Who doesn’t like a Kit Kat bar once in a while? It is one of the most iconic candy bars/chocolate bars in the world. It is as a worldwide phenomenon hitting global markets in 16 countries and has been quite the craze in Japan. In Japan since 2000, Nestle has created over 200 flavors. This rivals the amount of flavors that Pokey and Pretz offers, the 2 most iconic candy bar sticks in Japan.
If you look at any specialty sushi section of any Japanese menu in the western world, you will notice a majority of the ones listed have avocado in them. What a lot of people do not know is that Avocado is a foreign ingredient in Japan and is not used commonly in their rolls.
It all started about 45 years ago when a Japanese Chef in the Los Angeles area had trouble finding Toro. Toro is known as the fatty area of the tuna and the taste is described as buttery smooth.
Furthermore, the Toro is divided into even more distinct area of the fatty part known as Otoro (Under fish area & is the fattiest) and Chutoro (belly area). In the image above, Otoro is number 1 and 2.
Because Toro was difficult to find during that time, the Japanese Chef discovered Avocado which is an abundant fruit in California and a popular ingredient in many Mexican dishes. In a way, it was discovered as an impressive substitute thus it origins started in California, U.S.A.
When the avocado was implemented as a replacement for Toro, many specialty rolls started to use the fruit and one of the many first, if not the first, is the Avocado Roll and California Roll. What is interesting is that you would think the California Roll originates from California but it was actually invented in Vancouver Canada.
Avocado Roll is a pretty simple roll as it is self-described as it only has avocado and rice.
The California roll has avocado, crab (fake or real), and cucumbers. This roll has to be the most influential rolls in the world and has helped catapult the Japanese food craze outside of Japan many years ago.
by ArunKamaraj
The Caterpillar Roll is more of a expensive roll but the most well-known sushi roll in the 9 to 14 dollar range. For more detailed information on the Caterpillar Roll, click here to read our dedicated article on this specialty roll.
by bitmask
Avocados are known to have many nutritional values and are the only known fruit that delivers a vast amount of healthy fats (monounsaturated). This fatty fruit also includes close to 20 different minerals and vitamins. Some of the well-known benefits that the fruit provides are maintaining cholesterol levels, protection against Osteoporosis from the high amounts of Vitamin K, reducing the risk of cancer and improving vision just to name a few.
Halloween is here again and we decided to search for the best Halloween themed sushi out there.
We gathered 10 of them and made it into a top 10 list for your viewing. Many of them are intriguing to the point where we were shocked by the amazing artistry. You will notice the use of salmon as it makes a perfect orangy color especially for Halloween.
Don't forget to check our article on the best Sushi inspired Halloween costume at this link.
1. Jack O Lantern
When you travel to Japan you will notice the many coffee shops around the larger areas and towns. Have you ever seen all those fancy latte art designs trending on social media for the past years? There is a huge boom for these shops where tea once clearly dominated the hot beverage market.
Japan is one of the biggest global consumers of coffee at 3rd most in the world where coffee was never a tradition on old Japan. Why is that?
Nigiri Sushi...You know - the pieces of sushi where a slice of fish, octopus, egg, etc. is placed delicately on top of an elegantly formed chunk of rice. Nigiri is much different from a traditional maki sushi roll.
Although we are all accustomed to eating our maki rolls with chopsticks, the "proper" way to eat nigiri sushi is actually with your hands!
While in the West, typical lunch menu consists of appetizers (eg. Gyoza and Edamame Beans), maybe some noodles, a bento box of a variety of Japanese food, tempura and lists of sushi rolls. Common sushi rolls you may find on the menu are:
Pokémon’s popularity has been crazy over the last couple of years amongst children and even in adults. If you don’t know what Pokémon is then maybe you might have heard of Pikachu at least? A majority of people who love pop-culture would know of this yellowish little, pudgy, bunny like character.
This character of Pikachu is found in many video games (first appeared in 1996), cartoons and in food themes.
Eel is very popular in Asian cuisine and is usually prepare on the grill. It is one of the fattiest foods you will find in the sea. Unagi is a freshwater eel and is supposedly high in saturated cholesterol and fat.
