Ever since, on a dare 5 years ago that I wouldn't be able to go 3 days without eating meat, I've been a pescaterian. That means I aspire to only eat fish. During my times in culinary school this was increasingly difficult. It meant being unable to taste the meats I was preparing, making me rely on sight and feel to know when the correct temperature and firmness was completed. I soon realized that completing culinary school without eating any sort of meat or poultry was going to be impossible. So I decided that I would be a demi-vegetarian. I would stay away from meat, but allow myself to taste the sauce to know that the flavor was correct, I would allow myself to taste the chicken if necessary (and rarely), and to use stock in my sauces. It allowed me to complete culinary school with a sense that I do know my product and know how to cook food correctly, without depleting my sense of self. That said, being a demi-pescaterian has had its challenges. It has made me realize the importance of fish and how crucial it is to know how to use it in different and interesting ways. I also was blessed with a serious shellfish allergy, so even there my options are limited. (However, I did just discover that I can enjoy mollusks so look to new mussel, clam and oyster recipes in the future!)
One of my favorite things ever is sushi. Before I moved to Texas I enjoyed this delicacy almost 3 times a week. However, my family is very involved in ocean awareness and because of our new One World One Ocean concept and launch, we decided to only eat fish that were sustainable. So my options became even more increasingly limited. Add to the fact that I moved to Texas, where fish was not as abundant in stores as in California, and I had to start getting creative.
By chance I found a website dedicated to providing delicious, sustainable, sushi-grade fish delivered to your door. It's called "I Love Blue Sea" and its based in San Francisco. It's pricey, yes, but if you are a sushi fanatic like myself, it's well worth it to enjoy this increasingly rare commodity and know that you are not hurting the ocean in the process. My husband and I tried it out awhile ago and decided that we wanted to do a sushi party involving all of our Texas friends and providing them with the fish, seaweed, rice, and all the fixings to make the perfect sushi roll. We also made some fantastic sauces to go along with the rolls.
The fish we ordered were: albacore, yellowtail, yellowfin and 2 pounds of mussels. As I've never had mussels before I decided to leave the recipe up to him and he made a truly delicious dish consisting of course grain mustard, vermouth, white wine, shallots, salt and pepper, and butter. We put the mussels in and let them steam until open (they were green lipped mussels and were huge). Then we added french fries, sauce and mussels and had a remarkable dish!
Our friends were delighted by the opportunity to roll sushi and I think the dinner proved to be a success. My favorite roll that I made consisted of: albacore, yellowfin, avocado, mango, carrot, and then topped with a ponzu sauce on top. Very tasty. The best part was there was tons of fish left so I had some truly great options to make more delicious dishes.
It just goes to show that if you look for it you can create tasty and sustainable fish options that leave everyone satisfied and having fun. Here are some pictures:
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| Yellowfin, Asparagus, Carrot, Avocado Roll |
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| Albacore, Avocado, Carrot, Cucumber, Asparagus Roll with Spicy Aioli |
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| Green Lipped Mussels with Wine Sauce and French Fries |
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| All of our delicious sauces: spicy aioli, ponzu, spicy cilantro sauce, and creamy cilantro sauce |
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| Happy guests making sushi! |
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| Mussel preparation |
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| Sake Time |
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| The stations and fixings |
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| Tons of rice! Brown, white and sticky |
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| Station for making sushi! |
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| Cutting up some yellowfin |
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| Yellowtail roll with spicy cilantro sauce |
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| You can roll with seaweed on the inside or on the outside |
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| More happy guests |
