I've heard the argument that since everything in sushi is raw (assuming there are no non-kosher ingredients), and that since the rice is cooked in a rice cooker that is used only for rice, it's OK to eat. Is this true?
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2Sean, thanks for the interesting question, and welcome to the site; I hope you stick around and enjoy it. Please consider registering your account, which will give you access to more of the site's features. – msh210 Apr 03 '12 at 15:18
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1What does pretty have to do with the question? You must mean seemingly frum. – Gershon Gold Apr 03 '12 at 15:19
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1Well, the fact that some sushi fauna are nonkosher would give me concern. Also I don't know if "so many pretty frum people" is grounds for a question; do you know if any rav rules that it is allowed? What [type of] community are we dealing with? – yitznewton Apr 03 '12 at 15:22
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@GershonGold - I'm pretty sure he meant "pretty" as an adjective describing "frum," not describing the "people" in question. (But I must admit that at first it threw me off too!) I edited the question to remove the ambiguity. – Dave Apr 03 '12 at 15:30
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3Related: Is shashimi at a non-kosher restaurant kosher?. – Baal Shemot Tovot Apr 03 '12 at 15:34
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1Further edited, @yitznewton. Hopefully this will clear up the questions on the question. – Seth J Apr 03 '12 at 16:43
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2Why wouldn't the rice be bishul akum? – yoel Apr 03 '12 at 17:08
2 Answers
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This article by the CRC discusses this issue at length.
In short, the answer is: No, it is not okay to eat non-certified sushi. See the article for details, but some of the problems include:
- The sides, such as wasabi, soy sauce, and pickled ginger are suspect (for artificial coloring, manufacture with non-kosher products, and utensils used with davar charif respectively, along with other concerns).
- Cooked rice requires bishul yisrael, which must be certified.
- There is a possibility (albeit unlikely) that a certain type of seaweed paper for which bug-infestation is common, was used.
- The fish may have been soaked in brine to preserve color and flavor.
jake
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Per the CRC-Chicago.
There are various halachik questions in relation to Sushi and why you may not buy even raw Sushi from a non-certified establishment.
Gershon Gold
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