cbrstar wrote: ↑Sat Jan 12, 2019 2:49 pm
The more "Fishy" it smells the more rotten it is. As fish rots the more it stinks like fish especially tuna. Fresh Sushi you should barely be able to smell the fish if at all.
Even when cooked that 'fishy' smell does not go away- it's an amine that's detectable at very low parts-per-million concentrations.
This is the reason why a lot of fish (cooked or otherwise) comes with lemon is that the citric acid converts the smelly amine to an odourless amide- the freshness is not changed an iota..... We've probably been serving lemon with fish for 1000s of years, but it's only in the last 35 anyone bothered to find out why :)
The real irony of eating sashimi and sushi is that the majority of food poisoning cases from Asian restaurants and takeaways* are
from the rice not the fish..... Cooked rice that comes up to room temperature is sitting in a starch mixture that's about perfect for getting bacteria to grow fast.
*at least in the UK, based on government reporting.
My rules for eating fish (Cooked or otherwise) in a restaurant owe a lot to the late Anthony Bourdain:
1. Never eat fish on Tuesday unless the place is on the dock and cooking what they caught this morning. Otherwise: Tuesday's fish is Friday's fish and none too fresh
2. Never eat fish in a restaurant with a dirty bathroom. They let you see the bathroom- what do you think the kitchen looks like?
3. 'Chef's Special: Sushi' on the chalkboard? Sounds like that fish in the fridge is starting to hum and needs to get gone soon. Order the steak.
(Note- that's very different to 1. where 'Catch Of The Day' is a very, very good thing- I had the greatest lemon sole I ever ate in a place called Y Llong in Lllangrannog, Wales. The quay was 5 feet from the kitchen window. The fish had been out of the ocean about 2 hours before it was on my plate....If you are in a place near the sea and see 'catch of the day' then ignore the steak for a change and have a real foodie treat)
4. "Discount sushi"? on the window? Would you eat it if it was called "Cheap sushi" or "Old sushi" or "The fish that nearly ended up as catfood Sushi"?..... Walk away. Pay a bit more.
5. Is the place a proper purely Japanese joint or a place that's dedicated to sushi? Go for it.
5.1 Is it a place that does a bit of Thai, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Sushi all on the same menu- That local place in a small town that should be called "Diahorrea Dragon"?- Then don't order the sushi!
5.2 Steak and ribs joint with 12 different grilled meats on the menu but one sushi plate? Have the ribs.
6.Busy place with lots of locals and repeat business?- Dig in- busy means throughput and throughput means fresh. Empty joint with lots of bored looking waiters and barstaff? Order the cheeseburger.