Hello, All!

I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of restaurants in
NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today . He gave directions for
preparing octopus for sashimi. This involves rubbing with rock
salt to get rid of the slime that coats it, beating to tenderize
("traditionally with a large diakon"!), and simmering in dashi
for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton wrote:

Hello, All!

I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of restaurants in NYC and
Philadelphia) in Borders today . He gave directions for preparing
octopus for sashimi. This involves rubbing with rock salt to get rid of
the slime that coats it, beating to tenderize ("traditionally with a
large diakon"!), and simmering in dashi for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!

No, tako is par-boiled sushi.

--
Dan

Dan wrote on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:35:44 -0400:

?? Hello, All!
??
?? I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of
?? restaurants in NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today . He
?? gave directions for preparing octopus for sashimi. This
?? involves rubbing with rock salt to get rid of the slime
?? that coats it, beating to tenderize ("traditionally with a
?? large diakon"!), and simmering in dashi for 1 1/2 hours!
?? It's not raw fish!

DL No, tako is par-boiled sushi.

Well boiled, I'd say!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton wrote:
Dan wrote on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:35:44 -0400:

?? Hello, All!
??
?? I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of
?? restaurants in NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today . He
?? gave directions for preparing octopus for sashimi. This
?? involves rubbing with rock salt to get rid of the slime
?? that coats it, beating to tenderize ("traditionally with a
?? large diakon"!), and simmering in dashi for 1 1/2 hours!
?? It's not raw fish!

DL No, tako is par-boiled sushi.

Well boiled, I'd say!

Should only be par-boiled..

--
Dan

Dan wrote on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:55:08 -0400:

DL James Silverton wrote:
?? Dan wrote on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:35:44 -0400:
??
?? Hello, All!
??
?? I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of
?? restaurants in NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today .
?? He gave directions for preparing octopus for sashimi.
?? This involves rubbing with rock salt to get rid of the
?? slime that coats it, beating to tenderize
?? ("traditionally with a large diakon"!), and simmering in
?? dashi for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!
??
DL No, tako is par-boiled sushi.
??
?? Well boiled, I'd say!

DL Should only be par-boiled..

If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I hate
to think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw! :-)


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton wrote:

Dan wrote on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:55:08 -0400:

DL James Silverton wrote:
?? Dan wrote on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:35:44 -0400:
??
?? Hello, All!
??
?? I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of
?? restaurants in NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today .
?? He gave directions for preparing octopus for sashimi.
?? This involves rubbing with rock salt to get rid of the
?? slime that coats it, beating to tenderize
?? ("traditionally with a large diakon"!), and simmering in
?? dashi for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!
??
DL No, tako is par-boiled sushi.
??
?? Well boiled, I'd say!

DL Should only be par-boiled..

If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I hate to
think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw! :-)

That recipe sounds rather excessive to me.. I had thought tako was par-boiled
for 2 minutes or so. Not close to 2 hours. But maybe Morimotu knows some
secret to it.

--
Dan

"James Silverton" wrote in message
news:ABAJi.774$9r4.84@trnddc04...
Hello, All!

I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of restaurants in
NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today . He gave directions for
preparing octopus for sashimi. This involves rubbing with rock
salt to get rid of the slime that coats it, beating to tenderize
("traditionally with a large diakon"!), and simmering in dashi
for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

----- Original Message -----
From: "James Silverton"
Newsgroups: alt.food.sushi
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 5:08 PM
Subject: Octopus for sushi


Hello, All!

I picked up a book by Masahara Morimotu (owner of restaurants in
NYC and Philadelphia) in Borders today . He gave directions for
preparing octopus for sashimi. This involves rubbing with rock
salt to get rid of the slime that coats it, beating to tenderize
("traditionally with a large diakon"!), and simmering in dashi
for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland


Yes, Tako is neither raw nor a fish.
Traditionally it is used boiled.
That said, in some of the top Japanese restaurants you may find actual "raw"
tako.
Both Hatsuhana and Sushiden in Manhattan
often have this. Usually it's served as "Nama Dako" (raw tako) a sashimi
appetizer.

