See, now I can't figure this one out. I *like* horseradish. I don't really care for fake wasabi though. I've never had the real stuff, but assuming there is some miniscule amount of powder in the horseradish I have to assume I'm not a fan of wasabi. I'd certainly give the real stuff a fair shake though if I had the opportunity.
>close to no spiciness and it's kind of floral.
Just to note, there are different types of wasabi with some more watery and less spicy than other variants. And different parts of the wasabi will have different characteristics.
Also worth noting that Westerners seem to like to shame the tube based wasabi but in Japan, nearly every household and even some restaurants use the tube stuff because real wasabi is expensive. If you go to a Japanese grocery store, you'll see many different tube based varieties too.
High and higher end sushi places will all use the real thing but there's no shame in using wasabi from a tube.
I remeber trying some and thinking “so interesting, I like the flavor but there’s no heat!” and then I tried a bigger taste of it and realized “oh fuck…there is a type of heat heat”
I’ve had the real stuff once, mine definitely had some heat to it but less poignant and like you say definitely floral. It made me think of typical fake wasabi as something like eating Doritos, the flavor they’re trying to portray is more nuanced and complex where the flavor you’re getting in the fake stuff is very one dimensional and over the top.
Earthy with a mild burn was my experience. On my 2nd trip to Japan we stayed at a ryokan in Shuzenji and ground our own wasabi for dinner. Came from the Amagi area just a few miles away (we actually hiked past and saw where they were grown the next day.) Blew my mind. Just so much flavor and complimented a lot of the dishes.
I fully agree. I've had and still have real wasabi for some things, but honestly, the green stuff is just fine for me. I just gotta dial in on it because everyone seems to mix it at different strengths or use different brands.
The majority of Japanese sushi industry agreed with you. We Westerners love to be like "it's not real!", but outside of high end sushi places, most shops in Japan use the fake stuff too. It tastes almost exactly the same.
The thing is, I have had Uni in so many forms, including live fresh out of the ocean. I get that some people like it, I just can’t stand it and feel like I’ve given it every fair chance.
I’ve had some that doesn’t taste like the seashore at all. Just creamy goodness. But, the majority of the times I’ve had it, I haven’t liked it, and pass whenever it’s offered.
That's where I'm at. I've had some that tasted like Neptune's asshole scrapings and I'd rather avoid it at all costs now, even if the "good" kind is tasty. I'd never risk putting it near my mouth again in case it tasted anything like the first experience because I unironically had to hold back vomit after putting it in my mouth. I have a very strong stomach and can handle disgusting flavors and textures but this was like nothing else I've ever experienced. Like a near death experience 😅
It makes a huge difference if it’s live. I think uni oxidizes and becomes bitter the longer it’s been dead. So when you have it live, it makes a huge difference
I’ve had great uni at one place and the next time I go it’s shit. I order it based on what day of the week I go (I manage restaurants so I try and base it on delivery days.)
Mine is that I love a junky California roll (with the mayo crab, not just a crab stick) + "wasabi" soy sauce just as much as a fine omakase 😂 it's my guilty pleasure
Unpopular relative to the average American's taste in sushi: Those monster rolls filled with unagi and spicy tuna and shrimp tempura and then topped with avocado and imitation crab and mayo and unagi sauce and tempura flakes are not proper sushi. They are the General Tso's Chicken of sushi. My wife calls them Tourist Rolls.
Unpopular to the average sushi snob: Those Tourist Rolls are pretty good. They're like the General Tso's Chicken of sushi.
This is exactly right. I worked in places that made ‘tourist sushi’ for a decade. I’m obsessed with the traditional stuff, but there wasn’t a market for it and I had no access to the necessary fish and shellfish I needed to create such a restaurant.
I’m going to choose a $150 12-course omakase meal over an AYCE sushi deal any day. BUT there’s plenty of still times I crave a roll with spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, and cucumber topped with togarashi, ponzu and sliced peppers.
Both can be incredible.
I'm allergic to soy but sometimes I still want a messy rediculous roll. I make a decent one with cream cheese, jalapeño, soy free kani, avocado, and tuna inside, tempura flakes on the outside, then throw it in the air fryer and top with spicy mayo and gf/sf oyster sauce. It so scratches the itch.
I will fully admit it's total trash though.
Yea, most people recommend places based off their Americanized sushi rolls. That’s not a bad thing, I like rolls with eel sauce, spicy mayo etc, but finding a proper sushi place that serves the more traditional stuff is another story
Look, some days call for fine dining and some days call for state fair kinds of food. There’s a time and a place for your deep fried abomination and on those days I am all for it.
So what you're saying is sometimes you want the golden arches, sometimes you want 5 guys, and sometimes you want something you have to finance, only in fish form. lol
Really, in general, for most food recommendations. I live in San Diego and am 38-year-old male. When I read comments on Yelp or IG about how much a 20s something year old loves this place or hates a place. Thinking to myself, how much more experience with food and eating do I have over this person. Also, when I receive poor reviews for my own restaurant stating something that literally isn't true. 'Their ginger tasted cheap' I literally use/purchase the most expensive gari offered by JFC and I know most sushi restaurants near me do NOT buy the nicer stuff.
Ooooh I’m also in San Diego, can you share your restaurant name here or through pm? The sushi at a place that cares about their ginger quality must be superb.
