Have you ever wondered how sushi chefs prepare the large, tentacle-ridden octopus into a delicious delicacy that ends up between your chopsticks? Or, if you're a more adventurous sort, just how you yourself could prepare the cephalopod for your plate?
The laid-back guys at Sushi Bar TV demonstrate just how easy it is to make an eight-legger ready for consumption: With a few slices and a little tenderizing, you're good to go. If the thought of slicing a whole octopus doesn't make you squeamish, watch the video above, in which host Jean Giron -- director of operations at San Diego's Sushi on a Roll -- prepares the octopus and uses it to make some tasty nigiri.
This is only one of the site's great videos. Check out the others, which include California rolls, poke salad and even the fearless Giron taking a bite out of fresh wasabi for a rather impressive, if stomach-turning, outtake.
They're slippery. They're slimy. And they're alive.
This coming week, Fine Living Network will be airing episodes of our favorite Iron Chef Japanin which creatures of the deep are battled every night at 11/10 Central. Watch as these chefs attack and cook living sea creatures in a way that makes you wonder if you're a bad person for watching. This is an excellent week for anyone who hasn't had enough Halloween, or likes Animal Planet and wishes Japanese chefs could be involved.
Not for the squeamish, these squirmy seafoods do get slaughtered right in front of your very eyes. Mother nature would be proud watching the food chain established so aggressively, but your mother might think you need therapy. You be the judge!
I must confess that I don't think too much about aerating wines before I drink them other than giving a red a couple of swirls around an oversized glass and letting it set for a few minutes before drinking. Of course, I'm not generally drinking wines that really need to be decanted either. If I was given one of these neat Pewter Octopus Wine Aerators for the holidays, possibly along with a nice bottle of red, I would rethink my position since the cool looking gadget makes aeration a snap. The octopus is set into the mouth of a decanter and the wine is poured over it, aerating as it flows. The way the stream of wine is interrupted by the twisting of the octopus is far more efficient than simply pouring the wine into a glass or straight into the decanter. If an octopus doesn't float your boat, the aerators are available in sea horse and puffer fish designs as well and all are visually intriguing, although there is some irony to the fact that only ocean-dwelling creatures were chosen to help wines breathe. Each is about $30.
I was cleaning out my pantry a few days ago in preparation for the holidays and ran across some octopuses in a bag. I have all kinds of strange stuff in my pantry and this isn't the most odd. It's a 6"x6"x1/2" mylar retort bag stuffed full of 5.2 oz of sauteed baby octopi. Yes, these are cooked, not frozen octopi. I don't remember buying these so they must have been hidden in the back of the pantry for eons, although the name of the store, Kam Sen, is on the package. So at least I know where I bought them. So is the price, $1.39, not a bad deal. I palpate the bag and inside I can feel each individual octopus. Firm small things about the size of gummy bears, and with just a tad more solid a feel to them. I was about to open the package to try them, but first I read the info and preparation instructions. The first thing that concerns me is that the manufacture and expiration dates are blank. These octopodes could have expired, in one way or another, many years ago. Are they safe? Will my name suddenly drop off the Slashfood Bloggers list, because I myself expire from botulism? A shiver runs down my spine and my stomach clenches into a nice little knot.
The Octodog is a gadget that bills itself as a "frankfurter converter." In a matter of seconds, it can cut an ordinary hot dog into a hot dog that resembles a sea creature, namely an octopus. The device is made out of sturdy plastic and cuts through the dogs by applying pressure, without the use of a blade. This makes it child-safe, but produces edges that are somewhat dull. To show off the "legs," the Octodog really needs to be served on a plate, not in a bun.
To be frank(furter), I can honestly say that I have never had a desire to try and convert a hot dog into any form of marine life, though sites selling them proclaim that "kids love them!" and I will admit that it is sort of cute, especially with some cartoon eyes added. If you want to check one out, they're for sale here.
For the third installment of their hit series, Top Chef, Bravo wanted to take the competition up a notch by bringing in some very discerning judges: a group of forty 10-year olds. The theme of the whole episode seemed to be to make unappealing food appealing, both visually and taste-wise, to a group of picky eaters, hence the name of the episode: Nasty Delights.
The quickfire challenge, which awards immunity from elimination, at the beginning of the show dealt with octopus. Given a whole octopus, the chefs had 60-minutes to make it look and taste good - a difficult feat on any day, but compounded by the fact that some people had never really dealt with the ingredient before. Braising seemed to be the cooking method of choice and the guest judge, Laurent Manrique of San Francisco's Aqua restaurant, had a difficult time judging. In fact, there were four dishes that he liked, but Tiffani's traditionally prepared octopus dish, brimming with Mediterranean flavors, was what won her the challenge.
It's a fancy word, "cephalopod," but it's really just squid and octopus at the sushi bar.
Octopus is called "tako," and is usually cooked, which might be more appealing for people who are squeamish about eating raw fish, but than again, it is octopus. Though some talented sushi chefs may know of some secret way to tenderize octopus, I have found that it is pretty bland as well.
"Ika" is squid, and this one is usually raw. It looks harmless because of it's plain white, slippery smooth texture, but like octopus, even raw, ika is fairly tough to chew. However, you may also recognize ika by cross-hatch knife cuts on the squid, which a sushi chef's attempt to make it a little more palatable. Like octopus, I usually skip the squid as well.
Previous lessons at the School of Fish: Saba - holy mackerel! Hirame - white fish, sometimes halibut Tai and Suzuki - snapper and sea bass Maguro - tuna Toro - fatty belly of tuna Shiro Maguro - "white" tuna, aka albacore Ahi tuna Hamachi - amberjack, aka yellowtail Sake - salmon Gai - the bivalves, i.e.clams, scallops, and oysters Ebi - shrimp
It's hip to eat savory ice creams, and if you go to a food festival you're bound
to see something in the creamy, cold category no matter what the topic - even, yes, garlic. But octopus, that's an ice cream I've
never either (a) tried or (b) cared to try. Jason from Damn
Interesting agrees, and says: "damnit, we have to draw a line, and Octopus Ice Cream would have to be on
the far side of that line."
Watch Iron Chef and you're bound to see some strange ice creams. Sure, sure, that's a spur-of-the-moment
exercise in bizarro creativity. But this is a packaged variety available commercially. Does it sell?
Has anyone tried it?