Available with either Tosazu vinegar or Chef Maeda's Sour Plum Sauce...pictured with no sauce here.

Mackerel Pike Sunomono – $10

As we get closer to fall, mackerel pikes (SANMA in Japanese) in northern Japan Sea fatten up, providing us one of the most beloved seasonal flavors.  Here is Mackerel Pike Sunomono.  Chef Maeda uses these mackerel pikes marinated in sweet vinegar, rolls them up in sheets of daikon radish and shiso leaves with radish sprouts, cucumber, and pickled ginger to create a soothing harmony of flavors.  On a hot day, enjoy it with the vinegar marinade (special vinegar sauce called TOSAZU in Japanese).  Vinegar encourages your appetite, helps your digestion, and helps you fight the fatigue.  We also offer this with Chef Maeda’s original Sour Plum Sauce, which is pleasantly sweet and sour made from actual sour plums.  As we approach the fall season, look out for Chef Maeda to offer fresh mackerel pike sushi (instead of the marinated kind).

Horse Mackerel Sunomono – $10

This same appetizer can also be made with horse mackerel (AJI in Japanese), in season until mid to late fall, another good option to keep in your mind.  Currently with more fat content, it will have a softer vinegar flavor – available in both Tosazu vinegar and Sour Plum Sauce.

the most coveted seat in the house

When a customer lets the chef choose the content of a sushi meal, we call it OMAKASE (oh-mah-kah-say).  When a master chef tends to a customer at the sushi bar and serves his sushi piece by piece, we call this practice TACHI (tah-chee).  An ultimate meal at a sushi restaurant is to have a seat at the sushi bar, ask for an OMAKASE meal and be served TACHI style.  If you like to have some sake, the chef will start with some appetizers to match your selection.  To give that kind of service, though, the chef must be familiar with the customer’s likes and dislikes, whether he/she tends to have a few drinks, size of appetite, etc.  So the customer hopefully have visited our sushi bar a few times before making a reservation to be served TACHI (a reservation is a must, as you can imagine).  Here is an example of Chef Maeda’s omakase course served tachi style to a Japanese customer and his associate, one late afternoon in June…as they both had to drive, they were not going to drink much.

*customers order Sapporo Beer

Tsukidashi (appetizer)  – Jellyfish with sesame marinade

*Chef asked the customer, “should I make sushi?” and customers nod, “please.”

* If it was a dinner and the customers were to have more drinks before sushi, then Chef might have started by asking, “should I cut a few sashimi?”  Customers may have answered, “Yes, your kampachi looks really good.  Can you cut kampachi and some others?  I’d also like your Ikura Oroshi.” 

*hot green tea is served

Fluke Fin & Red Snapper side by side

Yellowtail & Kampachi side by side

Two pieces of Medium Fatty Tuna

Horse Mackerel

Sardine

Mackerel

Sea Urchin

*Clam Miso Soup is served

Salmon Roe

Abalone

Syako (Mantis Shrimp)

Sea Eel

Egg (sashimi)

*Chef asks, “Should I roll something?”  Customers, “No thank you, it was just right.”

*Agari green tea is served

We feel these customers left very satisfied after enjoying the wide variety of flavors, textures, the different shapes and colors, and of course, conversing with Chef Maeda.  Chef cannot serve everyone this way.  He has to get to know you first.  After all, this is the ultimate experience every sushi connoisseur covets.

*pictured – Deluxe Chirashi

Chirashi is a very popular style of sushi in Japan. 

ちらし (chee-rahsh-ee) means “scattered” or “spread” in Japanese and the slices of fish and other ingredients are literally spread atop a bowl of sushi rice.  It is popular during lunch time for the busy Japanese businessmen as it is quicker to consume than having the chef make sushi piece by piece.  But some innovative chefs have made chirashi more than just a “lunch special,” and Maeda is one of them.

Maeda’s chirashi is accentuated by the marinated salmon roe which he gives a generous potion to every bowl.  The gentle soy sauce-salmon roe flavor sinks into the whole bowl to give it the signature taste.  Of course, the other ingredients are of the highest quality and in abundance (more piled than spread).  The colorful Chirashi features fore mentioned marinated salmon roe, tuna, white fish in season, shrimp, salmon, egg, kamaboko-fishcake, etc.  Add sea urchin, eel, fatty tuna to Deluxe Chirashi.  Ask for the “omakase” chirashi to have Maeda freely create a chirashi with the day’s best ingredients probably including his hikarimono.  He calls his Omakase Chirashi, “a bottomless bowl of fish.”  It is chirashi supreme, an ultimate.  Another common thread besides the salmon roe in all chirashi is the shiitake mushroom and baby bamboo shoot.  They are braised in classic Japanese broth and full of smoky, sweet flavor.  We hope that you find the little brown pieces hidden beneath all the colorful fish to be a pleasant surprise.