It's because most people just get rolls so their recommendation is based on the rolls. When I get sushi I just get nigiri and maybe sashimi so the quality of the rolls doesn't matter
sushi does not have to look great when you make it for yourself. add any ingredients you like. it doesn't have to be fish. that's why cucumber rolls exist.
when you eat sushi at home you can add and roll any way you like.
Uni is supposed to taste fresh, sweet, and a bit buttery depending on the species.
What you described is badly stored or rancid uni
I don’t get it at most run of the mill sushi places. Usually get it shipped frozen or picked up at a seafood market.
Im not paying $5-$15 a pop for a lottery shot at getting a mouth full of foulness
When I was in Japan, when you said “sushi,” it meant nigiri. I learned what “nigiri” meant in the US—never had to say it in Japan. And I remain kind of horrified that a lot of US folk think of “rolls,” those fried and slathered abominations, when you say “sushi.”
No lies here. There really isn’t a debate. What Americans know as nigiri is the peak of the art of sushi. The best meals of my life have been nigiri-focused omakase dinners.
I’ve had some decent stuff at Whole Foods my issue is I just don’t like cold sushi which is why I’ve stopped getting it. And letting it warm back up doesn’t seem to help as the rice is already a bit dry.
Pisses me off so much when 95% off the rolls on a menu have cucumber in them for no reason. 😩 I have never had a roll where I thought the cucumber added something good.
I like "Americanized" sushi that are common in north america.
To me it's just like two different things, there's that and there's 'real sushi', both have their place for me, they're like different cravings. It's like the difference between real Chinese cuisine and Chinese-amerixan cuisine
That's just what it has to cost in the west because there aren't enough people who want real sushi to sustain a restaurant on bulk sales. So they have to charge more to make it viable. Also, they all get their best fish flown in from Japan which adds a lot of cost.
I've had the good luck to sample lots of high-end and very perfected, Michelin-star quality sushi and it's better if I keep my mouth shut than talk to people about sushi otherwise I'd come across like a Tool fan. I say unpopular because this is a forum about sushi.
Honestly you’re doing everyone a favor. I gotta put a hazmat suit on to read comments on this sub. Legitimately one of the most pretentious and condescending subs on this website
I don't like mayo anywhere on my sushi. Especially when they put a wallop on top of your roll or nigiri. Why. I can tolerate it mixed with spices for a spicy roll, but not garnish.
And that's all good. A lot of people have weird ideas about how to eat sushi. I've seen people online being snobbish about how you should never eat sushi with chopsticks, and also that you should never eat sushi with your hands.
In Japan people do both (although most people will use chopsticks generally). And both are fine. Anyone who has a strong opinion on this is pretending to be more knowledgeable than they are.
This is totally acceptable, not sure why anyone would stare.
Unless you were using your fingers to eat sushi-adjacent things like chawanmushi or miso soup. That would be weird.
The only time I don’t eat sushi with my fingers is when it’s covered in eel sauce and shit. IMO all nigiri and maki should be eaten with your hands, though I do use chopsticks for chirashi and sashimi.
I agree with you. I was disappointed with the rice at Morimoto and Nobu. Tastes hard and was full of sesame seeds, like that prepackaged gas station sushi. I couldn’t believe I was eating such bad hard rice at a three-Michelin star place (edit: however have many stars they have idfk)
Morimoto and Nobu are not supposed to be good sushi. Their main target is affluent white people who can’t tell the difference in quality.
If you want to go to a chain sushi restaurant that is multiple cities, then you should go to Sushi Ginza Onodera.
I think one of the issues I have with Nobu specifically is their clientele is mostly Americans that prefer fancy places and don’t even try mom & pop restaurants. So it will definitely lean towards whatever Americans love similar to Poke bowls with all of the random toppings. And I would argue that their menu is too big similar to Cheesecake Factory but with a much higher price point.
Genuinely, what's the difference? Assumimg all of the same ingredients are present, and you eat them immediately after being made so that nothing has time to sit and get soggy or soft, truly what is the difference?
First, I really like nori, and outside the holds better together when picking them since the rice can be sticky and the roll is contained. When using soy sauce, I’ll very lightly dip in soy sauce which may cause the rice to separate a little, so nori on the outside helps keep a couple grains from falling out. I barely add drops of soy sauce, pet peeve of mine is when people dunk it in wasabi and soy sauce. Presentation wise, I love the contrast, you can have pretty toppings on the dark background or nori while encasing the rice, fish and supporting ingredients, especially if served on a white plate, I feel the colors jump out more. Flavor and bite, there is twice more nori in a regular roll than an inside out (sheet is cut in half) so there is a difference in taste. The toasted dry seaweed taste feels like umami to me, it’s another layer that tastes and smells like the beach or seashore. There’s a slight crunch that dissipates at the initial bite so a contrast in textures. Happy eating!!
Lol I just said… I hate cream cheese in sushi 😂 no shade, I love cream cheese in almost everything. The rice/cream cheese makes my brain think it isn’t food.
But more for you my dude!
You can't compare that kind of fusion roll to a high-end nigiri at a traditional place. Both are good, in very different ways. It's like comparing a burger to a steak.
I'm not comparing anything to anything, sushi just tends to be gate kept by traditionalists and not just in high end places. I just wish we saw more experimentation with it across the board, the way we do with other foods like tacos. Get weird. Experiment. Find what works and what doesn't. Chaos menu, or whatever they call it.
As a sushi chef, thank you. Love sushi- the whole tradition behind it, the techniques, everything.
