Some Points on Sushi

Dear Editor,
    Re: The Tomodachi Sushi review [Food, Aug. 3]: My apologies to the writer, I understand he probably isn't a huge sushi nut, so some of the minor details in his sushi learning experience may have been missed. Here are two pointers for him so that next time he writes an article on sushi, he doesn't sound like a goof.
    1) Uni should never be flavored. "Take for example the uni ($9 for two pieces), which is beautiful and aromatic. With a chef of this caliber, you can trust he's already flavored it properly, so no soy or wasabi is necessary." Uni is one of the most delicate and potent flavors around. If a chef ever flavored a gunkan piece of uni, he should not be a sushi chef. Maybe add a quail egg or ikura, maybe, but what other kind of flavoring would he put on it? And, if you as a customer ever wanted to put wasabi on uni, then you shouldn't be ordering it!
    2) Unagi all comes prepackaged from one of the major Chinese farms. "Unagi ($6) is always a good test. How well do they cook and sauce the eel? In all cases, the Tomodachi staff showed the type of casual expertise that comes from years of tough apprenticeships." So, I take it by casual expertise and tough apprenticeships, he means they know how to open a precooked and premarinated bag. The same bag that pretty much every sushi joint in the world opens. The same bag that has prepared unagi in it. They don't cook or sauce unagi! Maybe anago (unagi's salt water cousin), maybe, but even then I doubt it. Unagi is never a good test. It is just about the worst test. If you want a good test, try the madai, the aji, or even the hamachi. Please, try anything but the unagi!
    Best of luck next time!

   [Wes Marshall replies: Thanks so much for reading and I really appreciate your passion and aptitude for sushi. To answer your statement about me being a “sushi nut,” a few examples: I’ve traveled to Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market and eaten the freshest fish with the workers at dawn. As for unagi, I’ve taken the train down to Nara for the steamed Kansai style and decided I liked the unsteamed Kanto style better. My wife and I have driven along the icy coastal waters on the Chilean side of Patagonia meeting sea urchin fishermen. There, they take a live sea urchin, cut it open and scoop out the uni, or "erizos" as they call them. So perhaps I’m not a “sushi nut,” but I am at least a committed student. You seem quite knowledgeable, so I am sure you didn't mean to imply the chef should leave out the traditional step of placing wasabi between the uni and the rice. Sadly, many American diners have a bad habit of taking too much wasabi and soy, then making a slush and finally soaking the rice, ruining any chance of appreciating the subtleties. Some frustrated chefs have stopped putting wasabi between the uni and the rice. That is incorrect. Part of the chef’s art is their choice on how much wasabi, and that’s what I was referring to when I wrote, “With a chef of this caliber, you can trust he's already flavored it properly.”

As regards to the eel, sadly, Japanese eel is almost impossible to find, and yes, they do come prepackaged, farmed, and from other Asian countries. With reference to your capitalized statements, perhaps you are referring to some other item. As regards to the unagi, they do stick it under a broiler (sometimes a microwave) and brush it with kabayaki sauce, thus both cooking and saucing. One of the reasons it's a good test is folks usually don't soak the rice in the wasabi/soy slush. I appreciate you wishing me good luck. Follow the calmness.]