지JI수SOO사SA - Nigiri Restaurant

Okay, I know what I will say is blasphemy. Especially since I am currently in Japan.

The best sashimi on Earth are in Ansan.

I have eaten sashimi in Korea a few times. While I've never been disappointed by 'heui' - the traditional Korean raw fish - I have rarely been super impressed by the Japanese-style sashimi, nigiri in Korea. They usually have frozen the fish before they serve it, and it usually comes half frozen still, so on top of freezing your teeth, the icy texture does not suit raw fish. That's why I usually would prefer the Korean way of eating sashimi, cut off a Korean fish directly, raw flesh served alongside a soup made with the remaining parts of the fish - no waste!

Now you are getting an avant-goût of this nigiri place. The owner of the store hasn't learned in Japan, but he has worked in a Japanese retaurant here (I am sure it must be a great one since I know what he's capable of...) before realizing he didn't want to serve Japanese food of all kind: he wanted to make sashimi and nigiri only. So this is what this store is about. They make amazing sashimi, nigiri, and that, at a fairly cheap price (maybe I feel it's cheap because he always gives us tons of extra stuff when we order my bf and I).

He makes small amounts of rice, mixing it with some mixture of sweet n sour tasting vinegar and makes the nigiris right in front of you (the place is the only one I have seen in Korea, where the counter facing the kitchen has more seats than the tables of the tiny restaurant).

And now bliss begins!

You can order specific fish a-piece, or take one of the three set menus they have (see 2 pictures up). When we go, we always take the first 17,000 won one. The picture is exactly what you get, but if you sit at the counter instead of the tables, he gives you the fish piece by piece so you get to savour them in the right order. (Plus, he gives you extra). I mentionned that when you order you get what is on the picture, but if you wonder why there are other types of nigiris in my pictures, that's because he gave us more, not because we ordered more. The fish is fresh: he goes to the fish market every morning. If you want a specific fish you need to call him a day ahead and he'll get it for you. There are also different kinds of menus that also require you to order a day in advance.

There is a specific method you need to use when eating those pieces. The fish is so tender and the rice so soft and onctuous that if you dip it in soy sauce it'll fall appart. The technique is thus to dip the ginger in the soy sauce, and paint the fish with your chopsticks.

Second step: add wasabi on top, if you like it. Important part here. The wasabi there is fresh wasabi made directly from the root, so putting it in soy sauce will not work the same way powder wasabi usually seasons the soy sauce. You DO want to put it on the fish instead.

#Jisoosa #지수사초밥 #sashimi #nigiri #Korea