Sashimi (sushi) identification help?

For years I thought what I was getting in sashimi combos from the sushi places in South Florida was squid. The mystery fish is a square-cut rectangular strip of pale cream-color flesh, with a mildly buttery flavor. It is cohesive, but not at all chewy or flaky - you can bite right through it, with a very uniform melt-in-your-mouth consistency, like the more delicate cuts of raw tuna. It does not have a "grain" like raw salmon or shrimp. It does not have the glassy transparency of most raw fish.



Then I ordered squid sashimi at a Japanese steakhouse in northern Virginia and it was completely different. It had a glassy striated appearance, and was so rubbery that if I'd had a paper napkin instead of cloth, I would have spit it out instead of having to chew, and chew, and chew. Very disappointing.



So the question is, are there such radically different ways to prepare and serve squid for sashimi? Are the tentacles very rubbery, and the body smooth and delicate, or is the mystery fish not squid after all?|||Your description for squid at northern Virginia fits squid or ika perfectly. That mildly buttery pale cream color flesh which you could bite right through doesn't sound like squid at all. There're more than one type of fish that will fit the description.

Possibility 1 - Whitefish (sometimes called white tuna): http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2192/2017鈥?/a>
http://www.louwphotography.com/Asia/Japa鈥?/a>
Depending on the cut and the size of the fish, the grains in the flesh aren't always highly visible. The flesh could look almost pure white sometimes with very fine grains.

Possibility 2 - Yellowtail aka hamachi: http://www.sushi101charlotte.com/wp/word鈥?/a> Again, depending on the cut and the size of the fish, the grains in the flesh aren't always highly visible. The color could vary a little as well.

Possibility 3: Various cuts of albacore tuna (binnaga maguro or shiro maguro or bincho maguro). The size of the slice, and the visible grains could vary quite a bit. Depending on the cut, the color could look very different.
http://cathand.securesites.net/sushiqusa鈥?/a>
http://cho-tabetai.com/images/07.08.24_b鈥?/a>
http://www.aroundhawaii.com/assets/artic鈥?/a>
http://washokukan.ocnk.biz/data/washokuk鈥?/a>

Possibility 4: Hotate. This is not fish. Hotate is scallops. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_lWHaLIFkojo/Sn鈥?/a>

PS: I still couldn't figure out what Number 1 fish really was. So far, I've been told that it was a kind of tuna, a kind of bass and a kind of perch. I don't think this fish cost restaurants too much because I've seen it at local, mid-price range Chinese buffets. But whatever it was, it tasted real nice. :)

Added: I hope you didn't chew your squid for too long before you swallowed it. If you kept on chewing on a piece of raw squid, you'll suddenly feel the sliminess of the squid which will make the experience worse for first time ika eaters. LOL|||You are describing two totally different things. The first thing you describe sounds like hamachi (yellowtail), and is DEFINITLEY not squid. The second thing you describe sounds like raw squid, which is indeed chewy and rubbery. Most good sushi places will cut a little diamond pattern into the squid flesh to make it easier to chew.|||In Florida your squid or cuttle fish was prepared better, with the chewy outer skin removed. If the outer skin of squid or cuttle fish is not removed, you can chew forever and a day. The one you had in Virginia sounds like the outer skin remained intact and it was overcooked to boot.|||Sashimi and sushi are two different things.

Sashimi refers to the fish.

Sushi the rice.

It is probably the place and quality of fish, or it may be a totally different fish, and the preparation of it.|||The "mystery fish" is definitely not squid. And yes, raw squid is chewy.|||The fish is octopus .

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