Mashiko: sustainable sushi

By Stephanie

Our invitation arrived to attend the premiere evening of Mashiko Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar's transformation into a sustainable seafood only establishment. Free sushi! Sake tasting? Grab bag of funny gifts. Thank you, we'd love to attend.

(Hajime in sustainable octopus apparel by Kim)

Mashiko's has always been an innovative place to eat sushi. Well trained and knowledgeable, Hajime has previously ventured into creative twists on sushi rolls, sauces, presentation, and staffing. Earlier this year, he decided the time was right to take on this challenge. What does it mean to go sustainable? No big tuna, no eel, no octopus. Seasonal catch, smaller fish, silvery fish, and sleeping better at night.

For the diner, it means forgoing the standard sushi platter and being open to developing new favorites. For this dinner, it was easy. We had:

Kumamoto oysters and small Pacific oysters (shellfish farming is acceptable). We loved the light heat given the Pacifics, firming up the meat and bringing out a more developed flavor but also loved the yuzu ponzu on the cold kumamotos. 

Rainbow trout sashimi (again, farmed). A lovely presentation and a little ponzu shoyu. 

Poki made with long line caught albacore (a smaller fish, less mercury too). Roasted macadamia nuts brought a nice richness to the dish. 

Scallop and dungeness crab salad wrapped in proscuitto with lumpfish caviar and avocado (a half dozen of these would make a lovely dinner, see photo at right). 

Charlie's Angel roll with salmon, grilled asparagus, tempura fried (believe it or not, the salmon here was also farmed, but locally and in a safe and sane manner, more on this as it becomes available).

Geoduck sauteed with shitaki mushrooms, aonori butter, and bonito flakes. This is a great way to eat geoduck, highlighting the clam without the textural issue.

Two more rolls - the first with namagi, tempura sweet potato, and avocado, the second with black cod, tempura onion, and tarako infused aioli. What, you may ask, is namagi? Well, it's "not unagi." It was catfish, flavored up to resemble the rich flavor of the old favorite.

Oshizushi, made with sanma and fresh ikura. This was the most flavor challenging bite of the evening - a silvery fish, a little like a cross between a sardine and mackerel. Very pretty on the plate, and fine eating. (See left.)

Finished off with a jasmine pearl creme brule. 

There was also an option to have a sake sampler of 6 different brews. While I found a few that appealed to me more than my sake experience of the past, I don't feel qualified to say much more about sake. If you like sake, Mashiko is a good place to go and try some.

We learned a lot about sustainable seafood thanks to the evening talks by Hajime and his guest, Casson Trenor, and a bit about sake as well. We chatted with friends, new and old. We ate well. And we will think differently every time we order seafood, be it sushi, at a fish restaurant, or a fish market. We can be part of the change that keeps the oceans healthy.