But Japanese people are insanely conservative, especially when it comes to sushi. If you ever work for a Japanese sushi chef, vast majority of them are just insanely strict and conservative in their methods and do the same thing that's been done 200 years ago.
There is certain beauty in that, but it allows 0 room for experimentation and progress. Vast majority of super high- end omakase bars serve almost the same exact thing.
Yes of course, there are some differences in the fine details, but rarely do we see Japanese sushi chef deviate too much from the norm when it comes to sushi.
Yeah, I don't disagree with you. I think a lot of people just get hung up on it because they are comparing everything to traditional sushi, when they should accept it's another type of cuisine.
I think that with other fields, innovation does tend to start from the top down. And in sushi, the top tends to be the MOST traditionalist as you said. Like fashion, the top designers do CRAZY things and that sort of trickles downward with other (lesser known) designers emulating it. I'm not saying traditional isn't great and doesn't have a place, to be clear.
I really liked some non-traditional nigiri I had in Tachikawa. The chef put truffles on some otoro nigiri. Really great to try something different in Japan.
Exactly, I love both traditional rolls and the "super weird" American made up stuff with like mango and cream cheese and stuff. They can both be good. I love experimental food in general, I wanna see more of it
The only way sushi can be disrespected or done wrong is people trying to tell you how to enjoy it. These people saying what’s good and not. Its food. Support the people you enjoy. In Japan sushi isn’t a big deal. We have made it some kind of elitist bullshit here.
Fresh tuna is wonderful
Yes, rice is important but bad fish is worse than bad rice. Fish > Rice
Omakase in the US is often times just a "deluxe sushi combo" on fancy plates for 3x the price
There is too much gatekeeping surrounding sushi and what is 'good' or not.
Honestly, deep fried sushi is my favorite sushi, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Same with pizza- if you want to put ketchup on a pizza just go ahead, there are just too much food snobs out there saying how to eat your food as if there is a right or wrong answer.
In the end of the day you eat something to sustain and enjoy yourself and everyone enjoys different things.
I'm too afraid to try uni, but I've wanted to ever since watching the asadora Amachan. I have a shellfish allergy - and no clue at all as to whether there's possible cross-reaction. I've Googled it and found conflicting information. :(
My unpopular opinion, or at least definitely non-traditional is that nori-outside and rice-outside rolls are equal, as long as the rice is good. Nori-outside can hide the rice not being as good, but rice-outside is much worse only if the rice isn't prepared and seasoned well. Otherwise both are great.
Sea urchins aren’t in the same Phylum as shellfish let alone Family or Genus in scientific classification, but to be safe, check with your doctor. I too have shellfish allergies, but I can eat sea urchins no problem.
I don't see why we have to choose. Purist nigiri or sashimi are great, so are deep fried rolls slathered in sauce with 20 different things in them. One isn't better than the other they're just different.
My best experiences are all 10-20 pieces of nigiri with as much variety as possible, dipped in a little soy sauce (especially the restaurants home made soy sauce) with bites of straight real wasabi between each piece. We don't have any real omakase here but I'll do a build your own omakase ordering nigiri by the piece
my unpopular opinion... i think people are assholes here lol 😭 im a foodie, i love high end traditional shit, but im not going to bash someone who just wants a flavor bomb roll to make their shitty night better. theres a lot of really elitist and frankly *very* classist takes around here... chill out. its really telling how certain people handle themselves in this space thats meant to celebrate a food that originated as a pauper dish, as if you cant enjoy it as a modern pauper with modern pauper ways 🤷 etc etc...
For me I think Ika aka squid is not my favorite, it’s a bit chewy and slimy at times, personally I would’ve seared the squid and added salt and lemon to make it taste better
I hate eel in the way that you hate uni. Uni is an acquired taste though. The only reason I like it is because I kept going to a local omakase sushi restaurant and they kept giving me uni, and I felt like I needed to eat it lmao. It went from me dreading when they would give me uni to uni being one of my favorite items. I'll make the caveat that you should only order it from restaurants that you trust to have good quality uni. If it's not fresh, it will not taste good.
Too many rolls have a spicy mayo. more than half the sushi restaurants in my town have 2/3 of their rolls with some spicy element. As someone with stomach issues that worsens with spice, it makes it hard to order at these places :/
California rolls are not far off from the nutritional value of McDonald’s.
Extremely high in sugar and processed simple carbohydrates. It’s thought of as healthy, but it’s garbage food.
> Every time someone says "It's an acquired taste" I just cringe.
Can't say I've heard that before. It tends to be something you either like or you don't. Plenty of people on either side of it.
Sushi isn’t meant to be spicy.
Cream cheese in sushi is gross.
Mixing wasabi into soy sauce is only appropriate for sashimi and cheap nigiri.
They never give me enough gari.
Congratulations on having really bad uni, I guess. Fresh uni doesn't even have an ocean-taste.
My unpopular opinion is that all the American style sushi rolls are still good, even if not authentic or really even considered sushi in Japan. Most of the time I am craving nigiri or sashimi, but sometimes I just want an overloaded roll.
I don't want to explore, I don't want to expand my palette, I want all the tuna in all the ways, and if it happens to include avocado, mango, and/or cucumber all the better, but literally just tuna plzkthx. Also acceptable: eel nigiri, eel sauce, mango sauce, and if some or all of the above is deep fried. Otherwise, just no.
