Sushi On A Cracker
I have dealt with the public pretty much my whole life. I have waited on tables, tended bar, served as a host in restaurants, cooked in restaurants, owned restaurants, sold wine and liquor products in wholesale and retail environments, taught courses on wine and liquor and taken people on trips to wine growing regions and wineries. Of course I have also moved about in day to day living for almost 75 years.
After my first year out in the working world, I refused to let anything surprize me as to what people will say or do. I have found people to be entertaining, exasperating, endearing, confusing, mean, lovable, pretentious, skeptical, indifferent, inquisitive, conservative, liberal, informed, misinformed, ignorant, knowledgeable, quiet, vocal, introverted, extroverted, altruistic, greedy, opinionated, unbiased, and deceitful. They have said and done just about anything you can imagine and some things you can't. A lot of the negative traits come from overinflated senses of entitlement.
I have always tried to remember the advice of my first real girlfriend, who is now my wife. She said, "Don't lose your sense of humor. Life sucks without a sense of humor." She was absolutely right. It's difficult sometimes because there are some people who will try your patience. For the most part people are entertaining and good natured, some delightful.
That is the case with a group of "Florida Crackers" I met one evening. I don't use the term "Florida Cracker" as a derogatory term but as a descriptive one. It is a historical term referring to early settlers and cowboys in Florida. They used whips to drive cattle and the sound of the whip cracking is the origin of that name.
After I retired from the wine business, Sally and I opened a restaurant called the Crazy Conch Cafe in Tierra Verde, Florida. At Christmas time in 2008 we did a holiday party for a group of 40 employees of one of our good customers. His company had a great year. It was because of the hard work of these employees. He wanted to thank them. In addition to their yearly bonuses, he wanted to do something special.
Nevertheless, their boss chose our restaurant for this party and I worked with his engaging assistant to finalize the menu. We determined that a hour long cocktail session would give everyone time to get there and enjoy themselves before the sit-down dinner. During this hour we would pass hors d'oeuvres. One of the items was Ahi Tuna Tartare. It was a favorite of the customer.
The group appeared to be the middle and upper management of this company with their wives or girlfriends. The majority of this group fell into the Florida Cracker description. They had the captivating accent and mannerisms of folks from Central Florida. Florida ranks 9th in the nation in beef cattle production and a few were dressed as if that might be their second job. Anyone who has been in a Tony Lama shop can tell you those boots, hats, and belts are not cheap. In fact they are quite expensive. A few of these gentlemen were showing off.
The Ahi Tuna Tartare hor d'oeuvre was raw diced tuna tossed in a sauce of soy, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar, topped with avocado and cilantro served on a deep fried corn chip. When the tray got around to one group of the partygoers, one of the men balked at the raw tuna and asked, "What is this?" Before the server could explain, one of his buddies said, "Don't worry man. It's sushi on a cracker."
The server and the others in his group cracked up, as no one had heard raw tuna described quite like that before. The gentleman definitely put it in terms his buddy could understand. Technically sushi is the Japanese word to describe the vinegared rice that accompanies the raw fish, but there is no need to quibble over that.
I had been dealing with fresh tuna since my first restaurant the Iron Gate House in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This was back in the the mid 1970's before raw fish, in the form of sushi, sashimi, poke and ceviche became commonplace in American restaurants.
The tuna I bought and caught was Bluefin from the Atlantic off the Virginia Beach coast. In appearance it was bright red like beef. When cooked it turned white like the stuff that comes in the tins. Of course it tasted a lot better than the canned variety. I always cooked it through, like the rest of the local fish I served. I was completely ignorant as to the delights of raw or lightly seared fish. That would change, just like it did in the rest of the country in the late 70's and early 80's.
I kept up on food trends through reading and travel. On a trip to New York City at Windows on the World restaurant, I encountered raw tuna for the first time. They had a sushi chef carving raw tuna at a station in the dining room. I tried it in sashimi form and liked it. On a trip to Hawaii, I encountered tuna poke. I tried that and liked it. Raw tuna would soon find a place on my menus.
I am not, nor profess to be a sushi chef. They know far more than I ever will about fresh fish and how to serve it. The only fish I felt comfortable serving raw or nearly raw was tuna. I knew there were several fish that were unsafe to serve raw like Haddock, Pollock, Mahi-mahi and most freshwater fish.
Sushi started in Japan as a way to preserve fish in fermented rice. The hand pressed vinegared rice with a slice of seafood on top version started in the 1820's in what is now Tokyo as a fast food for the merchant class. It evolved into the style we know today as a fresh and healthy food source.
It came to the United States in the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles in the mid 1960's for mainly Japanese businessmen. It soon attracted a wider clientele.
The creation of the California Roll in the mid 1970's played a big role in popularizing sushi among Americans. This roll of avocado, cucumber and crab (most times imitation crab) was a more palatable introduction for most Americans. It allowed people a starting point and soon they were more adventuresome. They began trying the raw fish variety and liked it.