As compared to Anago, a saltwater eel, is less oily and rich, is a healthier choice. Many people prefer eating Unagi because of its richer taste.
An issue in Japan is that the government is concern with the decline of freshwater eel over the last 3 generations and has been placed on its endangered list of species.
Even though Unagi is fat and rich it does have many nutrients. It does contain calcium along with vitamin A-B1-B2-D-E. It also contains high-quality minerals and proteins.
46% of Vitamin B12
60% Vitamin A
17% Vitamin E
15% Niacin
by avlxyz
Unagi has the highest amount of unsaturated fatty acids than any other sea creature. Primarily containing EPA and DHA fatty acids, these are known to help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. There has been some research on its benefits on the brain development and reducing the risk of vascular diseases and arthritis.
Other strong cases have shown the benefits for the eyes as well as the skin, helping to fight against Eczema.
For a serving of 100 g would amount to 255 to 330 cal (20-23g of Fat, 3-5g of Carbs, 15-22g of Protein).
For one single piece of unagi would amount to 100-150 cal. If you are having Unagi as nigri, it would come in two pieces, so you would have to double the amount along with the addition of the rice. For more information on calorie counts of other Nigiri or other types of sushi, visit our database.
Also understand Unagi is layered with a sweet Eel sauce, and depending on the amount added by the chef, the calories count will vary.
Don’t you hate it when you’re licking ice cream during the hot sun and it just drips down the cone, then to your hands and then all the way down to your elbows. In order to prevent this from happening, you’ll have to lick the eat ice cream as quick as you can, but then you end up with a bad brain freeze. Oh what to do?
Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy of mainly thin sliced raw fish (or meat). The fish is usually presented alongside daikon and shiso leaves arranged artistically around each other. The meal is not complete without some dippings the commonest being soy sauce, ginger and wasabi. Many people still get confused that there is a difference between sushi as opposed to sashimi.
Since the fish or meat is served raw, a lot of care is taken to serve only the best cuts. As such, the Japanese prefer to use salt-water fish and at times freeze it to kill any parasites that it may be carrying.
Because fish has been an integral part of Japanese cuisine since time immemorial, it is only natural that they have found countless sea creatures that form part of the menu in sashimi restaurants. We have highlighted the commonest ones:
It has a distinctive bright orange color and is very common in sashimi restaurants. Its price varies with the cut and its belly is the most expensive cut due to its extra fattiness.
You may be surprised to find that although these clams are served as sashimi they are actually not raw but have been boiled to improve their flavor.
Maguro is also very popular sashimi fish and just like sake, different cuts fetch different prices with the priciest being the fatty belly.
There are many ways in which squid is served raw however; one of the most notable is ika somen which is prepared by shredding the squid into noodle-like threads.
by avlxyz
This one is some-what seasonal since it is tastiest during summer. Those who don’t like their fish fatty will find kanpachi appealing because it is quite lean.
by T.Tseng
At this point, it is important to mention that this list is by no means exhaustive; there are other forms of sea-food that you may find served as sashimi in Japanese restaurants. So, as you tour the country be on the lookout for sea urchins, octopus, blowfish and even horse meat.
At any sashimi restaurant worth its salt, you will be served the fish accompanied by some dippings and there is a certain way that these dippings are to be utilized. First and foremost, you need to pour a reasonable amount of soy sauce into a bowl. Don’t be wasteful. Secondly, don’t be tempted to mix the wasabi and ground ginger into the soy sauce instead dip the fish into the soy sauce or rub it with the wasabi or ginger. This is not just less messy, but it also allows you to savor each unique taste individually. It is common to eat a piece of sashimi with your chopsticks, where as compare to Nigiri, you eat with your hands. Nowadays chopsticks are becoming the norm for Nigiri.
Since sashimi is for the most part raw meat, there are certain risks associated with eating it. The biggest danger is that of parasites which may be transferred into your body. Furthermore, although sashimi is meant to be made from the freshest meat/fish certain people have devised ways of making stale fish appear fresh therefore be careful!
