
When used in sushi, octopus meat is poached slightly before being used. (You have to because octopus skin is full of bacterias and possibly parasites) Before it is cooked, octopus skin is semi-transparent and it will turn into a solid white colour after being cooked briefly. The cut of octopus meat is especially important because if you made too thick a cut, the sliced octopus will be too thick to chew on. It takes a sushi master to do the job well, because the octopus meat is so slippery and slimy that it is hard to slice it very thin. Another thing is Octopus meat is very hard to digest and it might make the digestion easier if you slice it thinner to begin with.
Octopus babies(little octopuses) is marinated in some salt, sugar, garlic and some other “natura ingredients” (Including red pigments) to be served as an appetitzer. Usually it looks bloody red in appearance and while it taste good in the first few bite, you will lose your sense of taste in a few bites. My thought on the appetitizer: 1 is great, 2 is good, 3 is enough.
Octopus is high in cholesterol but octopus contains a lot of taurine which is beneficial to brian health. Octopus has a big brain and no wonder it is a smart predator in the ocean. But then, yummy yummy.
One of my favorite things from our local sushi spot is Takosu – thin slices of octopus in a vinegar dressing. Prepared just right octopus can have a texture similar to a nice rare steak!
in japan, little tokyo(Los Angeles), Urasawa in Beverly Hill and Masa in New york serve Raw Octopus Sushi (Nama Taco).