This week we’re going big on sushi and sashimi. And we also found the best stories, news, and articles from the Japanese food and beverage industries.
The Ultimate Sushi & Sashimi Guide
Sushi and sashimi are arguably the pinnacles of washoku. And they’ve also changed the way the rest of the world eats.
Check out our expanded guide to learn the history of these cuisines, the most important types of sushi, and ingredients from common to rare.
Click the button below to take your sushi game pro.
Japanese Food & Beverage: the Best of the Internet
A Look at Sparkling Awasake
It’s been years in the making, but a growing number of brewers are beginning to develop some legit sparkling sake.
For a long time, Okunomatsu dominated the top end of the market with their Formula Nippon Junmai Daiginjo. And numerous inexpensive, sweet, and soda-like sparklers filled the bottom.
But a major shift began nearly two decades ago. It started with Nagai Shuzo and their Mizubasho brand. The brewery worked to create a Champagne-like sparkling sake and would eventually release Pure.
Nagai and a handful of other breweries went on to form the Japan Awasake Association. The group sets stringent standards for their sparkling sake, and I’ve never met one I haven’t liked. Today, some notable breweries are members including Masumi, Kokuryu, Dewazakura, Nanbu Bijin, and Shichiken.
City A.M. has a solid introductory write-up about Awasake. It should be noted that Awasake’s secondary fermentation can take place in the bottle OR in a tank (Charmat).
Lab-Grown Salmon Sushi in San Francisco
Lab-grown sushi-grade salmon is now available at a new sushi bar in San Francisco. It’s operated by an aquaculture startup called Wildtype. And it’s a world first.
The company’s goal is to reduce pressure on the severely over-exploited seafood industry. Yes please!
Learn about Wildtype, lab-grown seafood, and a budding revolution in how we eat from VegNews.
Upcycling Hop Waste into a Plastics Alternative
Hop production is nearing an all-time high, thanks to robust craft beer sales. However, the hop cones are only a small portion of the entire plant. The rest is typically burned or discarded into landfills.
Recently, researchers at the Yokohama National University developed a technique that upcycles this waste and extracts CNFs, or cellulose nanofibers. They’re strong, light, stable, and suitable as a replacement for petroleum-based plastics.
Geek out on these super, sustainable hops from EurekAlert!.
Sake Losing Ground from Lack of Pairing Recognition?
Apparently, Satoaki Yamada of the Sakebunka Institute thinks so. While beer has yakiniku, and wine has steak, sake is without a classic pairing to lift sales.
I find this hard to swallow. Sake, sushi, and sashimi can be amazing pairing matches.
Regardless, it’s worth checking out Japan Today’s Quote of the Day. And be sure to bring some popcorn for the comments. Oh, and Awasake. It’s a great pairing with popcorn.
The Original Sushi: Funazushi
Sushi has changed a lot over the centuries. Its original form was a type of narezushi called funazushi.
And it’s made with fermented and aged carp.
One of the great failures of my life was missing out on funazushi during my single-night stay in Shiga.
Check out this thoughtful overview of funazushi from BBC Travel to see if you would feel the same way.
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