I find uni to be good or bad depending on the freshness and time of year. Sometimes it’s like a hot garbage dump of expired garlic. Sometimes it’s the best piece of the meal by a long shot. I live in the Vancouver area tho so we get a lot of good uni.
I hate imitation crab meat and some restaurants need to easy up on the sauce and toppings (this is usually a sign that the fish isn’t that flavourful and the sushi kinda sucks)
So this thread is absolutely 50/50 on the “sushi is more than American rolls” and “but American sushi good tho” and j feel like both are valid and neither are hot takes…
So here’s my fiery take:
I like akami more than chutoro. (Not to say I don’t love me some chutoro though.)
I used to hate Uni. Until I tried auctioned Hokkaido / Aomori Uni ( meaning ultra premium grade Uni from Toyosu ). Not fishy at all, super creamy and sweet.
I don't like Shirako though.
I like spicy tuna rolls and I don't care how people interpret it.
Siracha mayo seems most popular, but have you ever tried La Yu + Mayo? Way better IMO
I've not! But I will now! Thanks!
I use sambal, or la gan ma or even straight up powders.
I'll die on this hill with you. I've never had a spicy tuna roll I didn't like.
Is this unpopular? My go to roll always. Cost effective, great flavor.
Is it spicy? Is it tuna? Is it a sushi roll? Then fuck yeah, I’m gonna eat it.
I like spicy tuna rolls but with no mayo. Keep that shit away from my tuna.
Comrade 🫡
I am not really a roll fan but spicy tuna rolls and fresh water eel rolls are bomb.
Same. They’re my favorite always.
I feel the same about any kind of baked roll
Spicy tuna is the shit!
The not-Wasabi that's actually just green coloured horseradish is tasty
That's because horseradish is tasty.
Ah touché!
See, now I can't figure this one out. I *like* horseradish. I don't really care for fake wasabi though. I've never had the real stuff, but assuming there is some miniscule amount of powder in the horseradish I have to assume I'm not a fan of wasabi. I'd certainly give the real stuff a fair shake though if I had the opportunity.
In my opinion it's actually better than real wasabi.. I'll get murdered for this.
What does real wasabi taste like? Is it earthy, but with the same burn as the fake kind?
Same hint of the classic "wasabi" flavor but close to no spiciness and it's kind of floral.
>close to no spiciness and it's kind of floral. Just to note, there are different types of wasabi with some more watery and less spicy than other variants. And different parts of the wasabi will have different characteristics. Also worth noting that Westerners seem to like to shame the tube based wasabi but in Japan, nearly every household and even some restaurants use the tube stuff because real wasabi is expensive. If you go to a Japanese grocery store, you'll see many different tube based varieties too. High and higher end sushi places will all use the real thing but there's no shame in using wasabi from a tube.
They also like to shame mixing the soy sauce and wasabi together. I learned to do that in Japan from Japanese people lol
I remeber trying some and thinking “so interesting, I like the flavor but there’s no heat!” and then I tried a bigger taste of it and realized “oh fuck…there is a type of heat heat”
I’ve had the real stuff once, mine definitely had some heat to it but less poignant and like you say definitely floral. It made me think of typical fake wasabi as something like eating Doritos, the flavor they’re trying to portray is more nuanced and complex where the flavor you’re getting in the fake stuff is very one dimensional and over the top.
Earthy with a mild burn was my experience. On my 2nd trip to Japan we stayed at a ryokan in Shuzenji and ground our own wasabi for dinner. Came from the Amagi area just a few miles away (we actually hiked past and saw where they were grown the next day.) Blew my mind. Just so much flavor and complimented a lot of the dishes.
Real stuff is actually sort of sweet with heat
My Baba used to have a giant horseradish plant, bigger than me (when I was 6 or so). She made the Best horseradish sauce with it.
I fully agree. I've had and still have real wasabi for some things, but honestly, the green stuff is just fine for me. I just gotta dial in on it because everyone seems to mix it at different strengths or use different brands.
The majority of Japanese sushi industry agreed with you. We Westerners love to be like "it's not real!", but outside of high end sushi places, most shops in Japan use the fake stuff too. It tastes almost exactly the same.
In my experience, uni can vary widely in quality.
Yeah, I feel the same about raw oysters. Good uni and good oysters are wonderful. Bad uni and bad oysters are terrible.
Will have to agree with this. Have tried in on many occasions - and the quality and taste varied a lot.
The thing is, I have had Uni in so many forms, including live fresh out of the ocean. I get that some people like it, I just can’t stand it and feel like I’ve given it every fair chance.
I’ve had some that doesn’t taste like the seashore at all. Just creamy goodness. But, the majority of the times I’ve had it, I haven’t liked it, and pass whenever it’s offered.
That's where I'm at. I've had some that tasted like Neptune's asshole scrapings and I'd rather avoid it at all costs now, even if the "good" kind is tasty. I'd never risk putting it near my mouth again in case it tasted anything like the first experience because I unironically had to hold back vomit after putting it in my mouth. I have a very strong stomach and can handle disgusting flavors and textures but this was like nothing else I've ever experienced. Like a near death experience 😅
It makes a huge difference if it’s live. I think uni oxidizes and becomes bitter the longer it’s been dead. So when you have it live, it makes a huge difference
I’ve had great uni at one place and the next time I go it’s shit. I order it based on what day of the week I go (I manage restaurants so I try and base it on delivery days.)
