It's alive! Well, actually not quite. But still, 'very recently dead' is not an understatement for the Japanese delicacy known the world over as sushi. As you probably already know, eating raw fish is very common in Japan. The fish is sliced into bite-sized mini-fillets which are generally served slightly chilled. The most common way of eating this tasty treat is to place the mini- fillet on a 2 x 1 x 1 inch block of sticky rice. The eater must be on her toes though, because in between the fish and the rice is usually a small amount of bleach. Whoops ... ahem ... excuse me. Not bleach really, that's just what I think the stuff tastes like! What you'll find between the fish and the rice is wasabi (hot green mustard).

What's that? Not too interested in sinking your teeth into uncooked fish flesh and bleach-like mustard? Believe me, I can understand the feeling. However, my experience eating sushi over the 2+ years I've lived in Japan has taught me that once over the initial negative reaction to the 'raw' concept, and accustomed to the mustard, most people find sushi to be not all that bad. Basically, I think it boils down to this: if you like fish, then you'll probably like sushi. If you are generally not a fan of fish however, it goes without saying that you should probably stay away from the stuff when it's at its fishiest, in other words when it's raw.

I asked a Japanese friend of mine to teach me some of the finer points of raw fish appreciation. Here is what he said. First of all, eating raw fish is healthy. The stuff has to be fresh (or else!), and since it's raw, the nutrition stays locked in. Furthermore, you can really taste what you are eating. Few condiments are added, and since the fish isn't cooked there is no oil to change the flavor. So, you really can taste the fish itself.

There are many different kinds of fish which are commonly eaten raw in Japan. A person can go to a sushi bar and freely order exactly what he wants to eat at each precise moment. The chef will have it ready on the double. It's fun to watch the chef prepare the fish too. Many consider it to be an art form, just as we in the West would view a grand chef of say, French cuisine.

While it's not surprising to think that many sushi restaurants can be found in big cities like New York and Boston, it may come as a surprise to you to learn that near my alma mater, Williams College in rural Western Massachusetts, there were at least two full-fledged sushi joints complete with all the major varieties of raw fish and traditional condiments, i.e., hot green mustard, soy sauce, green tea, sake, and Japanese beer. I wonder if there are any restaurants which sell good sushi near Brookfield? If you find any such places, please send me a message. On that note, and before this article begins to smell any fishier, I'd better bring this month's column to a close.

Until next month, may peace be with you. Daniel Heller. (P.S. You can find past articles of AsiaTalk on my homepage: https://members.tripod.com/~DHeller)

Mailing address: Todai YMCA Dorm, 1-20-6 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0023, Japan

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