When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy is it
for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered tuna
and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their DNA lab
for analysis. The results may surprise you.

At Todai in Studio City -- a worldwide chain of sushi restaurants with
locations across the U.S. and in Japan -- we ordered red snapper and tuna
roll. It looked and tasted just fine. But the DNA report told another story.

The tuna did come back as tuna. But the snapper turned out to be tilapia ?a
much cheaper fish.
A Todai spokesman apologized, saying the mistake resulted from the
translation of the Japanese word "izumidai." They say it means fresh water
snapper -- but it's really "tilapia."

At California Roll and Sushi Fish in Larchmont, another chain restaurant, we
also ordered the tuna and red snapper. We were suspicious when the snapper
was listed as "white fish" on the receipt.

And sure enough it came back as tilapia. The tuna was fine. The manager said
it a "was a mistake on the part of the waiter."

At Benihana in Newport Beach, the red snapper again was the problem.

Tilapia.

Benihana also blamed it on the translation of izumidai. Because of our
investigation they say they've removed the word "snapper" from the sushi
listing.

At Kabuki in Hollywood -- another sushi chain -- the Japanese snapper was
also tilapia. Again they blamed it on the translation.

In all 6 of the 7 restaurants we tested were tilapia was called snapper.
Including GuGu Sushi in Hermosa Beach, where they thanked us for pointing
out their mistake.

And at Shogun Sushi in Northridge, which never returned our call.

All of the tuna turned out fine.

Sugiura Toshi runs a sushi school in L.A. He says there's no mistaking the
translation and restaurants could save a lot of money by substituting
tilapia for snapper.

"It's about $20 and this one from the package...its $4.50 a pound,?Toshi
says. "They have to know it. The chef has to know. That's what you expect
from the chef right?"

It's also against the law.

"Tilapia is not snapper," says Dr. Jonathan Fielding.

Fielding is the director of the L.A. County Department of Health.

"Whether intentional or not people need to get what they order. We will look
into this and talk to the restaurants,?Fielding said.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_124004745.html

Musashi wrote:

When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy is it
for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered tuna
and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their DNA lab
for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered "white tuna"


--
Dan

"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...
Musashi wrote:

When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy is
it
for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered
tuna
and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their DNA
lab
for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered "white
tuna"


--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be other
than Tuna.

M

At one Japanese restaurant in the Cleveland area, they at least have
izumidai listed as "tilapia". (And they were out of it when I tried
to order some).

"Cygnia" wrote in message
oups.com...
At one Japanese restaurant in the Cleveland area, they at least have
izumidai listed as "tilapia". (And they were out of it when I tried
to order some).


That is refreshingly honest. It may have something to do with the fact that
Tilapia has become very
widespread as a food fish in the US with market recognition, so that using
the Japanese name
of "izumidai" is simply no longer necessary. The name "izumidai" itself,
meaning spring or freshwater
snapper or bream was a purely marketing ploy used by the lower end of the
sushi industry in Japan
some time back when farmed Tilapia from Taiwan was being imported into
Japan.
But again, like the Patagonian Toothfish is not a Sea Bass, Tilapia is not a
"Tai" a member of the Sea Bream family.
This site http://www.banzai-sushi.com/Frozen_S...ailer.htm#null
shows Tilapia as "Tai" which is seriously off the mark, and is part of what
that news story is about.
M

Musashi so bravely stated:
"Cygnia" wrote in message
oups.com...
At one Japanese restaurant in the Cleveland area, they at least have
izumidai listed as "tilapia". (And they were out of it when I tried
to order some).


That is refreshingly honest. It may have something to do with the fact that
Tilapia has become very
widespread as a food fish in the US with market recognition, so that using
the Japanese name
of "izumidai" is simply no longer necessary. The name "izumidai" itself,
meaning spring or freshwater
snapper or bream was a purely marketing ploy used by the lower end of the
sushi industry in Japan
some time back when farmed Tilapia from Taiwan was being imported into
Japan.
But again, like the Patagonian Toothfish is not a Sea Bass, Tilapia is not a
"Tai" a member of the Sea Bream family.
This site http://www.banzai-sushi.com/Frozen_S...ailer.htm#null
shows Tilapia as "Tai" which is seriously off the mark, and is part of what
that news story is about.
M





And so I've got to wonder, what are the health risks of raw tilapia
seeing that it raised in fresh water. I assume it must be frozen first
to insure that any fresh water parasites are dead.

--
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't hold his head under 'til
the bubbles stop.
-
XX: Buddy

"Buddy" why.wood.yew@bother wrote in message
...
Musashi so bravely stated:
"Cygnia" wrote in message
oups.com...
At one Japanese restaurant in the Cleveland area, they at least have
izumidai listed as "tilapia". (And they were out of it when I tried
to order some).