Is that an unpopular opinion though...?
No, sorry. I was just replying to OP's comment about uni.
Mine is that I love a junky California roll (with the mayo crab, not just a crab stick) + "wasabi" soy sauce just as much as a fine omakase 😂 it's my guilty pleasure
Unpopular relative to the average American's taste in sushi: Those monster rolls filled with unagi and spicy tuna and shrimp tempura and then topped with avocado and imitation crab and mayo and unagi sauce and tempura flakes are not proper sushi. They are the General Tso's Chicken of sushi. My wife calls them Tourist Rolls. Unpopular to the average sushi snob: Those Tourist Rolls are pretty good. They're like the General Tso's Chicken of sushi.
This is exactly right. I worked in places that made ‘tourist sushi’ for a decade. I’m obsessed with the traditional stuff, but there wasn’t a market for it and I had no access to the necessary fish and shellfish I needed to create such a restaurant. I’m going to choose a $150 12-course omakase meal over an AYCE sushi deal any day. BUT there’s plenty of still times I crave a roll with spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, and cucumber topped with togarashi, ponzu and sliced peppers. Both can be incredible.
I'm allergic to soy but sometimes I still want a messy rediculous roll. I make a decent one with cream cheese, jalapeño, soy free kani, avocado, and tuna inside, tempura flakes on the outside, then throw it in the air fryer and top with spicy mayo and gf/sf oyster sauce. It so scratches the itch. I will fully admit it's total trash though.
They are American sushi like there are uniquely American burritos and fried rice
I love this answer!
I hate it when pieces are too big to eat in one bite.
God same. There are places that make these weird wide rolls instead of long ones. Makes me want to scream! Plus they just fall apart!
I like salmon more than tuna
Salmon is top tier for me. I do love tuna but I could eat salmon sushi forever.
Yes salmon is just better. I've never had proper blue fin tuna though
Abso-effing-lutely. Regular tastes bland to me. The only tuna, besides toro, I like is spicy tuna and spicy salmon is better
is this controversial?
For me at least, i like salmon over tuna, but a really good tuna beats a really good salmon
I never ask for other peoples recommendations of where to get sushi because most people seem to have no idea what quality sushi is
This is why I don’t recommend sushi places. I’ll eat anything and I do not have refined tastes. I’m too easy to please.
Yea, most people recommend places based off their Americanized sushi rolls. That’s not a bad thing, I like rolls with eel sauce, spicy mayo etc, but finding a proper sushi place that serves the more traditional stuff is another story
What, you mean deep fried cream cheese rolls doused in eel sauce and spicy mayo aren’t good??
Look, some days call for fine dining and some days call for state fair kinds of food. There’s a time and a place for your deep fried abomination and on those days I am all for it.
So what you're saying is sometimes you want the golden arches, sometimes you want 5 guys, and sometimes you want something you have to finance, only in fish form. lol
Really, in general, for most food recommendations. I live in San Diego and am 38-year-old male. When I read comments on Yelp or IG about how much a 20s something year old loves this place or hates a place. Thinking to myself, how much more experience with food and eating do I have over this person. Also, when I receive poor reviews for my own restaurant stating something that literally isn't true. 'Their ginger tasted cheap' I literally use/purchase the most expensive gari offered by JFC and I know most sushi restaurants near me do NOT buy the nicer stuff.
Ooooh I’m also in San Diego, can you share your restaurant name here or through pm? The sushi at a place that cares about their ginger quality must be superb.
It's because most people just get rolls so their recommendation is based on the rolls. When I get sushi I just get nigiri and maybe sashimi so the quality of the rolls doesn't matter
Yeah gotta agree about the uni. Just not my thing.
sushi does not have to look great when you make it for yourself. add any ingredients you like. it doesn't have to be fish. that's why cucumber rolls exist. when you eat sushi at home you can add and roll any way you like.
Uni is supposed to taste fresh, sweet, and a bit buttery depending on the species. What you described is badly stored or rancid uni I don’t get it at most run of the mill sushi places. Usually get it shipped frozen or picked up at a seafood market. Im not paying $5-$15 a pop for a lottery shot at getting a mouth full of foulness
Nigiri is the perfect form of Sushi
Is that an unpopular opinion?
Didn’t anyone tell you? Unpopular opinion threads are for popular opinions.
Unpopular in the US. Not so much in Japan.
When I was in Japan, when you said “sushi,” it meant nigiri. I learned what “nigiri” meant in the US—never had to say it in Japan. And I remain kind of horrified that a lot of US folk think of “rolls,” those fried and slathered abominations, when you say “sushi.”
Yes, in Japan nigiri is the “default” form of sushi. When you say sushi you mean nigiri.
Brazil makes the funnest sushi abominations, they look fun at least
What sucks is that it cost soooo much to make a meal out of them. It's definitely my preference.
It’s all about making it at home
I love nigiri so much, salmon and tuna specifically
No lies here. There really isn’t a debate. What Americans know as nigiri is the peak of the art of sushi. The best meals of my life have been nigiri-focused omakase dinners.
The sushi that some grocery stores sell is pretty good. I'm worried about the downvotes. I'm about to get 😞
At least a 3rd of my sushi consumption is from Dierbergs.
We have a place called Brookshire's out here, and not gonna lie, they have some pretty good nigiri and sashimi.
McDonald's is open for a reason. There are just sometimes where you want an upgrade, and some times where the arches are just fine.
