Why make all this fuss about fresh fish? How about those who are pregnant? People tell me all the time that they are pregnant and they cannot have fish, especially raw fish. Why do doctors tell their patients this when there are so many benefits to eating fish such as the omega-3 fatty acids that everyone knows about now, but did you know that there are recent studies that indicate that it lowers prostate cancer risk, helps with depression, and inflammation reduction? Did you know that doctors in Japan recommend pregnant women to eat fish, even sushi during their pregnancy? Why is that? I know, I know, I have heard all the reasons and they are legitimate, but fish go through inspection for parasites in the U.S. and the other issues have to do with freshness, which I will address later. Take at look at http://www.fishscam.com/ .
It is without a doubt that the Japanese have the best quality as far as fish is concerned. I am not talking about bivalves/mollusks and other sea creatures, but fish, the guys that swim around with scales on their bodies. It is not just that they are caught in cold turbulent waters, which make for nice strong muscles and a higher fat content, but it is the practice of bleeding the fish that is caught. Have you ever bought fish that has had cuts made near the caudal fin and another one behind the eye and in front of the dorsal fin? The fisherman will do this one by one to every fish brought in. Then they will hang it with the head down so that the blood flows out. Just about all of the fish we buy from Japan, has been bled and most of our fish is from Japan.
So going back to why freshest is not best. You are probably familiar with rigor mortis, it’s when a body stiffens up after death. Twenty-four hours after it is dead is typically when the muscles relax and the fish is no longer stiff as a board. So, what does it mean if a fish is still stiff as a board? That it is less than 24 hours out of the water. Most of our whole fish comes in that state—stiff as a board. Also, the meat tends to sweeten in taste right after the muscles relax so we get the fish at the prime time for consumption. Less than 24 hours after it is dead so that it is super fresh and by the time we slice it up for you to eat, it is starting to get sweet as well. So why is it that the freshest state is not the best stage at which to consume fresh fish? The answer is because the meat sweetens up in flavor after rigor mortis and also the meat tends to be very tough before rigor mortis releases.
Maru Restaurant is located at 24250 Town Center Drive in Valencia. For more information, please call 661-290-2595.