That is refreshingly honest. It may have something to do with the fact
that
Tilapia has become very
widespread as a food fish in the US with market recognition, so that
using
the Japanese name
of "izumidai" is simply no longer necessary. The name "izumidai" itself,
meaning spring or freshwater
snapper or bream was a purely marketing ploy used by the lower end of
the
sushi industry in Japan
some time back when farmed Tilapia from Taiwan was being imported into
Japan.
But again, like the Patagonian Toothfish is not a Sea Bass, Tilapia is
not a
"Tai" a member of the Sea Bream family.
This site http://www.banzai-sushi.com/Frozen_S...ailer.htm#null
shows Tilapia as "Tai" which is seriously off the mark, and is part of
what
that news story is about.
M

And so I've got to wonder, what are the health risks of raw tilapia
seeing that it raised in fresh water. I assume it must be frozen first
to insure that any fresh water parasites are dead.


I would suspect that like farmed salmon, farmed tilapia probably has a low
rate of parasitic infection. Tilapia imported into this country from say
Taiwan
or Ecudaor, or now China, as well is probably frozen. Not sure about the
smaller
number of US fish farms. I agree that it does make one wonder a bit, since
we know
that it's a general rule to avoid raw freshwater fish and among those in
particular
tropical warm water species, which Tilapia is.
M

On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...
Musashi wrote:

When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy is
it
for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered
tuna
and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their DNA
lab
for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered "white
tuna"


--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be other
than Tuna.

M


yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

"i can spell. i just can't type."

barry wrote:
On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

Musashi wrote:


When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy is

it

for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered

tuna

and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their DNA

lab

for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered "white

tuna"



--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be other
than Tuna.

M



yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

But its still tuna, so its kind of a strange item to test for correct
fish.

--
Dan

On Wed, 09 May 2007 20:32:12 -0400, Dan Logcher
wrote:

barry wrote:
On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

Musashi wrote:


When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy is

it

for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered

tuna

and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their DNA

lab

for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered "white

tuna"



--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be other
than Tuna.

M



yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

But its still tuna, so its kind of a strange item to test for correct
fish.

i suppose you could try to substitute bonito that hasn't been prepared
tataki style - wrapped tightly, the difference in texture wouldn't be
so obvious.



"i can spell. i just can't type."

"barry" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 09 May 2007 20:32:12 -0400, Dan Logcher
wrote:

barry wrote:
On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

Musashi wrote:


When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy
is

it

for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a
cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered

tuna

and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it
in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their
DNA

lab

for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute
that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered
"white

tuna"



--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be
other
than Tuna.

M



yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

But its still tuna, so its kind of a strange item to test for correct
fish.

i suppose you could try to substitute bonito that hasn't been prepared
tataki style - wrapped tightly, the difference in texture wouldn't be
so obvious.


Yes, it could easily be a substitute for a hosmaki. As sashimi though
I think I could tell the difference. Katsuo (bonito) in raw form while dark
has a less
"red" tone to it. Hagatsuo (skipjack) is more pinkish. But the giveaway is
that both
forms tend to be more "watery" than even Yellowfin tuna. And to me, this
even translates
down to the flavor. That said, whenever I can get my hands on raw
Bonito/Skipjack I jump for it.
I make a zuke with the katsuo and use it chirashi style with just mitsuba
and shiso for greens.
Admittedly, as zuke I doubt anyone could tell the difference if it was Tuna
or Bonito.
M

Musashi wrote:
"barry" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 09 May 2007 20:32:12 -0400, Dan Logcher
wrote:


barry wrote:

On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:



"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...


Musashi wrote:



When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy

is

it


for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a

cheaper

fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered

tuna


and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it

in

ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their

DNA

lab


for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute

that

isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered

"white

tuna"




--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be

other

than Tuna.

M



yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

But its still tuna, so its kind of a strange item to test for correct
fish.

i suppose you could try to substitute bonito that hasn't been prepared
tataki style - wrapped tightly, the difference in texture wouldn't be
so obvious.



Yes, it could easily be a substitute for a hosmaki. As sashimi though
I think I could tell the difference. Katsuo (bonito) in raw form while dark
has a less
"red" tone to it. Hagatsuo (skipjack) is more pinkish. But the giveaway is
that both
forms tend to be more "watery" than even Yellowfin tuna. And to me, this
even translates
down to the flavor. That said, whenever I can get my hands on raw
Bonito/Skipjack I jump for it.
I make a zuke with the katsuo and use it chirashi style with just mitsuba
and shiso for greens.
Admittedly, as zuke I doubt anyone could tell the difference if it was Tuna
or Bonito.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of raw katsuo. My usual place has it from time to time.
My wife doesn't like it as much, says it tastes too fishy for her.

--
Dan

On Thu, 10 May 2007 14:44:43 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"barry" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 09 May 2007 20:32:12 -0400, Dan Logcher
wrote:

barry wrote:
On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

Musashi wrote:


When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How easy
is

it

for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a
cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We ordered

tuna

and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed it
in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and their
DNA

lab

for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper substitute
that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered
"white

tuna"



--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to be
other
than Tuna.

M



yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

But its still tuna, so its kind of a strange item to test for correct
fish.

i suppose you could try to substitute bonito that hasn't been prepared
tataki style - wrapped tightly, the difference in texture wouldn't be
so obvious.