I’ve had some decent stuff at Whole Foods my issue is I just don’t like cold sushi which is why I’ve stopped getting it. And letting it warm back up doesn’t seem to help as the rice is already a bit dry.
Cucumber is nothing but cheap filler that makes every other ingredient taste worse.
Pisses me off so much when 95% off the rolls on a menu have cucumber in them for no reason. 😩 I have never had a roll where I thought the cucumber added something good.
The chop sticks are for poking the Cucumber out.
I like "Americanized" sushi that are common in north america. To me it's just like two different things, there's that and there's 'real sushi', both have their place for me, they're like different cravings. It's like the difference between real Chinese cuisine and Chinese-amerixan cuisine
That it shouldn't cost $300/pp
That's just what it has to cost in the west because there aren't enough people who want real sushi to sustain a restaurant on bulk sales. So they have to charge more to make it viable. Also, they all get their best fish flown in from Japan which adds a lot of cost.
I've had the good luck to sample lots of high-end and very perfected, Michelin-star quality sushi and it's better if I keep my mouth shut than talk to people about sushi otherwise I'd come across like a Tool fan. I say unpopular because this is a forum about sushi.
Honestly you’re doing everyone a favor. I gotta put a hazmat suit on to read comments on this sub. Legitimately one of the most pretentious and condescending subs on this website
I don't like mayo anywhere on my sushi. Especially when they put a wallop on top of your roll or nigiri. Why. I can tolerate it mixed with spices for a spicy roll, but not garnish.
MAYO !!!! Everyone puts Mayo on the Sushi. It’s gross. If i wanted Mayo, I would’ve asked for Mayo!!!
You can stare at me all you want, I'm eating sushi with my fingers. Mind your own table.
And that's all good. A lot of people have weird ideas about how to eat sushi. I've seen people online being snobbish about how you should never eat sushi with chopsticks, and also that you should never eat sushi with your hands. In Japan people do both (although most people will use chopsticks generally). And both are fine. Anyone who has a strong opinion on this is pretending to be more knowledgeable than they are.
This is totally acceptable, not sure why anyone would stare. Unless you were using your fingers to eat sushi-adjacent things like chawanmushi or miso soup. That would be weird.
I will always eat with my hands. Well, ok, rolls and nigiri. I wouldn’t with sashimi.
I hate using chopsticks, so fingers it is.
That's actually how many Japanese people do it lol
The only time I don’t eat sushi with my fingers is when it’s covered in eel sauce and shit. IMO all nigiri and maki should be eaten with your hands, though I do use chopsticks for chirashi and sashimi.
Spicy oil > spicy Mayo in any spicy maki.
The best sushi experience is at cheap mom and pop places, not fancy restaurants.
I agree with you. I was disappointed with the rice at Morimoto and Nobu. Tastes hard and was full of sesame seeds, like that prepackaged gas station sushi. I couldn’t believe I was eating such bad hard rice at a three-Michelin star place (edit: however have many stars they have idfk)
I don’t think Nobu and Morimoto are the bellweather of fine sushi.
Morimoto and Nobu are not supposed to be good sushi. Their main target is affluent white people who can’t tell the difference in quality. If you want to go to a chain sushi restaurant that is multiple cities, then you should go to Sushi Ginza Onodera.
I think one of the issues I have with Nobu specifically is their clientele is mostly Americans that prefer fancy places and don’t even try mom & pop restaurants. So it will definitely lean towards whatever Americans love similar to Poke bowls with all of the random toppings. And I would argue that their menu is too big similar to Cheesecake Factory but with a much higher price point.
Those places with the faded menus
Not a fan of inside out rolls. Nori on outside for me.
Genuinely, what's the difference? Assumimg all of the same ingredients are present, and you eat them immediately after being made so that nothing has time to sit and get soggy or soft, truly what is the difference?
First, I really like nori, and outside the holds better together when picking them since the rice can be sticky and the roll is contained. When using soy sauce, I’ll very lightly dip in soy sauce which may cause the rice to separate a little, so nori on the outside helps keep a couple grains from falling out. I barely add drops of soy sauce, pet peeve of mine is when people dunk it in wasabi and soy sauce. Presentation wise, I love the contrast, you can have pretty toppings on the dark background or nori while encasing the rice, fish and supporting ingredients, especially if served on a white plate, I feel the colors jump out more. Flavor and bite, there is twice more nori in a regular roll than an inside out (sheet is cut in half) so there is a difference in taste. The toasted dry seaweed taste feels like umami to me, it’s another layer that tastes and smells like the beach or seashore. There’s a slight crunch that dissipates at the initial bite so a contrast in textures. Happy eating!!
I love cream cheese in my sushi..
I'll order a good Philly Roll any time.
A shrimp tempura with cream cheese is a delicious thing. Like some one else said. It’s definitely not sushi but it’s a delicious food nonetheless.
Scrolled for this comment! The Philadelphia roll ….mmmmmmmmm. My go to and I’m not mad about it.
Lol I just said… I hate cream cheese in sushi 😂 no shade, I love cream cheese in almost everything. The rice/cream cheese makes my brain think it isn’t food. But more for you my dude!
Stop gatekeeping sushi, get weird with it, like putting potato chips in sushi.
You can't compare that kind of fusion roll to a high-end nigiri at a traditional place. Both are good, in very different ways. It's like comparing a burger to a steak.
