Nude, Spicy Nude and Kiss Me are just a few of the more than a dozen new sushi offerings and specialties Zushi has just introduced to its menu.
“Rolls feature wrappers of rice paper, soy paper, iceberg lettuce or thinly peeled cucumber, instead of the traditional Nori seaweed,” said owner Shawn Suh.
“Zushi’s new specialties are made with no rice and no seaweed, and some have no wrappers at all,” Shawn said. “People are looking for alternatives. They want low-carb, and some don’t like seaweed. So, we want to be on the cutting edge with our menu items, and they are delicious.”
For those not familiar with the new craze for non-seaweed-based sushi wrappers, the Zushi menu offers some examples. “Now, when we say rice and soy paper, we don’t mean regular paper,” Shawn explained. “These are food items like very, very thin tortillas, made from vegetable sources. They are very healthy, and sometimes are flavored and colored with turmeric, spinach or other vegetables.”
Nude Roll combines salmon, tuna, crab and avocado wrapped in thin rice paper and finished with a Ponzu Sauce mixture of soy sauce and tangy citrus. Spicy Nude combines salmon, shrimp, yellowtail and spicy tuna, garnished with jalapeño and avocado in rice paper, with Dynamite Sauce and chili sauce. Shawn says he is already getting great feedback on these two menu items.
“New soy-wrapped rolls have rice, but are somewhat different from seaweed-wrapped rolls,” Shawn explained. “More and more people are asking for soy wrappers.” Exciting combinations like Kiss Me combine snow-white yellowtail, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese in soy paper with shrimp on top, and finished with wasabi cream, sweet chili sauce, green onion, smelt eggs and sesame seeds.
Some of the new specialties with no wrappers are Oysters in the Half Shell with chopped sushi ginger, smelt eggs, green onion and sesame seeds with Ponzu Sauce, sesame oil and a dab of chili sauce. The Jalapeño Poppers, a spicy-tuna-and-cream-cheese-stuffed jalapeño, is tempura-fried, and finished with wasabi cream, eel sauce and Dynamite Sauce.
Others are oven-baked, like a new favorite of customers, Tiger Eye. It features a spicy-crab-stuffed avocado topped with pepper-jack cheese and baked. It’s finished with tempura crunches, kiwi sauce and Dynamite Sauce.
Shawn also is getting raves about his new appetizer, Garlic Chili Soybeans.
“We have something for everyone,” said Shawn, also referring to his new Asian Fusion menu, the extensive bar and luscious desserts. “And remember, all sushi and almost all other food items cost up to $1 less during happy hours, which run from open at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday,” he continued. “Then, another Reverse Happy Hour goes from 9 p.m. until close. And it’s Happy Hour all day on Sunday.”
Zushi is located at 6727 E. McDowell Road, on the southwest corner of Power and McDowell roads. Hours are Monday through Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday, 3:30 to 10 p.m. For more information, call (480) 981-2727.