"If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I hate
to think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw! :-)"

Contrary to what you might expect, in raw form
Tako is very tender and nothing like when cooked.

Musashi

Musashi wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:32:11 GMT:



M Yes, Tako is neither raw nor a fish.
M Traditionally it is used boiled.
M That said, in some of the top Japanese restaurants you may
M find actual "raw" tako.
M Both Hatsuhana and Sushiden in Manhattan
M often have this. Usually it's served as "Nama Dako" (raw
M tako) a sashimi appetizer.

M "If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I
M hate to think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw!
M :-)"

M Contrary to what you might expect, in raw form
M Tako is very tender and nothing like when cooked.

Interesting! I must look out for it tho' I don't think I've ever
seen the term "Nama Daiko". I was also most intrigued by the
picture in Maramatu Morimotu's book of a large diakon actually
being used for tenderizing!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"James Silverton" wrote in message
news:jEOJi.4512$Nn4.2596@trnddc02...
Musashi wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:32:11 GMT:



M Yes, Tako is neither raw nor a fish.
M Traditionally it is used boiled.
M That said, in some of the top Japanese restaurants you may
M find actual "raw" tako.
M Both Hatsuhana and Sushiden in Manhattan
M often have this. Usually it's served as "Nama Dako" (raw
M tako) a sashimi appetizer.

M "If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I
M hate to think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw!
M :-)"

M Contrary to what you might expect, in raw form
M Tako is very tender and nothing like when cooked.

Interesting! I must look out for it tho' I don't think I've ever
seen the term "Nama Daiko". I was also most intrigued by the
picture in Maramatu Morimotu's book of a large diakon actually
being used for tenderizing!



It occurred to me later that the "shokkan" (tasting consistency, texture) of
cooked and
raw Tako is very very similar to the difference between cooked clams and raw
clams.
I should have mentioned this.
In both NY places where I've had it, it wasn't on the menu.
It may be worth asking if they have Nama Dako.
M

"Musashi" wrote in message
. net...

"James Silverton" wrote in
message
news:jEOJi.4512$Nn4.2596@trnddc02...
Musashi wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:32:11 GMT:



It occurred to me later that the "shokkan" (tasting
consistency, texture) of
cooked and
raw Tako is very very similar to the difference between cooked
clams and raw
clams.
I should have mentioned this.
In both NY places where I've had it, it wasn't on the menu.
It may be worth asking if they have Nama Dako.
M

I'm not sure if I have ever tried raw and cooked clams in a
sushi restaurant. Recently, the only ones I have had were
so-called surf clams and those, I think, were raw. I have had
cooked clams in regular cuisine (clam chowder especially) and I
would say that the texture of the clams was firmer than the
clams at the sushi bar. However, that's not a real comparison
since the species would be different, I suppose.



--
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Buddy wrote:

here's James Silverton's last post -:

Musashi wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:32:11 GMT:



M Yes, Tako is neither raw nor a fish.
M Traditionally it is used boiled.
M That said, in some of the top Japanese restaurants you may
M find actual "raw" tako.
M Both Hatsuhana and Sushiden in Manhattan
M often have this. Usually it's served as "Nama Dako" (raw
M tako) a sashimi appetizer.

M "If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I
M hate to think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw!
M :-)"

M Contrary to what you might expect, in raw form
M Tako is very tender and nothing like when cooked.

Interesting! I must look out for it tho' I don't think I've ever seen
the term "Nama Daiko". I was also most intrigued by the picture in
Maramatu Morimotu's book of a large diakon actually being used for
tenderizing!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Watching Andrew Zimmern & Anthony Bourdain on the cooking show a couple
of weeks ago and saw them in a restaurant (I think it was Jewel Bako) in
NYC somewhere, very upscale, and they had raw tako where they took a
fairly large tentacle and cut thin slices from it. These were thrown
down on the prep table with some force so that the slices actually
swelled up immediately.