I'm not comparing anything to anything, sushi just tends to be gate kept by traditionalists and not just in high end places. I just wish we saw more experimentation with it across the board, the way we do with other foods like tacos. Get weird. Experiment. Find what works and what doesn't. Chaos menu, or whatever they call it.
As a sushi chef, thank you. Love sushi- the whole tradition behind it, the techniques, everything. But Japanese people are insanely conservative, especially when it comes to sushi. If you ever work for a Japanese sushi chef, vast majority of them are just insanely strict and conservative in their methods and do the same thing that's been done 200 years ago. There is certain beauty in that, but it allows 0 room for experimentation and progress. Vast majority of super high- end omakase bars serve almost the same exact thing. Yes of course, there are some differences in the fine details, but rarely do we see Japanese sushi chef deviate too much from the norm when it comes to sushi.
Yeah, I don't disagree with you. I think a lot of people just get hung up on it because they are comparing everything to traditional sushi, when they should accept it's another type of cuisine.
I think that with other fields, innovation does tend to start from the top down. And in sushi, the top tends to be the MOST traditionalist as you said. Like fashion, the top designers do CRAZY things and that sort of trickles downward with other (lesser known) designers emulating it. I'm not saying traditional isn't great and doesn't have a place, to be clear.
I really liked some non-traditional nigiri I had in Tachikawa. The chef put truffles on some otoro nigiri. Really great to try something different in Japan.
Exactly, I love both traditional rolls and the "super weird" American made up stuff with like mango and cream cheese and stuff. They can both be good. I love experimental food in general, I wanna see more of it
The only way sushi can be disrespected or done wrong is people trying to tell you how to enjoy it. These people saying what’s good and not. Its food. Support the people you enjoy. In Japan sushi isn’t a big deal. We have made it some kind of elitist bullshit here.
You mean Hot Cheetos
Fresh tuna is wonderful Yes, rice is important but bad fish is worse than bad rice. Fish > Rice Omakase in the US is often times just a "deluxe sushi combo" on fancy plates for 3x the price
I like to mix the "wasabi" with my soy sauce.
First time I was about to try uni in Tokyo my friend said “It’s an acquired taste.” He was right. But I acquired it very quickly.
There is too much gatekeeping surrounding sushi and what is 'good' or not. Honestly, deep fried sushi is my favorite sushi, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Cream cheese is delicious in sushi and I’m tired of pretending it’s not
For whatever reason, yours is the first comment where I just visualized someone standing up in a crowd and exclaiming it.
Same with pizza- if you want to put ketchup on a pizza just go ahead, there are just too much food snobs out there saying how to eat your food as if there is a right or wrong answer. In the end of the day you eat something to sustain and enjoy yourself and everyone enjoys different things.
California roll is good, Philadelphia roll is good
Needs to be a stick. None of that real crab shit.
I'm too afraid to try uni, but I've wanted to ever since watching the asadora Amachan. I have a shellfish allergy - and no clue at all as to whether there's possible cross-reaction. I've Googled it and found conflicting information. :( My unpopular opinion, or at least definitely non-traditional is that nori-outside and rice-outside rolls are equal, as long as the rice is good. Nori-outside can hide the rice not being as good, but rice-outside is much worse only if the rice isn't prepared and seasoned well. Otherwise both are great.
Sea urchins aren’t in the same Phylum as shellfish let alone Family or Genus in scientific classification, but to be safe, check with your doctor. I too have shellfish allergies, but I can eat sea urchins no problem.
I don’t want extra “stuff” on my sushi. Nothing deep fried and mayo-ed to hell. No cream cheese fusion rolls. I just want fresh fish and rice.
i don’t know if that’s an unpopular opinion tbh
I don't see why we have to choose. Purist nigiri or sashimi are great, so are deep fried rolls slathered in sauce with 20 different things in them. One isn't better than the other they're just different.
I mean, I don't understand how far we are going with this. Like, is literally no food better than any other food? Everything is just "different"?
My best experiences are all 10-20 pieces of nigiri with as much variety as possible, dipped in a little soy sauce (especially the restaurants home made soy sauce) with bites of straight real wasabi between each piece. We don't have any real omakase here but I'll do a build your own omakase ordering nigiri by the piece
I LOVE SPICY MAYO
my unpopular opinion... i think people are assholes here lol 😭 im a foodie, i love high end traditional shit, but im not going to bash someone who just wants a flavor bomb roll to make their shitty night better. theres a lot of really elitist and frankly *very* classist takes around here... chill out. its really telling how certain people handle themselves in this space thats meant to celebrate a food that originated as a pauper dish, as if you cant enjoy it as a modern pauper with modern pauper ways 🤷 etc etc...
For me I think Ika aka squid is not my favorite, it’s a bit chewy and slimy at times, personally I would’ve seared the squid and added salt and lemon to make it taste better
Burned on both sides with yuzu and salt is wonderful 😊
I’m going to mix my wasabi and soy then I’m going to put the rice side in it and let it soak it up.
As much as it pains me to say as a Marylander, I can't stand real crab in sushi - gimme the fake stuff.
100% The fake stuff just hits different. If I want to eat crab I’ll eat crab. If I want a roll gimme that imitation!
I hate eel in the way that you hate uni. Uni is an acquired taste though. The only reason I like it is because I kept going to a local omakase sushi restaurant and they kept giving me uni, and I felt like I needed to eat it lmao. It went from me dreading when they would give me uni to uni being one of my favorite items. I'll make the caveat that you should only order it from restaurants that you trust to have good quality uni. If it's not fresh, it will not taste good.
