Tag Archives: food porn

Seductive Sustainable Seafood: Food Porn from Mashiko

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Shirako (cod milt/sperm) with mentaiko (marinated pollock roe), nori (seaweed), and cucumbers

Kumamoto oysters with ponzu (citrus-based sauce)

Cherrystone clams with grated daikon

Tofu with sockeye roe (different than typical salmon roe) that’s marinated in miso and kasu (sake lees)

Rainbow trout sashimi

Ankimo (monkfish liver)

Ceviche of geoduck and scallop, with Japanese pear

Pacific oysters with olive oil and daikon sprouts

White King salmon tartare with capers, onion, and quail egg

First sushi platter: albacore belly (fatty), striped bass (konbu jime, or kelp-marinated), and sawara/Spanish mackerel)

Tako (octopus) with wakame/seaweed and shichime/seven spice powder

Chowanmushi with matsutake mushrooms

Salmon kasu-jiru: soup made with sake lees

Second sushi platter, this one featuring SweetSpring salmon, trout, sanma/Pacific saury (front row), with ono/wahoo and ebi/shrimp (back row)

Tamago, or egg, is often the test of quality sushi-making. It's also a sweet transition to the end of the meal.

Catfish (which some inevitably compare to unagi/eel due to the tare/sauce) is a sweet finish to the meal.

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During my recent restaurant search for sweet (and sustainable) scallops in Seattle, I mentioned Mashiko. In 2009, Hajime Sato transformed his space into the city’s first fully sustainable sushi bar.

What is sustainable seafood? When I gave Mashiko the Sexy Feast treatment last month, I wrote that I like the David Suzuki Foundation definition, which says it’s “seafood fished or farmed in a manner that can maintain or increase production in the long term, without jeopardizing the health or function of the web of life in our oceans.”

Sustainability calls for traceability and education. And here’s what I like about what Sato is doing. He’s an advocate of the former and a leader of the latter—teaching people about the need to use the right materials, techniques, and approach to ensure a better tomorrow for seafood.

So I highly suggest you sit at the counter at Mashiko and order omakase. Put yourself in Sato’s hands, and you’ll get non-preachy education (and some entertainment) to go along with delicious dishes. At some sushi places, I just want to eat nigiri; at Mashiko, it’s interesting to see what ingredient combinations Sato will serve you—and what he’ll say about them.

Wondering what your sustainable seafood meal will look like? Be a voyeur and check out the slideshow above for pure food porn.