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Sushi is much more than a Japanese sandwich

by Clint Casey

A craving for sushi can be insidious, pecking away with the tenacity of a woodpecker until it’s satisfied. And, if you’re not careful, your wallet can approach empty long before your stomach reaches full.

Knoxville has a handful of sushi offerings, each with staff members, well versed in the Japanese culinary tradition, who are willing to direct you toward raw enlightenment. (However, sushi by definition refers to rice with vinegar, and the rice works much like bread on a sandwich. It isn’t limited to fish; most restaurants offer a meat or chicken alternative for the seafood-wary.)

With menus filled with foreign terms and fish-speak, the ordering process alone can be threatening. Two examples of the common fare are maki and nigiri. Maki is usually more innovative, with each chef concocting rolls, putting a personalized slant on the traditional. It generally contains strips of fish or vegetables rolled in rice and wrapped in thin sheets of nori, dried seaweed. The roll is then typically sliced into eight pieces before serving. The maki menu at Nama (135 S. Gay St.) is particularly inventive, incorporating gourmet ingredients—like crushed wasabi peas with fish—into a variety of items.

Though not quite as exotic, nigiri is served in pairs, and it nods toward the customary idea of sushi. In the less Americanized approach, the fish is sliced with a clean, even cut, placed atop small balls of rice and often wrapped with a strip of nori. Ryosei Oda, chef at Kanpai (1645 Downtown West Blvd.), says nigiri is far more popular in Japan, and while many Americans seem determined to try as many maki rolls as possible, the Japanese sample nigiri in the same way.

According to Chip Meyer, sous chef at Nama, rice is the key to sushi, the reason why people may prefer one restaurant to another. (However, the quality of fish is equally important. Sushi is required to meet a higher standard than other fish—“sushi grade”—or there’s a threat of sickness.) The rice is washed until the water is clear, sometimes more than 10 times. It’s then cooked and blended with a mix of rice-vinegar, salt and sugar or corn syrup. After combining the mix with the rice, it must be cooled by hand with a fan to ensure a chewy consistency and light stickiness.

A sushi outing can easily be achieved on a conservative budget, but, with a large group or small group with hearty appetite, it can also prove to be a pricey meal. Most rolls average from $5 to $10, but platters can cost significantly more. Oda says that eating sushi in a restaurant in Japan can be very expensive, but there are fast-food-style equivalents that provide affordable options.

Because of the color of flying fish roe is extraordinarily close to Tennessee orange, several local bars prepare a Vol or UT maki roll. Aesthetics aside, the roe affords a crunchy texture and light salty taste. Wasabi’s (118 Major Reynolds Pl. and 226 Lovell Rd.) take on the concoction features shrimp tempura (lightly fried) with fresh snow crab, and it handily trumps other versions around town.

While using chopsticks may seem like an obvious choice, it’s equally acceptable to use a fork or go sans utensils and dig in with your fingers. Lloyd Hong, head chef at Wasabi, says sushi should be eaten in whatever way you’re most comfortable. Sushi hand rolls (nori rolled into a cone and filled with fish) are intended to be eaten by hand. When using chopsticks, however, never pass food with them, and if taking pieces from a shared plate, use the reverse ends. And, never resort to using a knife; it can be interpreted by the chef as a sign the roll is too tough to eat without cutting.

In addition to maki and nigiri rolls, another variety is pressed sushi. The rice is placed into a bottomless wood box (soaked in water to guarantee the rice doesn’t stick). Fish and/or vegetables are placed on top of the rice, and a lid compresses it into a rectangle shape before it’s cut into pieces. While pressed sushi is offered on the menu only at Nama, other local restaurants have it available upon request.

Remember, once you’ve finished eating, never leave rice behind. Not eating all of the food served is considered rude, but discarding rice is considered particularly so. Or, you can skip the rice altogether. Many restaurants offer a customizable plate or platter made solely of fish.

Sushi can be seasoned to your taste with individual soy sauces, pickled ginger and wasabi. As it has a sweet, intense taste, ginger is presented separately as a palate cleanser in between pieces. Wasabi, a green Japanese horseradish, is extremely hot, with a sinus-burning sensation different from that induced by a chili pepper.

Salty soy sauce is offered for lightly dunking individual pieces, and both the tangy ginger and super-hot wasabi can be used to flavor the soy sauce. However, doing so to excess may offend the chef because the items paralyze your palate and muddle the subtle flavor of raw fish. So, should you decide to mix, do so discreetly.

Since all sushi isn’t created equal, Knoxville’s sushi-offering restaurants and bars set themselves apart through their style of rice, quality of fish and vegetables, atmosphere, wait time, and courtesy of staff.

The forward-thinking Nama effectively fuses American, Chinese and Japanese cuisine into unique interpretations. The dÉcor is stylish, with a somewhat frenzied atmosphere and friendly personnel.

It was disappointing when Tomo (7315 Kingston Pike) abandoned its longtime Old City location, but one neighborhood’s loss is another’s gain. The quaint restaurant still maintains a quality menu with excellent traditional variety.

Kanpai presents the most well rounded menu, with extremely courteous chefs and reasonable pricing. The wait time for seating and preparation is normally minimal, accomodating for spur-of-the-moment cravings.

The sushi bar at Miyabi (8207 Kingston Pike) can be crowded, even too close for comfort during peak times, but its fare is decidedly traditional and worth fighting the West Knoxville traffic for.

Wasabi falls between conventional and innovative, with enough items to satisfy either a sushi purist or a radical. Its two locations offer romantic, dimly lit ambiance with a trendily decorated seating area.

And for something completely different, BQ’s Asian Bar & Grill (8217 Kingston Pike) offers all-you-can-eat chicken fingers, sirloin steak, and General Tso’s chicken to complement its sushi buffet. For what BQ’s may lack in class, it makes up for in smoke, domestic beer selection and neon signs.

Becoming wholly familiar with the facets of sushi enjoyment—etiquette, ingredients and preparation—can be exhaustive. Even Oda, a native of Japan, says he learns something new about it every day. It may become a labor of love, so sample each restaurant and decide which appeals most to your senses, all of them.

VARDATE © 2004 Metro Pulse