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!
It should be no secret to most Slashfood readers by now that I'm a sucker for Japanese snack foods, especially the fishy ones. So, naturally I nearly fell off my chair when I heard of postcards made from dried squid.
The squid postcard pictured here is the brainchild of a fishing cooperative from the coastal town of Susami in Japan's Wakayama prefecture. Surumail, as the postcards are known, takes their name from the surume variety of squid, which is a local delicacy. The critter has been turned into jerky, flattened and then vacuum-packed at which point you can then affix the label and send the whole lot it to your friends and loved ones as a keepsake of your time spent in Susami. The cooperative says it sells between 4,000 and 5,000 of the squiddy souvenirs yearly.
The web's first Japanese pizza page, as this web site proclaims itself, shows your the truly odd pies they're creating over there. Now, I'm all one for a little adventure in food, but come on, mayonnaise and octopus on a pizza? Gah.
I also love the design of the site. I said to myself, "wow, that's very 1996," and then I scrolled to the bottom of the page and found out that the page was created in 1995. OK, so I was a year off. I love how it looks like they haven't changed it since then (no kidding here, I'm actually serious).
But that still doesn't mean I'm going to throw scallops or crab legs on top of my pizza.
I recently learned that a Japanese confectioner, Sapporo Gourmet Foods, makes lamb-and-vegetable-flavored
caramels. It also offers Sapporo-beer flavored candy. I'm no stranger to odd snacks and have fond memories of eating
tiny candied crabs (yes, crabs, with shells) that I bought at renowned snack emporium Aji Ichiban. So what really piqued my interest in this article was
squid-flavored chocolate from Takuma Shokuhin. A cursory Web search pulled no results for the company. It did
list an old blog entry for chocolate-covered shredded squid, which doesn't sound half bad, kinda salty and sweet. I'm
pretty sure this is not the same thing as squid-flavored chocolate.
Before I trek out to Mitsuwa, has anyone ever had either of these strange treats or know where to get
them in New York City?
When one sets out to create a list, it is important to set standards. What criteria will be used to rule
out inappropriate items? Why is this item on the list in the first place? The BBC's list of the top 50 things to eat before you die seems to
be lacking some of these standards. Apparently, viewers and readers voted on food items, which were narrowed to a field
of 50 based on the number of votes received. The top 10 were:
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
I still remember with exceptional clarity the most disgusting thing I ever ate. Just to be
clear, we're not talking about drinking spoiled milk on a dare or being a contestant on Fear Factor, but
rather ordering off a menu with no coercion whatsoever. I was in an izakaya, a Japanese pub, in Manhattan and
decided it was time to try something new. I am by no means leery of outlandish foods. I have gleefully savored ceviche,
sweetbreads, and calf
spleen sandwiches. When it comes to Japanese food I am a sushi purist who warmly embraces uni as well tuna and natto
handrolls. As for izakaya grub I have no problem with liver sashimi, although I'm somewhat less enthusiastic about okra
and raw octopus.