Zen of Fish
I finished reading it recently, and it's an amazing book. I was always curious about how Sushi was adopted by American culture, and had always heard whispers that Sushi had undergone quite a transformation in order to fit to Western taste.
There is one odd thing though. About two weeks ago I ate nothing but sushi. I just had the worst craving for it, but it lasted an entire week! Anyway, lots of delicious little raw fish morsels are to be found in Philadelphia. Mizu is pretty good, considering the fact that it's a chain. There are two really good Sushi places at City Hall as well, that are a bit more authentic.
<p>Don’t get me wrong, Mizu is great but you can only eat raw Tuna and Salmon so many times, before reading the Zen of Fish and realizing that you’re missing out on quite a bit.The key is just to be adventurous, I suppose. I did have a bit of bad luck though when I first tried Tamago. I hated it! It’s only through respect and iron will that I can actually nibble on Tamago without turning green these days. How strange it is that I turn green at the sight of a bit of egg on a piece of rice and the main character of Zen of Fish gets squeamish about mackerel and octopus.
</p><p>I remember I had this awful job at a crab pond / paintball field where I had to cut up bunker for crab traps. I mean, talk about the pits. If gutting and cleaning fish for sushi is considered “disgusting” by some, the only thing I can say is “Well, at least you get to put it on a clump of rice.”What really got me to buy the book was the author’s New York Times Op-Ed lamenting the fact that many Americans don’t know the proper etiquette of sushi, and the fact that in Japan you’re not expected to order sushi like you would order a hamburger. Rather, you approach the sushi bar and the sushi chef decides what to serve you, and interacts with you. Pretty cool.Now, if I could only find a book that explains how Chinese food changed to suit American tastes.</p>