Yes, it could easily be a substitute for a hosmaki. As sashimi though
I think I could tell the difference. Katsuo (bonito) in raw form while dark
has a less
"red" tone to it. Hagatsuo (skipjack) is more pinkish. But the giveaway is
that both
forms tend to be more "watery" than even Yellowfin tuna. And to me, this
even translates down to the flavor.

yes, besides color, i agree that the texture in sashimi form would be
quite noticeable. but it's my perception that texture (the food
industry term is "mouth feel") as an aspect/nuance of taste is
something western palates are not trained to perceive.

but besides adding flavor, a benefit of tataki is that it creates a
'casing' firming up the outside making it easier to cut cleanly. but
it's more obvious when trying to cut raw albacore - it'd be like
slicing raw chicken breast (the trick being to freeze it slightly to
firm it up).

That said, whenever I can get my hands on raw
Bonito/Skipjack I jump for it.
I make a zuke with the katsuo and use it chirashi style with just mitsuba

my folks call it san ye qin. it reminds me of celery - something for
which i have little affinity.

and shiso for greens.
Admittedly, as zuke I doubt anyone could tell the difference if it was Tuna
or Bonito.
M

zuke is something i don't see very often but i imagine it not that
difficult to make at home. do you have a recipe you favor?



"i can spell. i just can't type."

I was reading about this trip to a sushi wholesaler a while back (it's
from the world's greatest food blog):

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/sushi/index.html

There are a lot of tricks and shortcuts in the restaurant business -
and remember who's running the sushi racket in the USA - the Moony
cult.

"barry" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 10 May 2007 14:44:43 GMT, "Musashi"
wrote:


"barry" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 09 May 2007 20:32:12 -0400, Dan Logcher
wrote:

barry wrote:
On Wed, 09 May 2007 18:59:38 GMT, "Musashi"

wrote:


"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

Musashi wrote:


When you order sushi -- how do you know what you're getting? How
easy
is

it

for sushi chefs to pull a bait and switch, and substitute for a
cheaper
fish?

We went to seven sushi restaurants in southern California.We
ordered

tuna

and snapper sushi and we took it to go. We bagged it up and packed
it
in
ice. We sent it to Nova Southeastern University in Florida and
their
DNA

lab

for analysis. The results may surprise you.

What was the purpose of ordering tuna? Is there a cheaper
substitute
that
isn't tuna, or is that a control group. They should have ordered
"white

tuna"



--
Dan

Good point. I'm not sure what they could have expected the Tuna to
be
other
than Tuna.

M



yellowfin colored dark red and advertised as bluefin maybe? than
again, why waste bluefin on tekka maki?

But its still tuna, so its kind of a strange item to test for correct
fish.

i suppose you could try to substitute bonito that hasn't been prepared
tataki style - wrapped tightly, the difference in texture wouldn't be
so obvious.


Yes, it could easily be a substitute for a hosmaki. As sashimi though
I think I could tell the difference. Katsuo (bonito) in raw form while
dark
has a less
"red" tone to it. Hagatsuo (skipjack) is more pinkish. But the giveaway
is
that both
forms tend to be more "watery" than even Yellowfin tuna. And to me, this
even translates down to the flavor.

yes, besides color, i agree that the texture in sashimi form would be
quite noticeable. but it's my perception that texture (the food
industry term is "mouth feel") as an aspect/nuance of taste is
something western palates are not trained to perceive.


Hmm...is that true? You may be right. I just never thought of that.
Something to ponder about.

but besides adding flavor, a benefit of tataki is that it creates a
'casing' firming up the outside making it easier to cut cleanly. but
it's more obvious when trying to cut raw albacore - it'd be like
slicing raw chicken breast (the trick being to freeze it slightly to
firm it up).


You are right in that as Tataki the "casing" does make it easier to slice.
But as I use a Yanagiba Bouchou (sashimi knife) I slice on one pull so even
raw Bonito which is as you correctly point out quite soft, poses no problem.
I would imagine tying to slice such a soft fish with a rocking motion of a
western
knife could cause a mess.

That said, whenever I can get my hands on raw
Bonito/Skipjack I jump for it.
I make a zuke with the katsuo and use it chirashi style with just mitsuba

my folks call it san ye qin. it reminds me of celery - something for
which i have little affinity.


Yes, that's right. Mitsuba ($B;0$DMU!K(B is called San Ye Qin in Chinese ($B;03p(B
$B6\(B).
And it does have a strong distinct aroma/taste.

and shiso for greens.
Admittedly, as zuke I doubt anyone could tell the difference if it was
Tuna
or Bonito.
M

zuke is something i don't see very often but i imagine it not that
difficult to make at home. do you have a recipe you favor?


My Zuke is standard by-the-book, nothing special at all.
Just Shoyu, Mirin, Sake.
I use it for Bonito and for Maguro no Akami, because to be honest
apart from the Toro areas I find tuna rather boring. Mostly from having
eaten it alot in my life.