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@trinsec so here is the picture you asked for showing how sardines make a meal "hairy"
@freemo Huh cool. Wouldn't have guessed offhand that's because of the sardines. Now I want to eat fish!
@trinsec the part from the sardines are the long white "hairs" the rest is from the sauce.
this dish is super fishy. Despite being loaded with a TON of fish (same weight as the rice) its mackerel and sardines which are two of the fishiest fishes.. so you really get that fishy flavor for better or worse.
@trinsec they are quite rich together.. which is what I wanted, but not something I'd make for guests.. The thing I love about mackerel is the salty fishiness, but i am well aware it isnt for everyone.
@trinsec in truth it was more like a healthier version of vietnamese salted fish fried rice.. the first wasnt salted (but tasts fishy and salty) and the rice wasnt fried.. but had a similar vibe to it.
@freemo Weird, I don't find the mackerel salty in general. Now and then I buy a smoked mackerel or smoked mackerel filet from the supermarket. I'll do filets again next time, that's so much easier than dealing with the fishbone. Then I just mix it up with rice and add some mais (corn for you) along, and probably also peas. Simple, filling. I don't tend to use a lot of sauce if at all.
The sardines I only eat in a sandwich. :D
@trinsec i guess its a matter of taste.. they certainly arent anchovy salty.. but they do taste saltier than most fish for me.
@freemo Possibly. I just haven't really noticed it. I'll try to pay attention next time I eat a mackerel! If you want salty, now... go get a 'zoute haring' here. :9 That's definitely salty, lol!
@trinsec i love zout haring! I miss it!!!
You really want to notice the saltiness of mackerel get it as sushi. I find the smoked stuff its less noticable (but soooo good).
@freemo I absolutely love the smoked stuff..
Now sushi. To be honest I don't get the appeal of it. I've tried eating various sushi. I've even gone to a superbly real Japanese restaurant, and uh.. yeah, no, sushi ain't for me. I had to drown the poor pieces in the soy sauce to not die of blandness. :P
@trinsec Everyone eats sushi wish soy sauce really, they are kinda made for it... that said id be curious to see what varities you tried, the specalty rolls are what you want if you want flavor, something more than fish and rice
@freemo Pfft, don't really recall much since it's been a while.. but I can safely say that I've never had such bland salmon before and almost gagged on the blandness of it. It looked tasty but that's about it.
So, if sushi can only really be eaten with soy sauce, then I'm failing to see the point of it. I mean, soy sauce isn't THAT utterly fantastic to begin with, I'd rather have smoked salmon.. Now that's tasty! Or marinaded fish. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. *Initiate drool sequence like Homer Simpson*
@trinsec Well im not sure what "the point" would be, but one main selling point is omega oils break down quickly in heat, so sushi is considerably healthier in that regard.
Also soy sauce can be quite good once you try the various varieties.. high end soy sauce is amazing...
Finally I find the best sushi fishes are the inverse of the best cooking fishes.. like tuna and salmon are very common sushi fishes, but also the least interesting of the bunch IMO.. The best sushi fishes are your mackerel, and eel, and octopus, the sort of stuff that isnt considered top of the line for cooking but has some strong flavors going on.
Then your forgetting the whole line of sushis that arent just plain rice and fish, if you like something less plain then there are hundreds of types of rolls that have all sorts of ingredients mixed in to compliment the flavor, and can even include sauces.
Sounds like all you did was eat the most boring sushi options and called it a day :)
@freemo Lol, well it's what that highly ranked restaurant served us. :D But eel sounds good actually. Maybe when this stupid Corona stuff is over, we'll go to that one Japanese restaurant (different one) and I'll try some more variations of sushi then. My parents still owe me a bday dinner, and mom opted for that one and I was like sure thing. Just biding our time for now. :D
@trinsec I mean a lot of people do like salmon and tuna.. but as you said its not much on the flavor really.. I guess they thought no flavor was the safe choice.
I do like a nice plain salmon sashimi, dont get me wrong, but its the least exciting of the options for sure.
Also dont forget sushi includes a ton of cooked and tempura items too, the variety is enourmous. Eel is always cooked for example but its still sushi.
@freemo Huh, tempura is sushi too? I do like tempura actually. With sushi I thought it's just those rolled in seaweed thingies or stuff draped around a piece of rice.
@trinsec tempura itself isnt sushi, but sushi can include tempura. Sushi is a very general term that refers to almost any meal that is accompanied by vinegared rice (the special sushi rice). Then the various styles each have their own name.
In the attached image it shows all the subtypes of sushi, except for the sashimi, that isnt not considered sushi but often served along side sushi, all the others are types of sushi... Thats why youll often hear sushi places say "we serve sushi and sashimi"
So yea sushi can be just vegies and no fish, cooked grilled fish like eel, raw fish like the salmon and many types of roles, or even be made with tempura, for example a "Dragon roll" is shrimp tempura along with the rice and other ingredients.
@trinsec Here is a picture of a pretty traditional dragon roll. You can see the tempura shrimp in the middle, avacado on top and some fish roe as well.
@freemo Mmm, so I actually should be trying sushi with cooked/fried stuff in it, instead of the raw fish which inevitably would be bland for me and force me to use soy sauce and complain about it. ;)
@trinsec the best sushi has a mix of everything, including some raw fish.. if you want some flavor there are raw fish sushis that have sauces in them.. for example spicy tuna is raw tuna and has a spicy sauce added and certainly has some flavor.
@freemo Hopefully not too spicy. I mean, you know those sachets inside those ramen noodles packages? Which have one for seasoning and the other smaller for spicy in it? That spicy is probably the extent of what I still enjoy. :P If I start sweating a lot while eating, I'll be full after just a few bites and call it a night. :P
This is Mur 
@freemo Mackerel and sardines might be a bit rich together.. now if one of the two would be replaced for shrimp, ooh lala. I'll see if I can make a shrimpy meal the coming week, I'm way overdue for shrimp!