KennethT

Evidently they've been glazed with seawater prior to freezing... but yes, I usually salt for 10-15 minutes before cooking...

One last question - the prawns were individually frozen, glazed with sea water (which is supposed to be best for not altering them once defrosted). Typically, I but 2# bags of IQF shrimp, and I defrost whatever I'm about to use in a bowl with cool water, changing the water once it gets freezing cold. They defrost that way in about 15 minutes, if that. The company recommends defrosting them for like 10 hours in the refrigerator. Does it make a difference?

Wow - that's quite a list... thanks! Yes, they were frozen heads off, so no worries there. I haven't gone through the list yet, but would you recommend any raw preparations or do you prefer them cooked?

Mine came in in a similar fashion - the dry ice was fully intact. In fact, I left the dry ice in the box (after taking the fish out) and it was still mostly htere this morning too! How does one dispose of dry ice? I know that it will sublimate on its own, but that leaves my apartment filled with a blanket of CO2 on the floor (CO2 is heavier than air). I'd rather not open up the windows - first of all, the external windows are like 100 years old and I'm afraid if once I open it, I won't be able to close it (the building has plans to renovate them soon). Also, the apartment is well sealed - there's even a rubber gasket between the hallway door and frame. There is an exhaust in the kitchen and bath, but since very little makeup air can get in, that means you won't have a lot going into the exhaust.

Hmm... Personally, I don't see how a 6oz portion of fish is enough for 2 people unless you have multiple courses (appetizers, desserts, etc.) For the two of us, I usually make about 3/4# of salmon to go along with rice or orzo, typically.

I was definitely going to do it SV. That was a given in my head. The question is what to do flavor-wise. I gather the coho is pretty mild, whereas the sockeye is quite strong, so that will play into it.

Yes, the heads were removed and unfortunately not included - I would have loved to have had the heads deep fried just with some salt. But thanks for the links - they're helpful.

After all the discussion, I finally got my sushi (with some sashimi)

Do you know what he'll be primarily using it for?

Are spot prawns anything like rock shrimp? I'm trying to imagine their flavor texture without defrosting any....

I don't mind the preheat - I just turn it on and let it sit while I do other stuff - like salad dressings, chopping herbs, whatever.... Now, with the induction, I can just stick it on there at a medium/low power and forget about it. By the time I get to it, it's ready for me.

At 38F I'd say not.

Yeah, this is similar to the Thai prep I talked about.

Also, what was its storage temperature? If your meat drawer is close to freezing, what is the temperature of the area where the pork belly was stored?

Sorry - I don't understand the first line "to your cook!!". Does this mean that you would definitely cook them (as opposed to having them raw) or something else?

I've seen lots of posts where some fortunate people with regular access to spot prawns use them in lots of different dishes, but I couldn't find a post dedicated to them. I've got a pound of spot prawns arriving today from Wild Alaskan Seafood - flash frozen on the boat, then shipped with dry ice. I've made lots of shrimp dishes over the years, but I don't think I've ever had spot prawns - and since my access to them is quite limited, I want to make the most out of them. So one question is - has anyone eaten them raw? One thing I was considering was a Thai preparation which is raw prawn briefly marinated in lime, garlic, fish sauce and a little bit of chilli. I normally wouldn't make a raw shrimp dish from grocery store shrimp since I don't know how fresh they are, but since these are frozen on the boat directly after being caught, I think it would be safe. But since I don't know how delicate of a flavor the spot prawns have, I don't know whether this prep would be too overpowering. The Wild Alaskan co sent a recipe with the email - they simply saute the prawns in olive oil (in their shell) and serve with a pasta with olive oil and lemon. Ideas?

My box is out for delivery. In it are 4 coho salmon, 2 sockeye salmon, 2 halibut and 4 cod... plus the pound of spot prawns. Now I've got to research what to do with the coho and sockeye salmon - I've never made them before. And the spot prawns too!

Have you used cast iron? I reheat store bought premade tortillas similar to how I'd make fresh ones and it works pretty well. I even get a good amount of puffing!

I've heard that for a long time, but I wonder about it. I often hear that the best sushi places use super fresh fish, but I've had discussions with Yasuda that say otherwise - from what I was able to glean, many of the fish you have in top sushi places is aged on purpose. And certainly the fish that is not local (tuna/yellowtail) are frozen on the boats and are never "fresh". I imagine that Kanoyama is either bringing in whole tuna or large pieces of it because, from time to time, I see large pieces of backbone on some tables as an appetizer.

@Shelby I think this is a great idea. I think that even if the rice originally was fantastic, I wouldn't have high hopes for it after traveling 1500 miles. I just don't think it travels well unless you keep it hot. All this talk got me really in the mood for sushi, so as I was driving past Kanoyama (I pass them by on the way home from work) I took a quick look... I was even willing to sit outdoors (in the shade) when it's still 85degF outside, but they're closed on Monday

https://kanoyama.com/ I'm not usually a fan of ordering in expensive sushi because it loses quite a bit in transit - even 20 minutes... If the rice is warm, it heats up the fish and the rice cools. Or, they have to use cold rice, which always sucks.

I find that the quality of the rice makes a huge difference. In the old apartment, the best sushi place we could get delivery from (that wasn't an omakase place for $$$) was barely tolerable - either they used too much vinegar or too sweet, and it was always slightly gummy. Now we have a great place that's a couple blocks away so we're back on the horse...

Are lemons widely available in your area? I imagine they'd have to be imported. I always found it funny when traveling in SE Asia when sometimes I would be asked if I wanted lemon, but what came was lime. I chalk it up to a translation issue. I've never seen an actual lemon in SE Asia - other than maybe an Italian restaurant or something like that in the city.

That's really sad. We've always gone to the OG Blue Ribbon Sushi in Soho. Their rice has always been really good - I think the rice is equally as important as the fish. The best rice I've ever had was always at Sushi Yasuda. We used to sit at the sushi bar in front of Yasuda-san and he would always say that, to him, the rice is the most important part of the sushi. He talked about when he was in Japan, he spent years as an apprentice - just making rice.

That's the problem with uni - it comes in a huge tray that is definitely not meant for 1 or two people! I once got one of those trays when we had a dinner party and I made a pasta with sea urchin sauce - like Le Bernardin or Marea. Expensive but delicious. When we go to Blue Ribbon, we usually get a Hokkaido uni (it's similar to the regular uni most of which comes from CA (I think) but a little brinier) in a handroll as dessert! I want that uni-ness lingering in my sinuses for as long as possible!