Do's and Don'ts - Wasabi and Soy Sauce

Wasabi and Soy Sauce

 Most people enjoy their sushi with a little bit of sauce and spice. I admit that I can rarely eat a roll or sushi without it, unless it is a raw piece of extremely high grade sushi from a notable restaurant (like Hiko's - refer to last post). If you do enjoy this delicious combination, then you're in the right place - if not, then if you ever decide to try it, you will be able to know what to do and what not to do.

Do's - Wasabi and Soy Sauce

Mixing 

When given the little small, tiny bowl used for soy sauce, the process begins with the pouring of the actual soy. If you don't like spicy foods at all, then just skip this and go ahead and pour the soy sauce right in. But if you enjoy foods that make you hurt in good ways, then you should start by pour a tiny amount of soy sauce. Just enough to lightly cover the bottom - very light. Then once the wasabi comes, you can begin to mix in as much as you'd like. 

The sauce will begin to get pasty, but that's okay, because when you're done mixing the wasabi, you can now fill up the bowl with more soy sauce so the paste mixes in much more smoother. Check for the color of the soy sauce - the lighter it gets, the hotter it will be, so adjust the level of hotness by the color. 

Dunking

Now that you have your wasabi-soy sauce mixture ready, you can now begin eating! But fair warning, if you dunk your piece of sushi too far deep into the mixture bowl, then the rice will absorb more that you think and you'll be left crying worse than hearing the news that your in-laws are coming to town. Me personally, I enjoy shedding those tears. It's a good type of hurt. But if you aren't comfortable crying at the dinner table, lightly graze the top of the bowl and you should be good.

Wasabi

Don'ts - Wasabi and Soy Sauce

Mixing

The mixing of the wasabi and soy sauce can be done in a more difficult way than explained. One thing you shouldn't do if you're mixing the two, just just do what many people do, and pour the soy sauce all in and place the wasabi in a big puddle of soy sauce - the soy sauce will not mix well if yoy do this.

Dunking

There really is no bad way of dipping your sushi into the mixture of wasabi and soy sauce. This just depends on how salty/spicy you like your sushi. But mostly everyone doesn't like a piece of sushi drenched in soy sauce, so try not to dunk your piece all the way in.

*I do not own any of the picture on this post*

A Trip to hiko-A-mon's

hiko-A-mon's

Tucked Away

Tucked away in a small shopping center in Prospect, KY lies a sushi restaurant that is well worth the visit. For those who don't know where Prospect is, it is a small city-town about 15-20 minutes outside of Louisville, which makes this hot-spot an easy ride from the largest city in Kentucky.

The Food - Crown and Jewels

Hiko-A-mon's is on of my all-time, favorite restaurants that I have ever been too. The sushi is of the utmost quality; the fish filets that the chefs use have a flavor that is identical to a fish that had just been caught that morning, and filleted in the evening - which is close to the case for Hiko's (the common name for the restaurant for those who are frequent visitors), who imports the sushi weekly from a market on the east coast. This imported fish transcends the quality of the fish from mediocre to superb. 

Once the quality of the fish is obtained, it isn't hard to whip out outstanding rolls. My personal favorite at Hiko's is the salmon ninja roll (you probably have an idea from most my post's that I am a salmon fanatic). This roll is an infusion of grinded, tender salmon - which makes it very easy to eat , versus a thick, chewy piece of salmon that is just cut from the fillet - with avocado. This grind is what makes most of their rolls unique, and shows the effort that is put into every roll. The simplicity of the roll diverts your attention to the most key part of the roll, the salmon. 

Roll from hiko-A-mon's

Final Thoughts

This question of whether you should go here shouldn't even be a question -  you should go here every opportunity you have. The real question is do "do I go here too often where people are beginning to think that I don't know of any other restaurants around"; yes it is that good. 

The atmosphere is great for both lunch and dinner, but I personally prefer it during the lunch hours when they aren't as busy. 

If you're interested in finding out more about Hiko's, or would like to make a reservation, then follow the link below, and happy sushi eating from one sushi lover to another. 

hiko-A-mon

* I do not own the picture of the rolls that I provided*

Nigiri vs. Sashimi

salmon sashimi

The battle for a chance at the chopsticks

Does the sound of raw, cut fish sound appetizing to you? Maybe you like the idea of the tender fillet melting away in your mouth as you slowly chew the sushi into nonexistence. If that is the case, you my friend are a sashimi lover. Maybe the idea of this gets you a little uneasy. You enjoy the taste of the fish, but not to the point where you have reverted back to the dawn of the cavemen. The nigiri is well up your ally. The infusion of rice gives you the filling satisfaction, while still enjoying the flavor of the fillet. Both these types of preparation of sushi have become key items on any sushi bar or restaurant menu within the United States and abroad.

Do these jeans make me look fat?

