Like Im sure there is a difference between an expert cook and just some random person, so what is the expert doing?
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Mostly the rice and quality of the fish.
Making sushi rice isn’t ‘throw your minute rice in and you are done’. There is a special grain to use, a strict water to rice ratio because you are going to add vinegar sugar and salt at the end.
There is also better and worse fish just like how there are better and worse cuts of beef. An expert would know what to look for while ‘some random person’ wouldn’t.
Sushi can vary based on freshness of the fish, the quality of the fish, the part of the fish the piece comes from, the way the piece it is sliced, the temperature it’s served at, how it is wrapped, the quality and cooking of the rice, etc. Each step is important when it is such a pure dish of few components delicately manipulated.
I would suggest eating a piece of, say, fresh tuna.
And then leave a piece of tuna out on the kitchen counter for two days and take a nice bite of that at the end of the two days.
You’ll quickly understand what can cause the variations in different pieces of sushi.
(But, seriously: don’t *actually* do that.)
It’s really a matter of opinion, but I would say that it comes down to higher quality ingredients, better preparation OF those ingredients (i.e. cutting salmon with the wrong angle of the grain can cause it to be more “chewy” etc.), freshness of the ingredients, the time delay between the preparation and the consumption (the rice over time can become harder and the fish can gain a more “fishy” flavor over time as well), and generally there are certain combinations of flavors which are considered to be more delicate that someone who is more trained and better accustomed to working with might be able to handle more carefully.
Quality and freshness as others have said is a big one. I’d also add preparation. A really good sushi chef knows how to treat the ingredients to bring the best flavor out.
Hi I used to be a sushi chef for a few years.
It comes down to quality and freshness of the ingredients and how they’re handled and prepared. You want good rice, good produce, good fish, etc. Also different fish have different flavors and textures. Even the different parts of the fish are different in those regards.
I’d be happy to answer specific questions if you have any.
I run a couple sushi restaurants in the US and can talk a bit about this a bit. First is the salmon fish quality.
There’s generally four main different country of Atlantic salmon used in sushi. The best is Scottish salmon, the second is Norway salmon, next is Canadian salmon, and last is Chile salmon. Scottish salmon is rarely used because of its high price and your average customer wouldn’t be able to appreciate it. Scottish are fattier and has more belly meat. We generally use Norway salmon for our stores for sashimi and sushi. Norway salmon have a brighter color( it has a brighter and fuller orange hue compared to other Atlantic salmons, also keep in mind that all farmed salmon are orange, while wild salmon are red in color) have more of a give when poked and the meat are firmer.
Canadian salmon and Chile salmon are still Atlantic salmon but duller in color. If you compare Norway side by side with Canadian and Chile, you can easily spot which is which. Chile salmon meat is less firm, have more of a fishy flavor (preface that Atlantic salmon isn’t fishy at all compared to other fishes, this is just a relative comparison of Chile to the other salmon types).
The next most important thing is the quality of the rice. Not all rice are the same. The temperature that the rice is kept at is key, and the amount of vinegar that’s added. Ideally you want fresh rice that’s been harvested recently. The brand most places use is Nishiki rice, the higher end sushi places may use tamaki or imported Japanese rice. Quality Japanese grown rice is really good compared to the stuff we get over here, it makes a world of difference.
If you have a chance watch the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The quality of the fish, the way it’s sliced, the ratio of fish to rice, the quality of the rice, etc all impact the taste.
There are few documentaries on Netflix and YouTube about master sushi chefs. It’s not just fish. There’s a lot to it.
Cost means nothing. It only tastes better if you deep fry it. I’m looking at you Las Vegas roll…..
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