I've ordered Aoyogi a few times cuz the chef smacks it down on the cutting
board.. makes those who aren't paying attention jump a bit. He said it
tightens the muscle, I think.

--
Dan

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

here's James Silverton's last post -:

Musashi wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:32:11 GMT:



M Yes, Tako is neither raw nor a fish.
M Traditionally it is used boiled.
M That said, in some of the top Japanese restaurants you may
M find actual "raw" tako.
M Both Hatsuhana and Sushiden in Manhattan
M often have this. Usually it's served as "Nama Dako" (raw
M tako) a sashimi appetizer.

M "If something is only par-boiled after an hour and a half, I
M hate to think how much jaw exercise I'd get eating it raw!
M :-)"

M Contrary to what you might expect, in raw form
M Tako is very tender and nothing like when cooked.

Interesting! I must look out for it tho' I don't think I've ever seen
the term "Nama Daiko". I was also most intrigued by the picture in
Maramatu Morimotu's book of a large diakon actually being used for
tenderizing!


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Watching Andrew Zimmern & Anthony Bourdain on the cooking show a couple
of weeks ago and saw them in a restaurant (I think it was Jewel Bako) in
NYC somewhere, very upscale, and they had raw tako where they took a
fairly large tentacle and cut thin slices from it. These were thrown down
on the prep table with some force so that the slices actually swelled up
immediately.

I've ordered Aoyogi a few times cuz the chef smacks it down on the cutting
board.. makes those who aren't paying attention jump a bit. He said it
tightens the muscle, I think.

--
Dan

In Australia and I believe in the state of California is it illegal to
prepare lobsters and
crabs while they are alive. Should this ever include clams and oysters I
think we are going
to have a serious problem.
M

"James Silverton" wrote in message
news:uDPJi.2940$9r4.143@trnddc04...
"Musashi" wrote in message
. net...

"James Silverton" wrote in message
news:jEOJi.4512$Nn4.2596@trnddc02...
Musashi wrote on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:32:11 GMT:



It occurred to me later that the "shokkan" (tasting consistency, texture)
of
cooked and
raw Tako is very very similar to the difference between cooked clams and
raw
clams.
I should have mentioned this.
In both NY places where I've had it, it wasn't on the menu.
It may be worth asking if they have Nama Dako.
M

I'm not sure if I have ever tried raw and cooked clams in a sushi
restaurant. Recently, the only ones I have had were so-called surf clams
and those, I think, were raw.

Yes at a sushi counter you will find Akagai, Aoyagi, Torigai, Mirugai, etc
all in raw form. I think that surf clam is probably mirugai or geoduck.
On their cooked menu, you may find a Asari miso soup (Manilla clams) or
a Saka mushi (steamed with sake).

I have had cooked clams in regular cuisine (clam chowder especially) and I
would say that the texture of the clams was firmer than the clams at the
sushi bar. However, that's not a real comparison since the species would
be different, I suppose.


Yes clams harden up when cooked and become chewy.
This holds true for all types of clams. Mussels and Oysters tend to firm up
but won't be quite as chewy as clams.
Chowders use large quahogs which are the same served raw as Littlenecks and
Cherrystones.
They are indeed a different species than the raw stuff you get at the sushi
counter.

M

On 2007-09-23 14:08:48 -0700, "James Silverton"
said:

He gave directions for preparing octopus for sashimi. This involves
rubbing with rock salt to get rid of the slime that coats it, beating
to tenderize ("traditionally with a large diakon"!), and simmering in
dashi for 1 1/2 hours! It's not raw fish!

More importantly, Octopus aren't fish! They're cephalopods!

--

thepixelfreak

On 2007-09-24 08:23:52 -0700, "Musashi" said:

In Australia and I believe in the state of California is it illegal to
prepare lobsters and crabs while they are alive. Should this ever
include clams and oysters I think we are going to have a serious
problem.

I've heard that this might be come a law in California, but can find no
verification that it has. And of course we should point out that this
is limited to commercial kitchens, not home use.

I wonder how they kill them in Australia? Electrocution? Guillotine?
--
///---