Yeah Baby, I like It Raw | The Benefits of Flavorful Sushi

The following post is a contribution from guest blogger, Scott Wharton, who writes the Health and Men blog.

My wife and I went out to a Japanese steak house the other night and had a wonderful plate of sushi. When a lot of people think of sushi they think of raw fish and I can understand that. After all that’s what it is. However, when everyone thinks of raw fish they also can’t get that raw fishy smell out of their head and that’s just not what sushi is at all. Yes it is sometimes raw and I like to try something different every time we go out.

Right now I’m going to focus on one type of fish used in sushi and that’s tuna. Tuna comes in a few varieties. The main tunas used for sushi are Blue Fin Tuna and Ahi Tuna. Blue Fin being more of the Sushi grade because it is more safe to serve as a raw tuna whereas Ahi should be seared on the outside before serving.

Blue Fin Tuna has a slightly higher caloric content than Ahi and packs about 6 more grams of fat per 6 oz. serving, however these are good fats. This higher fat content also offers up a much more rich flavor than your Ahi or white tuna. Both Blue Fin And Ahi pack a monstrous 40 grams of protein also per 6 oz. serving and there is probably no better low fat source of protein than tuna. With a nice clump of sticky rice, a dip in some wasabi (be careful) and soy sauce (go for lite soy), it is delicious.

Unfortunately when people think of tuna it’s from a can. Canned tuna is good for quick meals and sandwiches but if you want to really experience tuna then you need to go to the market and find some good fresh tuna steaks. Simply dab them with some lemon juice, some fresh ground pepper and sea salt and grill them. You’ll wonder if your eating fish or beef, it can really blow your mind with the flavor. Some nice mango salsa goes great as a topper!

Now for another few sushi favorites of mine are cuttlefish, octopus, salmon, and the pickled ginger that is sometimes served with it. I don’t care for ginger but it has some great nutritional value and the pickled ginger tastes unique. And don’t forget that tuna as well as most fish are packed with beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids.

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