“After working on it for 30 years, I settled on the current style of chirashi back in 1997, and haven’t changed much since.  I wanted the right balance between different fish, between fish and sushi rice, and among all the colors.”  Chef Maeda

A wonderful review of Maeda Sushi Restaurant is published inside the “Flavor” section of the Hartford Courant.  We like to thank Mr. Greg Morago of the Courant.  Please pick up a copy of the paper, or click here.  Or, just click on the picture of the actual newspaper to read.

We have an exciting announcement. The Hartford Courant will have a full review on Maeda Sushi Restaurant inside Thursday’s “Flavor” section. Mr. Greg Morago, Courant’s food writer, had come to experience Maeda Sushi Restaurant (we were told after the fact) and his review will be published along with Mr. Yves’ photographs on this Thursday, the 20th. Please pick up the paper on Thursday.

 

As in the freshwater variation, sea eel is a cooked ingredient of sushi.  Called anago in Japanese, its characters mean “hole-child,” as they hide in nooks and holes in the sand during the day, coming out only at night to feed.  The freshwater cousin is better known in the United States, but the sea eel is the eel preferred by sushi houses in Japan.  Sea eel is a cooked ingredient of sushi and the all important sauce, called tsume, is also made by the chef – making it a great showcase of the chef’s taste preference and skills.

Maeda’s sea eel is poached so softly, it breaks down immediately once in your mouth.  The texture is very fine, much finer than that of the freshwater eel.  The sweet fat is lighter and gentler.   Tsume, the sauce, is made from the broth which the sea eel was poached.  To the broth, soy sauce, mirin, and some sugar among other things are added, and the simmering for a long period thickens the broth into a tsume.  After making the sushi in his hands, Maeda would brush the tsume on the sea eel just before serving it to you.  The sweet and sour aroma of tsume teases you as you bring the sushi to your mouth.  As the sea eel melts, it wraps around every grain of shari (sushi-rice), all seem to meet in a harmony of flavors, textures, and warmth.  It is also a great source of vitamin A.  Now available year-round, sea eel’s natural best season is spring and early summer.

“Anago has to melt in your mouth…but if it’s too soft, it will fall apart on the touch of chopstick or hand.  To make it just right, timing is very important during the poaching.  As in any living things, every sea eel is different, so I pay close attention and treat each of them differently.”  Maeda

Pictured:  salmon roe, salmon roe in marinade, salmon roe sushi

Maeda’s salmon roe is different.  If you have a bad impression on salmon roe – or “ikura” in Japanese, please try one of his salmon roe sushi, or even chirashi, to see if we can change your mind.  Salmon roe, especially what is normally available in the United States, are not ready to be served as is, at least according to Maeda.  Usually, they are overwhelmingly salty.  Maeda’s salmon roe is marinated.  His marinade made from soy sauce, sake and mirin, among other things, eliminates the excessive saltiness, and brings out the naturally sweet flavor of the roe to the front.  Because of the marinade, salmon roe at Maeda Sushi is very deep orange, perfectly round and slippery smooth.  Once in your mouth, it will burst on your bite with its creamy, sweet juice that suggests the grandeur of the ocean.  Maeda uses ample amount of this special salmon roe on his famous chirashi, the marinade sinking into the bowl and giving its signature flavor.  As a general rule, we cannot send the marinated salmon roe to go, because it is meant to be eaten as soon as the chef serves it…please dine in to try this.  Salmon roe is available year-round, but traditionally, the best season is fall.

 

The pictured are sayori (halfbeak), kohada (gizzard shad/Japanese herring), and aji (horse mackerel).  Japanese categorize fish with shimmering skin as “Hikarimono.”  Literally translated, it means shiny things.  The group includes; mackerel, kohada (gizzard shad), aji (horse mackerel), sayori (halfbeak), sardine.  In Edo-mae, or Tokyo style sushi, the chef’s skills are truly tested in the preparation of hikarimono, because they tend to be very sensitive fish that are quick to deteriorate without the application of proper curing technique.  Maeda uses salt and vinegar of various kinds on each fish to bring out the natural flavor.  The methods and timing used are different for each fish and requires intimate knowledge derived only from years of experience.  The result on your plate is a work of art.  It is beautiful to look at, and once in your mouth, you will find a harmony of flavors.

