I was planning on visiting the Wild Edibles shop at the Grand Central
Market tomorrow to buy some high quality fish for a first ever attempt
to make sashimi at home. I was wondering whether any experienced
sushi-makers can offer some general advice. (Also, if there are other
places in New York City that you can recommend for purchasing sushi-
grade fish, I would greatly appreciate that!)

Thanks,
Irina

Irina Paley > wrote:
> I was planning on visiting the Wild Edibles shop at the Grand Central
> Market tomorrow to buy some high quality fish for a first ever attempt
> to make sashimi at home. I was wondering whether any experienced
> sushi-makers can offer some general advice. (Also, if there are other
> places in New York City that you can recommend for purchasing sushi-
> grade fish, I would greatly appreciate that!)

Hi Irina,

Bring an ice chest. Either 1/2 fill it with ice or buy ice at the market.
If the fish isn't packed in a waterproof package, bring some gallon size
sealable Baggies. I've done this many times. I even flew from Los Angeles
CA to Austin TX with sashimi packed like that. It was as fresh as when I
bought it!

Barely freeze the fish. It's a lot easier to slice that way. The knife
should be razor sharp.

Buy a daikon to grate or shred. Buy a fresh Wasabi root if you can find
one. Otherwise they might have real wasabi in a tube or faux wasabi powder.
Buy some pickled ginger.

Most important, buy a big bottle of good sake that you can drink cold or at
room temperature. ENJOY and report back!

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I support them at https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

On Nov 30, 7:46 pm, Nick Cramer > wrote:
> Hi Irina,
>
> Bring an ice chest. Either 1/2 fill it with ice or buy ice at the market.
> If the fish isn't packed in a waterproof package, bring some gallon size
> sealable Baggies. I've done this many times. I even flew from Los Angeles
> CA to Austin TX with sashimi packed like that. It was as fresh as when I
> bought it!
>
> Barely freeze the fish. It's a lot easier to slice that way. The knife
> should be razor sharp.
>
> Buy a daikon to grate or shred. Buy a fresh Wasabi root if you can find
> one. Otherwise they might have real wasabi in a tube or faux wasabi powder.
> Buy some pickled ginger.
>
> Most important, buy a big bottle of good sake that you can drink cold or at
> room temperature. ENJOY and report back!

Thanks very much, Nick! That's excellent advice. It absolutely did
not occur to me that I would need to refrigerate the fish for the 30
minute train ride from the market to my house. Makes perfect sense,
though.

Irina Paley > wrote:
> On Nov 30, 7:46 pm, Nick Cramer > wrote:
> > Hi Irina,
> >
> > Bring an ice chest. Either 1/2 fill it with ice or buy ice at the
> > market. If the fish isn't packed in a waterproof package, bring some
> > gallon size sealable Baggies. I've done this many times. I even flew
> > from Los Angeles CA to Austin TX with sashimi packed like that. It was
> > as fresh as when I bought it!
> >
> > Barely freeze the fish. It's a lot easier to slice that way. The knife
> > should be razor sharp.
> >
> > Buy a daikon to grate or shred. Buy a fresh Wasabi root if you can find
> > one. Otherwise they might have real wasabi in a tube or faux wasabi
> > powder. Buy some pickled ginger.
> >
> > Most important, buy a big bottle of good sake that you can drink cold
> > or at room temperature. ENJOY and report back!
>
> Thanks very much, Nick! That's excellent advice. It absolutely did
> not occur to me that I would need to refrigerate the fish for the 30
> minute train ride from the market to my house. Makes perfect sense,
> though.

Experience is the best teacher, eh? Make your selections based on the
recommendations of the Japanese fishmonger, their appearance and your prior
likes and dislikes. Very fresh Uni is wonderful! I forgot to mention: get
some Aojiso (Shiso leaves) to put between the different offerings. They're
pretty and tasty.

Dont forget: Barely freeze the fish. It's a lot easier to slice that way.
The knife should be razor sharp.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I support them at https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

> Bring an ice chest. Either 1/2 fill it with ice or buy ice at the market.
> If the fish isn't packed in a waterproof package, bring some gallon size

This is a good idea. Never thought about it though because I have 50 meters walk to home from fishmonger at the market hall. ;-)

Fish will go bad quickly even in refridgerator. This is because it is about the normal temperature for many live fishes - in a way room temperature for fish. So freezing is a good idea if you don't need the fis the same day.

I always try to buy whole fish, if not way too large, because it is easier to tell if it is fresh. Eyes should be clear, if cloudy and sunken it is not good for sushi. Also the smell should be fresh and just slightly 'fishy'. Older the fish stronger the smell. Scales should be intact and shiny and the fish should not be too slimy.

Jukka

"Irina Paley" > wrote in message
...
>I was planning on visiting the Wild Edibles shop at the Grand Central
> Market tomorrow to buy some high quality fish for a first ever attempt
> to make sashimi at home. I was wondering whether any experienced
> sushi-makers can offer some general advice. (Also, if there are other
> places in New York City that you can recommend for purchasing sushi-
> grade fish, I would greatly appreciate that!)
>
> Thanks,
> Irina

While the 2 fish stores in the Grand Central Market both carry a very wide
selection, I haven't seen any fish of a quality that I would use for
sashimi/sushi.
Additionally, you are better off with small quantities of a few different
things, rather
than a large amount of one thing. In this regard also those markets may be
difficult.

There is a JAS Food Market, Japanese grocery store just 1 block east of the
Astor Place
subway station. They carry fish for sashimi and you could pick up 2-3 small
packs of different
things.

The best would be to catch the Shuttle Bus that leaves 42nd St Port
Authority and takes
you to Mitsuwa, the giant Japanese supermarket in Edgewater NJ. The fare one
way is
only $2.50.

Musashi