Coming face to face with my least favorite foods and flavors: seafood

I hate sushi. It is a food that I have always disliked and will probably continue to dislike throughout my whole life. I never really ate sushi when I was younger, and I have a strong hatred of seaweed and raw fish in general, which is probably why I don’t like it.

However, I went to Japan for Global Link this year which made this fear a huge problem. Sushi, and seafood in general, is practically a staple in Japan.

There was no way for me to avoid it when I was there so I decided to conquer my fear of sushi and seafood before I went and go out to a sushi restaurant with my Global Link group.

We went to Shiku Sushi, a quaint traditional Japanese restaurant in Ballard.

It was quiet with decorative paper cranes hanging from the ceiling.  On the tables there was traditional silverware and platters with patterns and designs that all reflected Japan.

After we walked in and sat down we were immediately served miso soup and green tea. There was nothing not to like about either — both were very mild.

Our trip leaders ordered for us a variety of different dishes ranging from edamame and tempura to different types of sushi. I was passed a plate of fried octopus dumplings. Not knowing what they were, I took one.

They looked almost like a fried version of a meatball. When I took my first bite I was surprised by the crunchiness of the outer layer and the chewiness of the inside. It didn’t exude much flavor, but it was surprisingly good.

Before I was able to take my next bite however, one of my trip leaders told me the inside of the dumpling was octopus. I gagged, horrified by the fact that I was eating a slimy animal with tentacles. It was hard to take another bite, but I was able to stuff the rest of it in my mouth because I didn’t want my fear of what was in the dumpling  to affect that I actually liked it.

Plus, this was one of the reasons I went out to a sushi place to begin with. After conquering the octopus dumplings, it felt like I could try anything. First I took a small bite of an avocado sushi roll. All I could taste was the saltiness of the seaweed, which ruined the whole flavor. One of the reasons I hate sushi is because it almost always has seaweed in it. Finally I tried ebi nigiri, which is shrimp on top of sticky rice. The smell of raw fish was slightly nauseating. I only needed to take one bite to know I couldn’t finish it. The blandish flavor of the rice could not compensate for the fishy taste of the shrimp.

From this experience I learned that I still dislike sushi and most seafood, however I did acquire a taste for other foods such as octopus.

This attempt to conquer my fear of sushi and seafood has also made me much more open to trying new food.

By: Lindsay Mcconville