The day started off great, sunny and nice so the plan was to hike on Mt. Hood but Doc got called away at the last minute and hiking in the woods alone with my toddler did not sound like a great idea. So I sat trying to figure out which of my adventures I could do last minute in the place of hiking.
"Eat Shark" was one item on my list so I started looking for restaurants we could go to for dinner once Doc got home. The only thing I could find were various places serving Shark Fin Soup, upon googling the dish I found an article in The Tigard Times that changed my mind about eating shark. I still wanted to try something new and somewhat exotic, even if exotic only in my eyes.
After much IM discussion with my IM Domestic Partner, Lettie, I decided to add "Have a Sushi Challenge" to my list of things to do and today was the day! Doc arrived home and was delighted when I told him about the day's adventure as he is among the many sushi lovers of the world. I on the other hand had NEVER eaten sushi and could have gone my entire life perfectly happy continuing down the sushi free path I had been on. Many had tried to sway me but all had failed.
We met Jaime and Mike, avid sushi connoisseurs, at Meeka Japanese Restaurant in Gresham and I was feeling both excited and nervous. We ordered a smorgasbord of crazy ass rolls and raw nibblers - Spicy tuna rolls, raw tuna rolls & seared tuna rolls, raw salmon, eel, and an array of other raw fishy crabby ricey rolly things. But the creme de la creme was Uni (sea urchin) suggested by Lettie who swore it was super delicious, even though my sushi guides tried to steer me away .
I started with a tuna roll, I picked it up with my chop sticks, dunked it in wasabi infused soy sauce and like ripping off a band-aid I shoved it into my mouth and chewed frantically. The texture was incredibly hard to get past, I swallowed before I had time to register any kind of taste. I moved right on to the next, eating raw fish and shellfish one right after another, like a Survivor Japan All-star trying to win an immunity challenge. I was saving the Uni until I felt confident (or at least got the gag reflex under control). No one would eat it with me and I almost chickened out until Mike agreed to try it. He counted "1-2-3" and put it in his mouth thinking we would eat it together bu I froze staring at him ... waiting for his reaction (or death, I am not sure what I expected to happen but my instincts told me it would not be good). He chewed for a moment then suddenly every muscle in his face and body went completely still and panic became a very clear emotion in his eyes. His happy go lucky sushi loving face turned to horror and I almost pissed myself in fear! He gagged and spit it out - oh shit! I thought, how am I going to get through this .. but this was the SUSHI CHALLENGE damn it and Lettie said it was delicious. So I took a bite.
The consistency of the urchin laying above rice surrounded with seaweed was like a firm pudding, a thick coagulated gravy and about the same color. Biting into it and chewing was something so disgusting that I would easily compare it to chewing on your fat neighbor's flu induced loogie - so, not great! The first few chews were just about texture then suddenly the taste of a dirty ocean floor came crashing in!!! Organic was given a whole new meaning to me after eating this dirt booger. I didn't spit it out but immediately chugged a soda and moved on to the safer tuna roll. I ended the challenge with the eel which everyone agreed was good. It was okay, not my favorite and surprisingly sweet. After all was said and done I ate 7 whole pieces of different sushi and bites of three others (raw salmon, eel, and urchin).
I am pretty proud of myself but at the end of the day, I think I will stay on my sushi free path!
Oh, and in case your wondering.. I sent Lettie a text letting her know how much her suggestion sucked and that Uni was not fantastic and not as all as she promised, her response was simply "LOL, Nasty!" .. tricky tricky, but I will pay it back!!
Meeka - The Sushi Challenge
The smorgasbord of "goodies"
Some of the sushi I tried including the infamous Uni
The reluctant first bite! Every bit after was pretty much the same, followed by eye watering and some slight gagging.
Ana, on the other hand, loved her sushi experience! She used chopsticks, figuring them out on her own (just by watching us) and eating her teriyaki chicken and other goodies. She tried a cucumber roll and raw tuna which she did not love - like mother like daughter!
Special thanks to Jaime and Mike for going with us and helping to show me the Sushi way!!! Please don't hate me when I say I had a great time, a fantastic day, and outstanding challenge, but will NEVER eat sushi again!!
CLICK HERE TO GO TO DAY 4
5 comments:
Ok, no questions here. I will also remain sushi free...... Lol
well, it looks like I missed part of Lettie's IM where she told me multiple times to try the Uni but also said she hated it. I wish I would have seen the part about about hating it, I would have never tried it!! LOL Or maybe it was a good thing, got me FAR our of my comfort zone for for that, I thank you Lettie!
This is a great read. So glad Jamie and Mike joined in on the fun. And so cool that Ana got the hang of the chop sticks right away and that she liked the cucumber roll, which is my only favorite.
As one uni hater to another... your description of the consistency is SPOT ON! BLEGH!
I am one that has tried to convince you over the years and I have never had Uni and due to your excellently described blog, NEVER will!!! and as you never will eat any ever again... I will not bore you w/my favorites :) very proud of you for surviving the challenge xoxoxo
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