Oishinbo - Vol. 30 Ch. 278 - The Salmon Showdown!! (Part 2)

[MangaDex]

 

[Mugiwara325]

If you've enjoyed sushi or sashimi in the modern age, this chapter might feel a bit strange. Isn't salmon one of the most common and ubiquitous sushi toppings to ever exist?

Surprise! Historically, salmon has rarely been eaten raw in Japan. It would usually be eaten salted, as aramaki salmon. The modern popularity of raw salmon was a product of Norwegian salmon farms, which started exporting their salmon to Japan in the late 1980s. Notably, the Norwegian salmon is a different species from the Japanese salmon, and is quite a bit fattier too. Norwegian farmed salmon, being raised in a controlled environment, are generally free from the parasites we see in this chapter, finally allowing the Japanese populace to taste raw salmon in large quantities.

So what was the ubiquitous sushi topping before salmon took over Japan? In most of Kanto, it would be tuna (maguro), and in Kansai, it would be seabream (tai) and flounder (hirame). Tuna is especially favored, to the point that it's got several dedicated cuts to be used as sushi toppings (toro, chutoro, ootoro are some of the more straightforward ones).

 

[77BLc9JwJGpLVARkamJx]

>japs
>complaining about eating stuff raw

 

[d_a_renoir]

Yeah, it's a Yamaoka oversight, because then technically he could've been fine if he had been like "This IS a ruibe that was thawed and processed further". Maybe there would be some problems with texture or whatever, because food that was frozen and thawed out could be watery.

Also Kurita should've came right out and said "Most of the Ultimate Menu is done by Yamaoka", because as we saw in many chapters she had to come running to Yamaoka for food help. SHE very clearly doesn't know enough about food to do it alone and she should have said so.

japs
complaining about eating stuff raw

Dude, they literally said in the chapter that they don't eat EVERYTHING raw. This author is full of shit, but this time bro wasn't wrong. Even today with the safe salmon sashimi many older Japanese people are still scared to eat it because they grew up being told that it's dangerous.

 

[10milestereo]

ironic for the author to be doing a chapter on food safety considering...... well...........

 

[crescentsaber]

I learn something new everyday! 😆

 

[keatsta]

I figured even back then they were flash freezing all of their fish before eating it. Or is that not done at a certain level of luxury?

 

[Mugiwara325]

I figured even back then they were flash freezing all of their fish before eating it. Or is that not done at a certain level of luxury?

I can't be sure if they had 'flash' freezing, but they were definitely using at least regular freezing, both for preservation and to kill parasites. This usually applies to commercial-grade fish, the type you'd find in supermarkets. We've even seen things like cooler boxes and refrigeration units in the series, so it's not like Yamaoka doesn't know about it.

What the chapter suggests is that Yamaoka intentionally wanted to avoid freezing, and that would be due to the widespread idea that food is best when it's fresh and not treated too much. Some upscale restaurants will pay more to ensure their food is delivered the same day it's harvested, with minimal freezing where possible (This also means the food itself will cost more, hence the upscale). This is also why I suspect flash freezing might not be as accessible in Japan during this chapter's time, since flash freezing would be really good at preserving food in its freshest state.