable everything was. To think, it costs about the same to go to Market 32 / Price Chopper but with less selection.
Speaking of selection…, they gave us a traditional menu, which had a large selection that included other dishes besides sushi, including some Korean fair (the owners were Korean, so it made sense). They also gave us the usual specials menu, as expected. On a side note, they had a spicy sushi roll. Now, I am no spice eater, per se. However, I do like to eat spice. This reminds me of when we took a day trip to Boston. The we entered the pepper palace to my delight. Little did I know just how much I would be in for. They had advertised this particular form of pain and suffering called “The End”. Pure capsaicin, the stuff that makes hot things hot. Since that dreadful choice (dreadful in my stomach’s mind), spice hasn’t bothered me so much. So I put my resistance to the test, and took a leap of faith and ordered it without even looking at the third and main act of the experience.
They presented us with a piece of standard letter size paper with a list of a great multitude of sushi. I wish I had not rushed into the self-imposed spice challenge, but I couldn’t resist. They had all sorts of sushi including both spicy and not. We ended up ordering this one tuna and avocado roll. But, in my mind, the main attraction were the extras we ordered. My roll was only eight pieces, so I figured why not, let’s order two more and make it an even 10. I got the spicy scallop and the squid roll whilst Lauren ordered the sea urchin. I had never thought to put a squid body on a roll, but according to Lauren, it was really good. The two rolls we ordered – my spicy, and her tuna were alright, nothing to brag about. My spicy roll primarily consisted of tuna and jalapeno. The extra pieces we ordered were what won the night. My spicy scallop (again, not too spicy) was interesting. The scallops were raw, but tasty and succulent. The sea urchin reminded me of the tamale of a lobster except it was orange and not green. It kind of has a buttery consistency but it hits you in the face with seafood flavor. I even made my world’s famous “prissy face.” All in all, our experience was out of this world. Good sushi, good variety, excellent atmosphere, all for an excellent price. As Lauren put, this is our new go to restaurant.
Did someone mention my name? Lauren here!
Globalization is here and now more than ever. Food is only one example. Sushi was considered taboo until after WWII when it was introduced to the US. You know that certain friend or relative that gags at the thought of raw fish and you want to yell at them, “FYI, there ARE COOKED rolls and VEGGIE ones TOO!” <Stop, Breathe and Collect yourself here.> Watch Raina Huang eat 100 of them!
Since then, America has been busy at the bar creating new and exciting tastes inspired by our side of the world. Some people prefer to stick with the traditional rolls and pieces from Tokyo, but for you more liberal sushi eaters, we have a few rolls for you to raise your chopsticks. Pictures of some of the rolls I’m discussing are on this list. https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1079110/unique-american-sushi-rolls
More often, traditional rolls will be only 6 small cylinder pieces of a single piece of raw fish, with vegetables in the center of sticky white rice with nori (papery seaweed) on the outside. They don’t come as complicated as the ones I’ve just mentioned or with cold brown rice like you find at Market Bistro. Cooking some of the fishier rolls was another change to eliminate the fear of contamination. Americans are trying to cut the calories since the millennium obesity epidemic and be super innovative about incorporating elements of Japanese cuisine into our wacky world, but these aren’t things you find in traditional parts of Japan.
A major cue that you’re not eating a Japanese original is in the ingredients. Hawaiian spam, buffalo chicken and waffle cones are purely ideas from the USA. Los Angeles partook largely by adding avocado into the mix 45 years ago because a chef ran out of fatty tuna. Sushi nowadays has it not only inside, but other times, on the outside. Some of my favorites like the rainbow roll, the snow crab roll and the self-explanatory cucumber and avocado roll have it in spades. Anyone who has eaten a delicious caterpillar roll can see that this ingredient is not going to go away any time soon. I’m going to try one myself next time I can.
Cream cheese is a US favorite to bring some sweetness to the sticky rice. (Even though sticky rice already has sugar in it) California rolls, Philadelphia rolls and of course the Boston roll have it. It goes to show that something like the bagel with cream cheese and lox can be appreciated by switching it up a bit and making it more relative to how someone else understands similar food. This technique of using similar flavor profiles can make it easier to try new flavors and invent different entrees. Example: We took my brother out for Vietnamese food at “Saigon Springs” once. He found a simple chicken noodle soup minus the can, dug in & gave it a thumbs-up.
We even have fruity dessert-like rolls, like the rock and roll berry roll covered in strawberries, and the pink lady filled with chocolate raspberry sauce. I personally don’t like mixing something so sweet with something fishy, but if you have a sweet tooth and want to get in some vitamin C, or curb that red velvet craving then by all means, GO for it. Your body will be much happier with fruit and rice instead of cupcakes.
So, what have we learned? It’s very tricky to convince people that something so out of left field will be delicious if there isn’t much wiggle room. Not all Americans are going to go out for raw fish wrapped in seaweed. Then again, it isn’t polite to completely miss the point of the traditional values of someone else’s culture and totally misunderstand how things are meant to be done. Sure, Americans want creativity, (I mean come on, we’ve seen Raina Huang eat MASSIVE sushi rolls like this one.) but let’s not go so out of bounds that the true art of sushi is gone for good. We can have some leeway in the ingredients, but let’s never forget what went in to the training and mastery of the sushi chef and the original balance of sweet, sticky, savory and vinegar-flavored maki.