New This Month

This February we’re excited to feature seasonal delicacies that we love and specials only available on Valentine’s Day! Enjoy fresh Sawara and Sayori alongside a truly unique, adventurous and limited sake. Slurp local oysters while savoring a special Champagne cocktail and Japanese green tea dessert, only available on February 14. Join us as we explore Japanese culture through the tradition of Kaiseki and a specialized Japanese knife used for 400+ pound fish. We look forward to seeing you at Shiro’s!

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Fresh Catch

Sawara (King Mackerel) – Sawara, or King Mackerel, is a delicious winter delicacy. Fished right off the coast of Japan, this highly prized fish has a unique, flaky texture with rich umami flavors. When sawara are in season in late-winter and early-spring, they are at their peak level of fat and offer a velvety, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Sawara (King Mackerel)

Sayori (Japanese Halfbeak) – Sayori has long been a very popular fish served as sashimi or sushi. Mainly caught between winter and late-spring, the texture is soft with a mild, delicate flavor. We serve our sayori with a touch of ponzu or soy sauce for a delightful subtle sweetness.

Sayori (Japanese Halfbeak)

Featured Menu Item

Fresh Oysters – Each winter our local icy waters bring us the freshest and most delicious oysters. The Pacific Northwest offers a variety of oysters ranging in flavor profiles from sweet to briny, but always with a pure, clean taste. Slurp fresh shucked oysters on the half shell all month long as an appetizer to whet your palate before your sushi dinner. We serve our oysters by the half dozen with Momoigioroshi (spicy daikon radish), scallions, and ponzu sauce!

Fresh Oysters

Seasonal Sake

Name: Soma no Tengu (杣の天狗）
Type: Junmai Ginjo, Nama Genshu
City: Shiga Prefecture

While being on the dry side, the texture of Soma no Tengu is fine and light. The nose is unique with aromas of yeast, nuts, and yogurt. The flavor combines sweet rice with a hint of coconut for a velvety and smooth taste with a cloudy consistency. This is a truly adventurous sake for aficionados and novices alike!

Japanese Food Traditions

– Kaiseki –

One of the most exquisite Japanese cuisines is Kaiseki, which uses several Japanese cooking techniques: raw, simmer, broil, steam and deep-fry. Chefs focus on using the freshest ingredients available to create courses that are representative of the season and region.

Kaiseki was originally a very simple meal served prior to ancient tea ceremonies in the 16^th century because thick green tea was considered too strong for an empty stomach. Over hundreds of years chefs added more foods to the simple Kaiseki meal, and now Kaiseki has become a multi-course meal consisting of various dishes and sometimes more than ten courses.

The name Kaiseki comes from the Buddhist Monk practice of holding hot stones in the front-pockets of their robes to ward off hunger during fasting.

Kaiseki

Valentine’s Day at Shiro’s

Join us this Valentine’s Day for a delicious omakase or a la carte sushi dinner, as well a special Valentine’s Day cocktail and dessert. We’ll be serving a Yuzu Mojito with Champagne ($12) and Japanese Green Tea Mousse Crepe ($12), only available on Valentine’s Day. Reserve your spot for February 14 by phone at (206) 443-9844 or opt for our sushi counter on a first come, first served basis. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day

Sushi Tools

– Maguro Bōchō –

Maguro bōchō is an extremely long knife used in Japan to filet tuna and other large fish. The blade of the knife is usually between 16 inches and 60 inches in length, including a long handle. This highly-specialized knife can filet a large tuna in one cut, often needing two people to safely handle a knife of such size.

These knives can be found at wholesale fish markets such as the Toyosu Fish Market and are mostly purchased by very large restaurants where there is a frequent need to filet fish weighing over 400 pounds. We use maguro bōchō at Shiro’s too, when we need to filet huge, whole fish such as bluefin tuna.

Maguro Bōchō

TripAdvisor

A recent guest shared their experience at Shiro’s on TripAdvisor and said, “I don’t typically like raw salmon, but the salmon here made me a believer.” We welcome you to share your reviews on TripAdvisor. We always appreciate the feedback and support!