Exotic Sashimi Alternatives to Tuna

About (not) consuming fresh raw fish and fresh raw egg yolks
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damian
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Exotic Sashimi Alternatives to Tuna

Post by damian »

I don't have a question. Just felt like sharing :D

I'm officially on Day 1 of the diet. I unofficially started about 4 or 5 days ago, but I ate lots of pickled ginger with my tuna sashimi during those first few days to make it more palatable, only to discover that (A) my acne wasn't going away, and then (B) that, according to wai, the ginger could have been the reason.

I realized that the reason I was covering up the tuna with ginger is that I didn't like the tuna particularly. Mind you, I was paying $22 per pound (!) for the best cuts of fresh ahi tuna from an outstanding market, so there was nothing wrong with the tuna per se. I recently discovered that my blood hemoglobin is particularly high, probably from eating *way* too much red meat in the last year, so it wouldn't surprise me if this is my body's way of saying that it doesn't want any more iron (red tuna is particularly high in iron, and even albacore, which I also don't like, seems to have a fair amount).

Anyway, I ventured over to the local Japanese fish market this morning and asked what my options were for fresh wild sashimi other than tuna. Geoduck clam and sea urchin gonads, he said. Being an adventurous person, I decided to try them both, and was pleasantly surprised. The tastes (and associations--the geoduck clam looks uncannily like a very large penis) were certainly unusual, but I liked them pretty well and didn't feel a need to add ginger as I had with the tuna. Unfortunately, they're both extremely expensive (the clam was $12 per cleaned clam, which probably weighs about a third of a pound; the sea urchin gonads [uni] costed $32 per tray, and the tray appears to weigh less than a pound, perhaps as little as a half pound).

Fortunately, and to my surprise, this market received fresh wild yellowtail (hamachi) on a regular basis (I live in the San Francisco area--Berkeley in particular--and they said the fish is from the California coast). And it's only $11 per pound! I love hamachi, even when it's farmed and previously frozen, so I'm looking forward to trying this healthier and purportedly tastier version. The market was out of fresh wild hamachi today, but expects to get it in tomorrow, so I look forward to trying it very soon.

I also stopped by the local fish market. I was disappointed in their current selection, but they said they should soon be getting in fresh, local, wild herring, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies. All full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and low in pollutants, since they're so low on the food chain. I can't wait to try them :P
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Oscar
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Re: Exotic Sashimi Alternatives to Tuna

Post by Oscar »

damian wrote:...(and associations--the geoduck clam looks uncannily like a very large penis)...
:lol:

Fresh hamachi and mackerel are delicious. I'm curious about the fresh herring, as here it's always salted and frozen. I suspect it'll taste like mackerel.
damian
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Joined: Fri 18 Apr 2008 00:18

Post by damian »

I'm curious about the fresh herring, as here it's always salted and frozen. I suspect it'll taste like mackerel.
According to http://www.13.waisays.com/fish.htm :
Cod and herring very regularly contain much parasites, and should not be consumed raw. In most countries herring has to be deep frozen for 24 hours to kill possible herring-worms. So the raw herring they sell, is actually never ‘clean’-raw.
By the way, I find that the taste of geoduck clam and sea urchin gonads are growing on me. Yesterday I was craving them both and so bought some more. I found them significantly less disgusting and significantly more delectable the second time I tried them compared to the first. I guess they're an acquired taste, because I've definitely acquired them! I just found out that geoduck clams are available live from 99 Ranch Asian Supermarket (I think they exist throughout California, if not throughout the entire United States). A look around the internet revealed that the as of 2005 they were selling for $10 per pound. I hope the price hasn't risen since then, and I plan to check.

I found a video that shows how to cut live geoduck at http://www.geoduck.org/cooking-with-geoduck_en.html and information about geoduck in general (e.g., they're almost always farmed, but in the open ocean without any change in diet) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck in case anyone is interested.

Meanwhile, I discovered that I can get more fresh choices by ordering in advance from my local fish markets. This morning I'll be picking up some fresh local wild yellowtail. Tomorrow I'll be picking up some fresh wild local mackerel.

I'm thinking of ordering some fresh wild local anchovies for next week. Has anyone ever eaten fresh wild local anchovies? If so, would you recommend them? Thanks.
Gerard
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Joined: Thu 14 Feb 2008 01:31

geoduck

Post by Gerard »

Is it fine to eat raw geoduck?

It seems one must find many friends to share it (they are quite large)...


I have never tried this raw.
Gerard
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Joined: Thu 14 Feb 2008 01:31

sashimi

Post by Gerard »

Ah; I think I have (but under their Japanese name) in sashimi overseas.

I never thought to make this myself.


It seems like an accessible form of sashimi, and the clams eat a natural diet even when farmed (they are simply in natural waters for location for this)....

It sounds good-- I will try it. I need a big sashimi knife!
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