There are two ways to do ankimo, the tried and true way is steamed in foil wrap, and many restaurants either do this themselves or they outsource, keep it refrigerated then cut, serve with ponzu, scallions, daikon oroshi…The ones that make it themselves are of course where one should go have it. The el cheapo places will outsource, in which case it might be better to get it from Nijiya and DIY.
The other method is slow simmering / stew, easier control, and way better chances to impart additional flavors and umami (depending on the braise stock). Kind of like Chiu Chow lo sui, but not really. You should try the version at Sushi Yoshizumi when ankimo is in season (fatty and ridiculous).
there’s a chance i’ll stop in l.a for four days or so on my way to india in january. seal beach is our new base of operations which means sushi-i-naba will definitely be on my radar. how long out would you say a reservation needs to be made? and what is the chef’s response to “no bluefin” likely to be? (usually we specific at booking but some chefs still seem put out when we remind them when we sit down.)
@PorkyBelly the uni nori was definitely a highlight! I was enjoying it so much I must’ve missed the shiso. And wow battera sounds like an amazing idea! Will keep in mind for next time!
@JeetKuneBao I do remember thinking I liked it better than the usual cold but I might also have been taken with the preparation as I don’t think I’d had it this way before.
@MyAnnoyingOpinions Ease of reservations depends on the day. I made my Monday dinner reservation on Saturday and there was still room for others. I think saturdays and maybe fridays you might have to book a bit further out in advance but only maybe a week or two out. This ain’t a super hard to get resy (a la n/naka, Hayato, somni). Just keep in mind that he asks you to select your course in advance and that the pricier options may require 3 to 7 days advance notice, presumably for ingredient sourcing, etc.
As for bluefin? Sadly no idea. He’s a pretty friendly guy but I wouldn’t want to assume…
Interesting question. @thechez5 had said she’s hesitant to book any high-end omakase dinners because she doesn’t do bluefin tuna and doesn’t want to offend the itamae. I told her there’s a few who would probably gladly accommodate her. IIRC Shunji served me a lot of white fish so he might not have a problem with it. But unfortunately I put I-NABA and Yasu-san in the no go category. It’s practically his medium, especially with his focus on aging. But as @bagel said he’s a friendly guy, so who knows. You should definitely ask.
There are farmed bluefin now, and many high-end places use it. Often the chef doesn’t say it’s farmed due to concerns that it’ll be perceived as inferior in quality (which it frankly can sometimes be when compared to wild bluefin). But the farmed bluefin, more often than not, is still damn good.
So I’d advise ask the chef if it the bluefin is raised in a pen (farmed) or wild caught. I suspect that 90% of itamae in L.A. won’t be offended at the question.
I’ve decided to stop fretting and heed your words of wisdom. It’s too late to stop the extinction so enjoy them while they last. Or something like that?
Gotcha’. I learn so much fish stuff from you. Will checkout the Netflix doc. Thanks.
I learned a little tidbit from the fishmonger at the BH Farmers Market (sweet lady). See if this agrees with your knowledge. She says almost all wild-caught fish is flash-frozen because their diet and exposure cannot be controlled, whereas healthy and responsibly farm-raised is rarely flash-frozen.
Ok, I’ll give this a shot. Fish experts feel free to shoot me down
If memory serves me right, fish is flash frozen for a couple of reasons. 1) Flash frozen after fishing and gutting at a very low temperature to preserve freshness and cell structure. 2) Kill the parasites.
Don’t think it has anything to do with farming. If anything you probably want to flash freeze farmed salmon for all the pollution & disease issues. Additionally I believe the non-frozen wild caught tunas typically command a premium at the fish auctions.
Btw you can sample the tuna featured in the Netflix documentary here
Okay, your first paragraph was pretty much what she said too (temps & parasites). Except she did say most wild-caught sushi fish is flash-frozen as a safeguard. Note: she may not be a premium sushi diner so idk.
I’ll ask her again about the farming. Maybe I misunderstood. But she did stress that she is talking about reliable farms with clean conditions, but said farmed is risky if you don’t know the farm.
I had a change of dinner plans once and worried about having to freeze her lovely fish. She said “Oh please. It will taste fine. The stuff you buy in the store is older and usually frozen at least once before you get it ‘fresh’”. She was right, it needed some drying but it was great. My hubby is going to need a big steak soon.
How off-topic are we? I mean, we are talkin’ fish. I wonder if there’s a seafood thread somewhere on this bulging board.
we have had very good meals at mori, shiki, shin etc. having specified no-bluefin to all of them. the chefs seem surprised to various degrees but have been fine accommodating us. i guess in this case i should definitely work it out in advance.
separate from the ethical/environmental concerns, we far prefer white/silvery fish to red tuna anyway. and i’d much rather have a second round of uni than chutoro or o-toro…
this place.