Most sushi aficionados will tell you the key to sushi or any raw fish presentation is extraordinary freshness. The rockstars of sushi have the mystical ability to draw fresh fish from all corners of the globe. All it takes is a willingness to pay for it. It is not cheap.
Due to health concerns and growing demand 50 to 60 percent of all sushi in the United States is frozen at some point in its journey from the sea to your plate. It is extremely rare for a sushi restaurant to tell you that your fish has been frozen.
In the United States the Food and Drug Administration's regulations stipulate that if fish is to be served raw, as sushi, sashimi, tartare, ceviche or poke, it must be frozen first to kill parasites. This freezing can be anywhere along the supply chain or at the restaurant itself. This makes it a regulation that is virtually impossible to enforce. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration does not do the enforcement. It leaves it to local health departments to do the enforcing. Tuna, a deep-sea fish with exceptionally clean flesh, is the only exception to this regulation.
Due to seasonality and demand tuna is often frozen too. The American consumer does not want to hear that something is out of season, especially their toro tuna.
The industry has greatly updated freezing techniques, including "superfreezing" fish at 70 degrees below zero almost before it's dead. It makes a product that is hard to tell from fresh.
I'm not an expert on fish but I do know fishmongers and charter boat captains, so I know where to get expert advice. A few years ago one fishmonger turned me on to frozen ahi saku. Ahi is the Hawaiian word for yellowfin tuna. Its literal translation is fire, which is what happens to the fishing line when a yellowfin tuna hits, it catches fire. "Saku" is the Japanese word for block and it's that block of tuna you see your sushi chef using to make you sashimi or sushi. He may cut them himself from a tuna loin or he may buy them already cut.
I have caught yellowfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico. I had the foresight to bring soy sauce and a bit of wasabi, so I have eaten raw tuna as fresh as it is possible to eat. I have also eaten "superfrozen" ahi saku tuna sold to me by my fish merchant. I can't tell the difference. I will tell you that at the price of fuel and the cost of wear and tear on a boat large enough to take you far enough out into the Gulf to catch yellowfin tuna, the frozen ahi saku tuna was a lot cheaper than the freshly caught Gulf yellowfin tuna.
I have become quite a fan of the frozen ahi tuna saku form of yellowfin tuna. In the restaurants, I spent a lot of time finding a quality supplier of fresh fish. I always wanted the freshest fish possible. The trials and tribulations of finding a quality fresh fish supplier are another story. In my research online and talking with various suppliers and chefs, I found that quite a few top sushi temples in this country and Japan use frozen ahi tuna. I have never used frozen fish other than tuna, not grouper, snapper, salmon, mahi-mahi, pompano, redfish... None other than tuna.
We typically serve the tuna as tartare, formed on a plate with diced avocado or in a cocktail glass on a bed of lettuce topped with an avocado cream with fresh tortilla chips. We also served it as a sort of Salade Nicoise, lightly seared and sliced with potatoes, haricots verts, olives, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes and vinaigrette dressing.
In dealing with the public, I have had people complain about pretty much everything in all my restaurants, food, noise level, art on the walls, wine selection, other customers, bottled water, amount of liquor in their drinks, bread, you name it. Some people are never happy unless they are complaining about something. I never had anybody complain about the fish, including the tuna. Well, that's not true. One lady complained her Spicy Blackened Grouper was too spicy. One lady complained her Seafood Gumbo which has fish in it, had too much seafood. Go figure.
Ahi Tuna Tartare AKA Sushi On A
Cracker
1 - Cup Chiffonade of Romaine 4 - Tbsp. Avocado Cream 8 - Corn Tortillas Quartered 16 - Oz. Diced Ahi Tuna Toasted Sesame Seeds
In deep fat fryer fry the tortillas quarters until golden brown, drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Combine the vinegar, wasabi, soy sauce, olive oil, and sesame oil in a bowl and stir until well mixed. Refrigerate. It makes about a quart, more than you will need but it will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. It makes a great dipping sauce.
Using 4 large cocktail glasses place chiffonade of romaine in the bottom of each. In a bowl toss tuna with the sauce and red pepper flakes to taste.
Place tuna on top of romaine and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place glasses on a salad plate with paper doily. Arrange chips around the base. Top the tuna with the avocado cream. Or forget the cocktail glasses and place the tuna directly on the chips without the romaine, top with the sesame seeds and a small bit of the avocado cream for Sushi On A Cracker.
6-8 Hass Avocados Pulp ¼ - Cup Fresh Lime Juice Salt and Pepper to taste 3 - Oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
In blender process all ingredients well. Cover with film wrap on surface until ready to use. Makes about half a quart of thick puree, more than you will need but it will keep for several days wrapped in the refrigerator. Great with corn chips instead of guacamole.
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