How long does fish keep? (trying to make sushi)?

Question

I'm wanting to make sushi. My question is, how long does fish keep if you buy it from the store, like at a place like walmart. Could I just only remove a few pieces and keep the rest in the fridge? or is it like chicken, and you have to defrost it, because its frozen together? If so, I bet I can't freeze it back again, huh?

I'm only making sushi for one person, me, so I really don't want it to go to waste...so...any idea? Oh...and any sushi recipes and all would be EXTREMELY grateful.

Answer 1

Ok.

With sushi, you have to be very careful that the fish is truly fresh.

I know this sounds weird, but when you buy the fish, give it a good smell right up to the meat, because if it smells like fish, it's not fresh. REALLY fresh fish should not smell like fish at all.

Secondly, after you buy fish, it can only keep for maybe a day or two at most. After that, it's going to go bad, and you'll have to fry it up.

Third, you can definitely freeze the very fresh pieces of fish, but as for defrosting, ensure that you don't let it get freezer burn (wrap it up tight, and don't let any air get to the actual fish directly).. but I suggest you just buy it fresh, and in smaller portions instead of buying one whole big chunk at once and not being able to eat it.

Third, here are great sushi recipe sites...
http://www.eatsushi.com/demos.asp
http://www.sushirecipes.org/
http://www.sushilinks.com/recipes.html
http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_sushi.htm

Answer 2

Are you wanting to create the "sushi" you can buy at the market or prepare raw fish with condiments? You should use fish the same day that you buy it. If you want to prepare sushi for one or two people you should ONLY buy your fish from a market that takes daily deliveries and will give you only the amount that you need. Even though it may be tempting, do not ask the butcher or fishmonger to cut your sushi for you. You should do this at home so that there is less surface area exposed where bacteria can grow. Ask for sushi/sashimi grade salmon or tuna. Other fish is difficult to get with any reliability and it is also not advisable to use commercial shrimp for sushi unless you plan on cooking it first, which isn't what you're looking for. Go to a local healthfood store or an outlet like Whole Foods and you will find tons of good quality products for making sushi at home. Finally, buy good quality rice and seaweed if you intend to make sushi rolls. Pickled ginger and wasabi add a nice touch, but don't worry about buying imitation wasabi paste --it's just as good as the real thing. Enjoy your creation with some good tea or a light Asian beer. Don't forget to pick up a bamboo sushi mat to help you make your rolls!! Personally, I prefer to just have the fish with a little blended wasabi and soy sauce.

Answer 3

When making Sushi you want to use the freshest ingridents right away. I would first suggest going to a meat and fish market as they usually get the freshest shipments of meat and fish. Aslso ask the butcher what the freshest fish is and they usually will be honest with you. Make sure that the eyes of the fish still are clear and the odor is still good. If the fish is already cut make sure that there is a good shine to the filet this means that the oils are still coming out of the filet letting you know that this is fresh. DO NOT KEEP THE FISH use it all. If you have to make extra sushi then do so and give it away!!! Sushi is a fine art and dont ruin it by using old crapy fish

Answer 4

Its very important to handle your fish very carefully when you are preparing and eating raw fish. You should only use sashimi grade fish and ask your butcher to make sure that it is safe to eat raw. There are plenty of sushi recipes that do not require raw fish if you cannot get sashimi grade fish. You can use canned tuna, immitation crab meats and avocado and frozen masago from Asian grocery stores. That makes a great California roll (see the video, reference link #3).

If you can buy sashimi grade fish from a local butcher, but do not want to use all of your sashimi, you can cut off slices and re-freeze the fish immediately to use later. Butchers do not recommend re-freezing, but it seems to work fine. You probably don't want to re-freeze it more than once, though to save the texture. Do not keep sashimi grade fish in the refridgerator unless you will eat it the same day.

The key to great sushi is great sushi rice and the freshest ingredients. I use this recipe for sushi rice: 1 c. dried rice cooked with konbu. Boil separately and stir until just dissolved 2 1/2 Tablespoons sushi vinegar, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt. When the rice is done, pour on the seasonings and fold very gently onto a broad surface, folding and fanning to cool the rice. Careful not to crush any 1 grain of rice.

You can make sushi maki rolls, chirashi zushi with rice covered by toppings in a bowl, or cone sushi rolls.

Good luck making sushi! I have a lot of coffee table books about sushi and love learning more all the time.

Here are some cool links from about.com

Answer 5

Sushi should only be made with very fresh, salt water fish. If it is any older then a day, I will not use it because it becomes far to dangerous, even if it is frozen. Preserved fish is a different story (like canned tuna fish, but I don't think it makes good sushi, others like it however).

I will not eat sushi made from fresh-water fish due to the possability of parasites that are not found in salt water.

So, with me in the mid-west, I don't make sushi with raw fish. But this doesn't mean that I can't make sushi. There are many sushi ingredients that are not raw fish, such as fried egg (works well as Japanese style omlets), vegies, and cooked shrimp. You can also use canned tuna (if you don't mind going away from the traditional) and I have heard that smoked salmon can work well (though I have never tried it myself).

Answer 6

When you buy the meat at the supermarket make sure you cut what you don't plan on eating the first two days and place in fridge. The rest can last in the freezer for about 2 weeks and if its vacumn sealed it can last for a couple months. Just defrost it in the fridge over night and for fast defrost leave it in some cold water. Since sushi tastes the best when its fresh i only eat 2 days worth and cook the rest for later.

also, when cutting salmon look for worms just in case, they are white stringy things

Answer 7

Try california rolls too, seaweed, sticky rice, cucumber and/or avacado, crab and/or shrimp and mayonnaise, you could even use raw ish if you wanted like eel or trout. SIMPLE. Sushi is nasty on about the third day after making mainly because of the rice. The rice gets really hard but I have kept california rolls good in my fridge for over a week, the only thing that was bad was the rice. And don't forget the pickled ginger and wasabi soy sauce.

Answer 8

Fish will only last three days in the fridge,so take out what you need to make sushi and freeze the rest for late. fish will last about 4 months in the freezer if you wrap it properly. Make sure to freeze what you're not going to use right away before it goes bad.

Answer 9

Fish is much more perishable than chicken!

Furthermore, you need to be buying sushi-grade fish, not just any old Walmart fish! You can usually find sushi-grade at gourmet food stores w/ a fresh fish counter.

Store in your fridge in a plastic bag, set upon a bowl of ice. Use within 24 hours.

Answer 10

You have to go to the market and ask for SUSHI GRADE fish. I use sushi grade tuna. But tell them you want to see it before the cut aqnd wrap it. If it feels slimy, dont get it. If it smells strong like fish, dont get it. Use it immediatly and what you dont use freeze. I only get what I need for a meal. Once I kept mine in the fridge for like 2 days before I used it, and when I ate it, about 15min later I was sick as a flipping dog.