People tend to stay away from the unknown.  Because it requires such delicate work to be able to serve them, hikarimono are often omitted by the restaurants without skilled chefs.  As a result, many sushi fans in the area have missed out on this delicacy.  Please feel very confident that you will receive hikarimono of the highest quality from Maeda. 

“One can understand how important hikarimono is to us (chefs) if you know that a traditional sushi chef seasons sushi rice to match the flavor of his kohada and other hikarimono.  It can decide the taste preference of a particular sushi bar and restaurant.”  Chef Maeda

No matter what you may order at a sushi restaurant, there are things that remain constant.  One of them is rice.  One of the surest ways to find your favorite sushi restaurant is to carefully taste the vinegar seasoned rice – maybe even more so than the fish.  That should explain why cooking and seasoning of the sushi rice – called “sumeshi” or “shari” in Japanese – is one of the most important and painstaking tasks for a sushi chef.  It is a process where he distinguishes himself from others, and Maeda is no exception.

It starts with the highest quality short grain rice available from California.  Since it is a farmed product affected by natural conditions, it has unique characteristics year to year.  The water content of the rice is also effected by whether if the rice used is still fresh from harvest in fall, or “old” crop that has been stored.  Maeda makes subtle, but important adjustment accordingly to achieve the consistent result.  Factors that change the resultant sumeshi includes the amount of water used during cooking, timing, the content and amount of vinegar mix used in seasoning, and the technique used to incorporate the vinegar mix with the rice.

The cooked rice is placed in a wooden tub called “hangiri” and the vinegar mix is added.  Maeda lets the rice and vinegar come together evenly, while letting extra moisture evaporate by an action somewhere between cutting through and quick chopping, using a wooden paddle.  He is also careful not to squash each grain of rice.  In precise and calm motion, Maeda gets this crucial process done in a couple of minutes.  The rice is cooled down while the vinegar settles in, before it’s ready to be used for sushi.

“I avoid using new crop as much as possible because it contains too much moisture and gets too sticky.  But when I have to, years of training in proper technique pays off as I am able to coat each grain with vinegar and get the desired stickiness and flavor.”  Chef Maeda

When you sit down at Maeda Sushi Restaurant, a server will hand you an oshibori, a moist, warm towel for your refreshment, and sanitizing.  If you are at Maeda’s sushi bar, and like to eat nigiri sushi with your hands, then our server will provide you a yubihuki.  Please use this small sarashi cloth inside the ceramic container to clean your fingertips in between the bites – just pinch the towel and rub without pulling it out of the holder.  The green holder is made by Tatsuko Kishida like many of our other ceramic potteries and tablewares, which should be a subject for future posts.  By the way, eating nigiri sushi with your hand is encouraged at Maeda Sushi.  Maeda communicates with the customers through his sushi…wouldn’t you think handling sushi would bring you closer?

Ten pieces of sushi and a Tuna Roll…

Depending on seasonal availability, it usually consists of:

Fatty or Medium Fatty Tuna, two pieces of Tuna, two kinds of white fish, one Yellowtail, one clam, one Eel, one Sea Urchin or Salmon Roe sushi, Egg sashimi, and one Tuna Roll.

Nine pieces of sushi and a Tuna Roll…

Depending on seasonal availability, it usually consists of:

Fatty of Medium Fatty Tuna, two kinds of white fish, one Tuna, one Egg, one Salmon Roe, one Shrimp, one Yellowtail, one Salmon sushi, and one Tuna Roll.

Chu-Toro is the moderately fat meat of a tuna.  A blue fin tuna yields Akami (red meat), Chu-Toro, and Oh-Toro (pink meat with a large fat content), and chu-toro is usually found near the skin on the back and belly.  Many connoisseurs prefer chu-toro because it combines the lighter but deep, slightly bitter flavor of an akami with the sweet tenderness of an oh-toro.  Sometimes you will find a cut of chu-toro with a gradation of red from the deep red to pink (lean to fatty). 

“Many think the oh-toro from belly of a tuna is the best, but I love the chu-toro from near the back of the body.  It has great flavor and not stringy at all, just smooth.”  Chef Maeda

The Japanese refers to all flat fish with eyes on the left side of the head as hirame, which is called fluke in the U.S.  The best fluke for sushi is the kind called turbot, which is caught in Europe from the Black Sea to the Mediteranean Sea, and up the Atlantic Coast here in North America.  Probably the most popular white fish along with red snapper, fluke is available year round but best in fall and winter.  Refreshing, light, and subtly sweet, fluke sushi usually starts an omakase (chef’s choice) sushi at the bar.

“I like to use the fluke that comes up in the Long Island Sound, more than the Atlantic ones that come up around Boston.  It has the fine, sensitive texture and flavor I prefer.”  Chef Maeda