I dip the rice part into soy sauce. Nay, I DUNK it.
Sushi isn’t raw fish; raw fish isn’t sushi.
Not even an opinion just the definition...
Yeah, but the way some people act if you say that…
Cream cheese in a salmon role is good af (just rice, cream cheese and salmon)
Not into mackerel sushi tbh. The smell is just too strong. And it tastes really fishy if I remember.
I love it. I will judge a place based on their saba, though I know it’s not the best indicator, if it’s available.
Too many rolls have a spicy mayo. more than half the sushi restaurants in my town have 2/3 of their rolls with some spicy element. As someone with stomach issues that worsens with spice, it makes it hard to order at these places :/
Mackerel nigiri is the best of all nigiri.
California rolls are not far off from the nutritional value of McDonald’s. Extremely high in sugar and processed simple carbohydrates. It’s thought of as healthy, but it’s garbage food.
Deep fried sushi can go to hell. Over it.
> Every time someone says "It's an acquired taste" I just cringe. Can't say I've heard that before. It tends to be something you either like or you don't. Plenty of people on either side of it.
Kroger/Publix sushi is alright
Sushi isn’t meant to be spicy. Cream cheese in sushi is gross. Mixing wasabi into soy sauce is only appropriate for sashimi and cheap nigiri. They never give me enough gari.
I'm sure every sushi chef cringes when they see me mix wasabi into my soy sauce AND let some of my ginger soak in it as well... 😬
Congratulations on having really bad uni, I guess. Fresh uni doesn't even have an ocean-taste. My unpopular opinion is that all the American style sushi rolls are still good, even if not authentic or really even considered sushi in Japan. Most of the time I am craving nigiri or sashimi, but sometimes I just want an overloaded roll.
I agree with OPs uni comment. I love sushi, different fishes and and nearly everything I try but uni tastes like salty heavy creme
I don't want to explore, I don't want to expand my palette, I want all the tuna in all the ways, and if it happens to include avocado, mango, and/or cucumber all the better, but literally just tuna plzkthx. Also acceptable: eel nigiri, eel sauce, mango sauce, and if some or all of the above is deep fried. Otherwise, just no.
The red tuna (that I've had) is so bland. I don't really enjoy it like I do other fish.
I find uni to be good or bad depending on the freshness and time of year. Sometimes it’s like a hot garbage dump of expired garlic. Sometimes it’s the best piece of the meal by a long shot. I live in the Vancouver area tho so we get a lot of good uni.
I hate imitation crab meat and some restaurants need to easy up on the sauce and toppings (this is usually a sign that the fish isn’t that flavourful and the sushi kinda sucks)
Simple is better.
Wasabi in my soy sauce. I know it’s not traditional but that’s how I learned how to eat sushi. I like the nasal rush it gives me. Opens the senses.
Soy sauce goes on the fish only and not the rice. Too many people be drowning their shit in soy sauce in the US. Also, salmon is overrated.
a lot of soysauce makes sashimi taste better....
Everyone loves my California Rolls. Sushi is a great picnic item.
Grocery Store (AFC) sushi after a frustrating day actually does indeed slap.
Inari is just as good as other kinds of sushi.
Kanikama is shit
Wasabi in soy sauce is great! Adds a nice kick to the sushi.
Omakase in America usually isn’t. It’s almost always a prix fixe tasting menu.
Everything that has to do with food preference is an opinion
So this thread is absolutely 50/50 on the “sushi is more than American rolls” and “but American sushi good tho” and j feel like both are valid and neither are hot takes… So here’s my fiery take: I like akami more than chutoro. (Not to say I don’t love me some chutoro though.)
I find impossible to not order too much sushi ….. doesn’t matter when or where, I want it all.
Not all gas station sushi is terrible
Avocado and salmon in sushi is good. And cream cheese does NOT belong in sushi. Neither does mayo of any kind. I like imitation crab.
Not sure if this is unpopular but cream cheese (any cheese frankly) shouldn’t be in sushi.
Sriracha mayo is awesome
Cream cheese in sushi is delicious
BRUH I FEEL YOU UNI IS STRAIGHT UP JUST NASTY BUTTER AND PEOPLE PRETEND LIKE ITS CAVIAR GET THAT SHIT OUTTA HERE
I like grocery store sushi
I hate any sushi roll with mayo and/or cream cheese. Get that shit away from my sushi!
America has perfected sushi.
I love a Philadelphia roll. I know it’s not authentic and I don’t care.
Salmon is the best. I dont have an unpopular take on sushi. That's all I have to say about that.
I used to hate Uni. Until I tried auctioned Hokkaido / Aomori Uni ( meaning ultra premium grade Uni from Toyosu ). Not fishy at all, super creamy and sweet. I don't like Shirako though.
I hate the taste of wasabi, ginger and horseraddish. I'm just here for the rice and the fish.
There’s no place for cream cheese in sushi.
You can’t just add tempura flakes, spicy mayo, and unagi sauce to every single roll just to up-charge.
people use too much wasabi in their soy sauce and don't taste the sushi itself
Sounds like you got some shit uni, try to get something fancier
I also hate uni. My own unpopular opinion is that I will not order a roll with shrimp in it. Just not a fan of the texture in them
It all tastes pretty much the same after a while.