When people look at any menu in today's society, the question of calories and 'how much can I eat tonight where I will still be able to go to the beach tomorrow' come into play. This is no different with sushi menus. When you look at a piece of sushi, at first glance it looks like it isn't much, but add on eight-plus of his brothers and sisters, and you got the whole family, not to mention the mayo and eel sauces that pack on the calories with any signature roll; cause lets face it, Americans are all about the interesting things on menus that we can't pronounce - hence the 'signature roll'; but I'll touch on that in the near future.  To fight these calories that are invading our plates at sushi restaurants, the healthier alternative many sushi connoisseurs are making is the switch over to nigiri and sashimi. Due to the simplicity that these types of sushi are prepared, the calories drop. The calories in sashimi are much less than any other types of sushi, which give them an advantage over nigiri in this situation. 

Salmon nigiri

 

Taste over matter

Everyone's taste buds are different, which makes deciding which preparation is better flavored. The sashimi is the raw fish over nothing (unless you put it over something - in which case it isn't sashimi anymore). This gives a flavor, purely deriving from the fish and maybe a taste of soy sauce. A pinch of MSG never hurt anyone - as long as it's not a build up, in which you could potentially be harmed by the long-term affects - but that never stopped me. Nigiri on the other hand offers the taste of the fish infused with the taste of the rice it sits upon. This settles the flavor of the fish, and offers an escape route for those who don't want a strong taste of the fish.

Show me the money

Prices. What many people hate to see go up. Unfortunately, not all sushi is cheap or the same price. If it were cheap, I would eat it everyday of my life. So many people need to make decisions based on how much they can spend. Lets face it we need to be practical. Sashimi runs about five dollars per three pieces and nigiri runs about two dollars a piece. Depending on the chef, a larger piece of fillet is usually on a piece of sashimi than what would be on a piece of nigiri. You will have a more filling meal if you decide on the nigiri, thanks to the rice, so you wont need to eat as much to be satisfied. 

So, price wise, what is the better bang for your buck? 

2 orders of sashimi (6 pieces) x $5 an order = $10

vs.

6 orders of nigiri (6 pieces) x $2 an order = $12

You decide.

Who's on the chopping block?

Nigiri is a well-rounded choice - it has a filling effect that will leave you with a satisfied feeling, knowing you're good for the day/night. Although, many would choose not to order a piece of nigiri just because of the calorie value that is held over their heads. The flavor is subtle and not as strong as the sashimi, which adds a twist of lightness to the prepared piece of sushi. Nigiri might be more expensive when considered in a 'piece for piece' manner, but you might not need as many pieces because of the fact that you might not be able to eat more than 2-4 pieces.

Tuna nigiri

Sashimi is sophisticated. It gives off the 'I enjoy art galleries and taking pictures of the city skyline at night throughout the week' kind of energy. But that's fine. Want to save on calories, then sashimi is clearly the way to go. Hopefully you can get full off of 5-6 pieces, so that you don't break the nigiri's price cap. The flavor offers a deep, rich one that provides a full ride of Japan during the 30 seconds that it is inside your mouth - you become Japanese for a good 30 seconds basically. You can't really say no to that.  

Salmon sashimi

Ultimately it is up to the person ordering the sushi that decides which one they prefer. There isn't one that is 'better', but just different. I advise the next time you go to a sushi restaurant, to try a piece or three of these differently-prepared sushi - there is more to this world than just the signature rolls.

*I do not own any of the photographs taken on this post*

The 'Signature' Roll

Spicy Crunch Roll topped with Albacore Yellowtail and onion, cilantro, eel, spicy mayonnaise, shichimi, sriracha & jalapeño 

Are You a Complex Person? 

This is the question that pops into my head when i think of the 'signature' roll at sushi restaurants. They usually come with all sorts of different ingredients that you wouldn't even know was in there, if it wasn't up to the menu. Lets take this Spicy Crunch Roll for example. First of all, the word spicy is most commonly used for the 'Spicy Tuna Roll', which has became oh-so famous. The crunch part of that title adds a little twist - lets assume it's referring to flakes that might be inside the roll because we have a picture to guide us. But normally if I saw 'crunch' on a sushi menu, I would think that maybe it is referring to the crunchy roll (tuna or salmon), in which most sushi restaurants deep-fry the roll. 

Confusion can come from the 'signature' roll, which is why it is advised to be specific with your waiter/waitress when ordering one of these rolls, to understand what exactly are in these rolls, and how are they prepared. 

The Drunken Fish roll, made with tempura shrimp, asparagus and red tuna

It Works for Me

Okay. I'm not going to lie. Signature rolls can be very good. After all, there is a reason why they call them signature rolls. More times than not, the flavors of the different ingredients blend and work well together. That is why most of these types of rolls become a restaurants signature roll. It is what that restaurants soon becomes known for, and word travels quick if there is a new and exciting roll that just his the menu at a happening sushi spot.

*I do not own any of these pictures posted*