寿司

To try to break free of my present funk, I went to Trader Joes¹, and I saw that they had sushi. I mentioned quite a while ago that I had only tried sushi once, and that I didn't like it, but so many people lurve it, that it warranted a second tasting.

So I picked up a little sample platter, complete with ginger, Soy, and Wasabi. California rolls, spicy rolls, low-fat rolls, and salmon rolls were the featured fare. I can't imagine what people in advertising have to go through to make a product look palatable, because this sushi just isn't photogenic.

I tried this first. I think it's a California roll, or maybe they're all called California rolls, I'm really not familiar with the phylum, class, and order of Japanese cuisine. Anyway, it was yummy. Slightly sweet, and the rice  and seaweed combo didn't bother me at all. I'm not sure what I tried the first time, but the texture was much chewier than this.

I put a little Wasabi on it. I didn't know until today that Wasabi means "sauce of flaming nostrils" in Japanese. It would have been nice if there had been a warning on the label, but after I regained the feeling in my tongue, I decided it was good stuff.

Next I tried these, which I assumed were the salmon rolls, but must have been the spicy rolls, since they were the only spicy morsels in the box. These were very good. My favorite of the lot.

The last two roll thingys weren't that great. This was was faux crab, and really, who wants to eat faux crab. Faux crab is like pleather of the food world.

I have no idea what was in this, but it tasted exactly like smoked oysters, which I like-- just not what I was expecting. Meh.

So there you have it, my branching out into the world of sticky rice and sea weed, (which by the way, my children blanched at, and told me looked like cow skin and bird seed.Oh well, more for me.)

I went to Trader Joes, because Amanda said that their non-organic milk doesn't have hormones, and is reasonably priced. Unfortunately Trader Joes manages every region of the country differently, so that's not true in Ohio, but their organic milk is pretty reasonably priced.

Comments

[Belinda]

And you *didn't* tell them that the "bird seed" is fish eggs? Well, the orange ones, anyway. The black ones could be toasted sesame seeds, in which case the kids are right. I likes me some fresh sushi, but not sushimi, and I'm not a wasabi fan. I ate sushi all through my pregnancy with Bella, craved it, and her very first restaurant food to try and like was miso soup.

[Mir]

You HAVE TO eat sushi with someone who knows sushi, when you're a neophyte. They can guide you through. Random sushi can sour you on the whole experience. ;)

In order to avoid the flaming nostrils, dissolve a SMALL amount of wasabi in soy sauce (in a small dish) and then dip the rolls into that. Delish!

[Xangelle]

Hey, I had California Rolls today too, BUT, that's about as adventurous as I get. No uncooked or rubbery looking seafood for me. California Rolls = DELICIOUS

[Sarah]

I love California rolls with a nice slab of ginger DROOL! I haven't tried much else because I cant find any sushi. period. in this area of Ohio and when I'm in CA and eat at my favorite Japanese restaurant I stick to my favorites since I only get it once a year. Maybe next time I'm out I'll branch out and finally try something new :)
And I never eat the fish eggs, gross, get stuck in my teeth. I flick them off.

[michaelm]

Maki rolls, rule.
You gotta like raw fish. Period.
More wasabi, please...

~m

[Amanda]

Well darn! Now I'm all paranoid and plan to check with the dairy manager that what we get in CA doesn't have hormones. Fortunately everything at TJ's is better-priced and you never have to wait for a sale, which I prefer.

Unfortunately it becomes a wash, though, when you walk around the store too much. Those tubs of cookies call to me and I can't resist - doesn't help the grocery bill one iota.

[Sarah]

I concur 100% with Mir.

I've lived in Japan and am a huge, huge, huge, huge cannot be overstated huge fan of sushi, and still, I'm pretty useless when it comes to ordering at genuinely good sushi places.

I have tried the Trader Joe's sushi before, just because, for the most part, to steal/paraphrase a line from a now defunct sit-com, bad sushi is like bad sex...even when its bad, its still pretty good.

But the Trader Joe's sushi is just bad. Full stop. Really awful stuff. It isn't even sushi, for that matter. Well, it is "real sushi" in the same way that the Hungry Man "Thanksgiving feast" t.v. dinner is a genuine Thanksgiving feast.

Pretend like you never ate it.

If you go to a Japanese restaurant that has a counter and tell the Asian man the works behind it what you like, what you don't like and how much you're willing to spend, you won't be disappointed.

