Many people think that salmon in sashimi is from Japan. Few know that it is actually from Norway.
As the second biggest seafood importer and the fifth biggest aquaculture country in the world, Norway certainly has a big impact for Indonesia's foodservice business. 70 per cents of salmon in Indonesia are imported from the Norway.
Many restaurants in Indonesia use Norwegian salmon for sushi and sashimi. Most sushi lovers even associating sushi and sashimi with salmon. It forms the perception that salmon is also caught in Japan.
"The Japanese respects their culinary culture. Everybody knows that sushi and sashimi comes from Japan, but few of them know that salmon--the main ingredients used in many sushi restaurants in the world--is from Norway," said Regional Director of Norwegian Seafood Council Jon Erik Steenslid in Jakarta, Monday (23/11).
Aquaculture industry in Norway is quite new. It was started 4 decades ago. In 1985, Norway delegation came to Japan and brought Norwegian salmon with them. After presenting salmon sashimi to Japanese people, they deeply praised the taste of salmon sashimi. That moment started the using of raw salmon in sushi.
"Norwegian salmon has bright colour and delicious, creamy taste. The freshness, high quality, and food safety are what differs Norwegian salmon with other salmon," said Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Elisabeth Asparker.
Norwegian salmon is bred in cold water of Northern hemisphere. The clean and fresh water makes it perfect for salmon habitat. It is almost enough to assure that salmon can grow well in the ocean. However, to make sure about quality of the fish, Norwegian Seafood Council incorporates the extensive monitoring program that every salmon can be traced from egg to being served in the restaurant.
“We believe that Indonesia is a fast-growing market. In couple years, middle-class people in Indonesia will increase until twice. They will be very critical and conscious about what they eat. This is the exact reason we launched ‘The Best of Two Worlds’ campaign now right here,” said Jon Erik.
Cooperating with Sushi Tei, The Best of Two Worlds campaign aims to reach a larger customer base and educate them on Norwegian salmon’s benefits and freshness. The education campaign is realized in the form of collateral production like tent cards, menu insertions, and booklets. Sushi Tei and Norwegian Seafood Council had prepared materials contain information about Norwegian salmon sushi etiquettes as well as the history of salmon sushi.
“Sushi Tei sells more than 13,000 plate of salmon sashimi per day. The fact that we will always get the product less than 36 hours after catching is very relieving. Sushi Tei also applies high HACCP standard on the kitchen. We got fresh salmon for Sushi Tei at least twice or three times per week. I am happy with this cooperation as it encourages us to always serve the best quality of ingredients,” said Director of Sushi Tei Sonny Kurniawan.
Text and Picture: Dina Vionetta
Tags: salmon, sashimi, norge, norwegian salmon, japanese cuisine