Las Vegas Weekly

Man vs. live sushi

Lunch, still twitching

Master Sushi Chef Masaru Matsuura prepares live lobster at Wazuzu at Encore.

Photo: Jacob Kepler

The thought of biting into “live” sushi as it thrashed about thrilled me far more than it terrified … right up until friends and family began lobbing concerned opinions my way. “Are you sure you should be doing that?” my wife asked nervously a couple of days out. “Just be careful,” my mother warned the night before. And the best: “Don’t die, dude,” courtesy of a buddy, the morning of Monday’s food challenge at Wazuzu inside Encore.

I won’t lie—that type of talk had me slightly freaked out as I walked into Executive Chef Jet Tila’s kitchen to watch him and Master Sushi Chef Masaru Matsuura prepare the fish that would go from tank to plate to my mouth in a span of moments. Mostly, though, as a sushi and sashimi regular always in search of the freshest cuts in town, I felt excited about the prospect of feasting on something that, quite literally, couldn’t be any fresher. When Tila explained that live preparation is considered the pinnacle of traditional Japanese raw-fish cuisine, I couldn’t wait to get started.

First up: abalone, a tan sea snail cradled in an oval shell with a circular foot on its underside. Sounds delicious, right? It actually was, once Matsuura scooped it from its shell, sliced off its “guts” and mouth, salted up what remained (to remove its ocean ooze) and dunked it in ice water. The pieces I tried were crunchy but not chewy, finishing with a crisp, complex taste that left me wanting more (fat chance; it runs $40-$60 per portion, depending on seasonal availability). Still, I didn’t feel as if I’d eaten real, “live” sushi (or in this case, sashimi—raw fish unaccompanied by Japanese sticky rice). At least, not yet.

Next, two ama ebi (sweet shrimp) were plucked from the tank and set down on Matsuura’s prep station, where he wasted no time severing the heads from the tails. Both sections continued moving as he plated them; okay, this tasting just got “live” in a hurry! Now, I hear some of you screaming out for shrimp’s rights, but I figure, if the things are gonna die anyway, why not have Wazuzu’s trained chefs do it in real time, moments before sending them out to my table? Especially when the end result is easily the best shrimp I’ve eaten in my life—cool, clean and scrumptiously soft. If you ever get the chance to try it (cost: $25-$35), go easy on the wasabi and soy to let the flavors sing for themselves.

Photo: Jacob Kepler

From tank to plate to mouth in a matter of moments: In Japan, live preparation is considered the pinnacle of raw fish cuisine.

I’ll admit, I felt somewhat queasy watching Matsuura work up the third item, a live lobster. The 2-pound fellow put up quite the fight as his two large claws were chopped off and his tail was cleaved from his torso. As the sushi master, who trained in Japan before moving to New York, and later, Vegas, diced up the tail meat and handed off the claw meat to his kitchen crew, the lobster’s remaining front section struggled to escape from a bowl of icy water. Not for long, though; the still-ticked-off torso was soon mounted at the head of a plate of shaved ice, with the raw tail meat, lightly poached claw meat, empty tail and claw shells and a variety of Japanese seaweeds and other elegant garnishes laid out behind. A squirt of lemon over the head of the crustacean—which reacted with serious writhing—seemed an unnecessary injustice (apparently, some guests require the extra shock value to drive home the live-ness of the meal, and at this week’s $188-per-plate market price, who can truly blame them?), but any pangs of guilt couldn’t detract from my enjoyment of the finished product. The claw meat was exceptionally tender, and the chunks of tail can best be described as heaven on the tip of my chopsticks—moist, flavor-packed morsels that left my palate on high for several minutes afterward.

So in the end, to the relief of those closest to me, I survived my food challenge. And though the shellfish involved did not, I left feeling like, for maybe the first time in my life, I understood the true sacrifices from the animals we eat. And for that, most of all, I’m grateful to have experienced live sushi. Well, that and yummy sweet shrimp.

Garlic Crusted Lobster

Ingredients:

2 cups cornstarch

2 lobsters, cut into sections for stir-fry

3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns, ground

1 tablespoon chicken base powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup fried minced garlic

1/4 cup Serrano chiles thin-sliced

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

4 cups peanut oil; for deep frying

Method:

In a small bowl, combine the Sichuan pepper, chicken base powder, sugar, fried garlic, Serrano peppers, ginger and scallions.

Rinse cut lobster in cold water and pat dry with paper towels and marinade with chili garlic sauce, salt and pepper.

Heat 3-4 cups peanut oil in a medium deep skillet or wok until oil reaches about 350 to 375 degrees. Coat the lobster in cornstarch, shake off the excess before frying for 3-4 minutes. While the lobster is cooking, heat a wok or skillet to high and drizzle in 2 to 3 tablespoons fr oil. When the first wisps of white smoke appear, stir in Sichuan pepper mixture and cook for about 30 seconds. Add lobster and toss to coat. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes until the lobster is well-coated. Plate with Lobster on bottom and all the fried bits on top.