As an aside, when I first moved to Japan, my boss had thoughtfully stocked my refrigerator with essentials so that I would not have to worry about grocery shopping whilst getting used to a new job/country/language/etc. Included in the essentials was a tube of wasabi. I had never tried sushi before and thus never heard of wasabi. Since I couldn't read Japanese, I assumed it was a tiny tube of guacamole and got very excited. I made myself a turkey sandwich and liberally spread mayo onto one piece of bread and my lovely guacamole in a tube onto the other. That was three years ago. I don't think my nose has stopped running or my eyes have stopped watering since.

Most painful experience of my life.

[fuzz]

I like California rolls but all the other sushi that I have ate tastes like bait.

[Mom101]

As someone in advertising I can assure you that we do truly disgusting things to food to make it look good in photographs: Marbles in soup, Crisco as ice cream, atomized glycerine on vegetables. All things considered, your sushi doesn't look half bad.

[Owlhaven]

Now I'm hungry! I make the Korean version of sushi and we love it around here!
Mary

[lizardek]

OMG, Sarah's story is making MY eyes water! I agree with the one who said you should try a real Japanese sushi place...some of the stuff you were eating looked pretty bizarre to me. But GO YOU, for trying! You rock, Ms Sheryl!

[Hula Doula]

You are a braver woman than I!

[Zoot]

I dont know the lingo much but I can tell you what I like and dont, usually, if I see it. LilZ LOVES california rolls and LOVES Eel, which isnt really sushi b/c its been cooked.

[John]

ok i noticed de-lurking week and just had to answer the question. Shish Kabob - the chicken ones are a bit fatty but the beef is a lot better. They are often served with serious food poisoning and fried onions.

[Mr. Fabulous]

I ate sushi once. It was the last day at work of a friend of mine, and I took her out to lunch, her choice.

It was awful. But I didn't want her to feel bad, so I pretended I liked it.

I deserved an Oscar.

[mrs Darling]

I could eat sushi every day of the week!

[Kris]

My husband loves sushi but I just don't get it. We actually bought a "leatherette" couch set one time. I accidentally kicked it and it ripped, so we returned it for the real thing. Yeah, I'm on a tangent, I'll go away now... :)

[Dave]

I need some sushi. I can't find any here in the mountains.
My wifes first experience with this kind of thing was at a sushi place in Maderia Beach, Fl. She tried the eel, then more eel, then even more eel. By the time we left the sushi chef was calling her "eel lady" and the staff had come out of the back to "eel lady." It's still her favorite.
Baltimore has some great sushi restaurants. And the grocery store variety is really bad. Get thee to a proper sushi palace.

[DM]

I do not think I would like sushi. However, my favorite mayo in the whole world is gourmayo's wasabi mayo. Yum. Although I did have ginger wasabi flavored ice cream at cold stone's once and it was horrifying. That's a terrible thing to do to ice cream.

[carmie]

why don't we have a trader joe's in denver? why?! this is a frequent rant.

i am glad you enjoyed your first foray into sushi.

[Lydia]

Oh my land do i love me some sushi. I use the wasabi sparingly, but what makes it totally wonderful is the pickled ginger slices, i swear. If you didn't use them this time, try 'em next time... changes the whole eating experience. Also there are many sushis with smoked fish that are divine, like eel (i know, creepy but delicious). I got to gorge on free sushi at an Asian-themed b-day party last night, and i was in foodie heaven, mmmmm.

[honestyrain]

my son, four years of age, loves sushi. when we go past the sushi place he shouts: suuuuuuushi!!! for some kids it's mcdonalds. this guy, sushi.

[HolyMama!]

I'm new to sushi, too, but I'd never do the wasabi thing. I don't like spicy.

I love it that you took the time to photograph each one and blog about it. And you're right. If it says 'krab' on the label, you know it's faux and to STAY AWAY. No one wants krab.

[suzanna danna]

Love sushi... LOVE. I hope you have a better experience next time.

[Erin]

I know a lot of folks have legitimate concerns about the scourge of Wal-Mart on the landscape of America, but they sure do have great prices on their organic milk. They sell 2 different brands where I live in upstate New York.
Our local grocer also sells a brand of milk from Vermont that is not organic, but is without the hormones...I still by the organic most of the time...because it is what my son drinks the most of and I am paranoid...