Books on Sushi and Japanese food

Two books;
1. Michael Booth,  Sushi and Beyond; what the Japanese know about Cooking, Vintage 2010
2. Trevor Corson,  The Story of Sushi; An Unlikely Saga if Raw Fish and Rice, Harper Perennial, 2008

These two books are both written by well known food writer and the authors of many other first rate books. Michael Booth is a food writer for many publications including 'The Independent on Sundays' and, among other publications, the author of the very popular 'Doing Without Delia'. Trevor Corson also a food writer for the 'New York Times' and author of one of my favorite books of the last few years, 'The Secret Life of Lobsters'

Trevor Corson bases his very wide ranging exploration of Sushi and Japanese food on the real story of an unlikely young woman Kate Murray and her experiences as a trainee in the US's first Sushi Chef training Academy, The California Sushi Academy'. He tells a fascinating story of Kate's up and down experiences as a student and her interactions with follow students and teachers especially the well known pioneer of Sushi in the US Toshi Sugiura. Throughout Kate's story he delves into the history and traditions of Japanese food preparation, the ingredients and their biology, chemistry and cultivation. His research on unusual (for us in the west) ingredients are fascinating and I learned so much about Japanese food. I think it should be compulsory reading for all cooking schools. Its all there; the making of Soy sauce, miso, sushi rice, sake and seaweed and the intricate preparation of all varieties fish and other seafood such as clams, octopus, and clams, sea urchins and you name it.

Corson makes a number of important points about raw fish 'sashimi', that we should all know. Did you know, for example, that salmon is susceptible to carrying many parasites, much more than mackerel he says, which is also a host for many bad bugs. Salmon swim in freshwater as well as the ocean and can carry tapeworm as many freshwater fish do. Fish that live their lives in the ocean do not serve as such carriers. Also, their dual lifestyle makes them susceptible to carrying other fresh water derived bugs such as anisakis lava which is not good for you.

This is basically the case for wild salmon, which those who are in the know, prefer, as it exercises, eats a variety of food and tastes quite distinctly different to the farmed variety. The farmed variety is made lazy, it does not have to work very hard to eat as it gets gorged with a pelleted mash of fish meal made from sardines, herring, anchovies and other oily fish.  I hate to say it, but Corson notes that the worst effect of farming is that the fish accumulate much more (seven times more in fact) of PCB's,  nasty stuff that said to be a factor in causing cancer. The solution? Maybe cook your salmon and don't eat it raw. Freezing kills the bugs and most good Sushi restaurants freeze their fish served as sushimi at very low temperatures for 74 hours (at -30F I might say lower than your fridge will go). Its OK then to eat raw but so also are most other totally ocean-going fish as long as they are carefully prepared. But certainly don't be put off by this. Corson's research explains the incredible nutritional value of Japanese food such as soya beans, seaweed, sushi, miso, that help the Japanese live into their 100's the longest living of all peoples in the world today.

Michael Booth, a British food and travel writer actually takes his family, his wife and two young sons to Japan to get a firsthand look and taste of Japanese food. He is incredibly curious and adventurous and has an ability to describe taste that make you drool and immediately want to go and try whatever it is he is describing.He and his family travel throughout the different food regions of Japan. He tries many regional dishes and their different local ingredients. He describes the preparation of Dashi and how its major component (Bonito fish - related to mackerel) is dried and shaved into broth to make miso soup. He visits a Kobi beef farm and then a Kobi beef restaurant to try it (not as good as its made out to be and not worth the astronomical cost). He tries the famous Fugi fish which if incorrectly prepared can knock you over dead in minutes, (also not as good as its made out to be).

The book is educational as well as inspirational. He visits factories, farms, nurseries and describes the production of sushi rice, wasabi (the green stuff we get in little tubes in Western countries is a synthetic, a pallid substitute for the real vegetable thing). He visits the famous Tsukiji Fish Markets in Tokyo, massages Wagyu (Kobi beef ) cattle and watches women (Amu) divers who holding their breath for minutes collecting abalone and other crustaceans from the sea floor. He visits some of the best restaurants in the country and describes the food as some of the best he has ever had and that's saying something he has tried food in many of the worlds great restaurants. This is a fabulous book which I had difficulty putting down.