When preparing any food, it is always better to have the best, freshest ingredients; however, when preparing fish for sushi, this becomes an absolute necessity.
Due to the risks involved with eating raw fish, it is absolutely vital that you have the freshest ingredients available to you, and that it is prepared thoroughly and attentively before eating.
Purchasing Fish for Sushi
Usually, the best place to purchase the fish for your sushi is your local fishmonger or fish supplier, although some supermarkets will have sushi grade fish and there is also a wealth of suppliers online.
When buying your fish you should always ask your fishmonger when it was delivered, how it has been stored and inform them what you want to use the fish for.
You should be careful that it doesn’t smell ‘fishy’ as this is a good indication that it is not as fresh as you would like it to be. When selecting your fish you should go for bright looking loins or fillets and avoid anything that looks dull or dry.
If you live near the coast, you should research what is fished locally and endeavour to get your fish from fisherman at your local port, harbour or fishmonger and, if purchasing your fish whole, ensure that it is firm to the touch, its eyes are bright with no signs of discolouration and all its scales remain intact.
Furthermore, if you are purchasing Ahi or Albacore tuna loins, make sure that there aren’t too many white lines adorning the flesh as this will not work well when making your sushi.
Preparing Fish for Sushi
Once your fish is purchased, and if you intend to use it raw, you will then need to make sure that you freeze it at a minimum of -4 degrees for several hours before continuing to make your sushi.
Once defrosted, you should keep your fish in the icebox of your fridge until ready to use, and discard within two days if not consumed in this time.
Once the above preparation is completed, you will be ready to move on to slicing your fish for your sushi. There are a number of different methods for doing this however, you will not go far wrong by following the guidelines below:
- Cut each fillet into a rectangular block of consistent size.
- Slice off a thin layer across the top of the fillet, removing skin and scales.
- Repeat on the bottom of the fillet if required.
- Lay the fillet on a cutting board at a 40 degree angle towards the lower edge of the board.
- Across the grain of the fish, slice the fillet into approximately 1cm slices, holding the blade at a slight angle, but do not complete the cut. Instead, draw the blade back and then cut straight through, avoiding any sawing motion as this will ruin the slice.
- Continue cutting the fillet until it is completely sliced.
If slicing Ahi tuna, you should follow the guidelines above but slice through the fish at a 35 degree angle to produce narrower slices.
Additionally it is important, when doing this, to ensure that your knife and hands are totally clean, and you should take the time to wipe both in between each slice.
