Mutual Fish

Catching the perfect meal

For over 60 years, Seattle’s Mutual Fish Company on Rainier Avenue has been an avid sustainer and supporter of the local seafood industry in the Pacific Northwest. Three generations of the Yoshimura family have owned and operated this eclectic wholesale/retail seafood business since 1947: Dick, Harry and Kevin. Is the longevity, health, and abundant energy of Dick Yoshimura at 96 a nod to the benefits of fish?

Once inside the front door of Mutual Fish, it is very easy to see why this has become hallowed ground for both professional chefs and home cooks alike. The quality and quantity of this extreme selection of seafood is palpable.

There are shellfish to your left and whole fin to your right, just beckoning for a closer look. One day they might showcase arctic char, gold snapper and fresh water river carp and the next crappie, fluke, bronzino and daurada. Take time, see what is available, then make your way to the long glass-fronted showcase filled with even more whole and pieces of fish. Fortunately behind this case stand professionally-garbed men and women eager to help with your requests. Every day they hear "what is that," "how does it taste," "how shall I cook it," "how much do I need," "do you have a recipe?"  If they don’t have an answer, they will refer you to Harry and Kevin in their sliding glass windowed office by the entrance.

On the surrounding walls, racks and refrigerators are what Harry calls “accessories” to the cooking and eating of fish.  These are mainly Asian in origin and include sauces, seasonings, starches and vegetables.  The small wine section offers mainly Northwest wines including Abeja, Chinook and Woodward Canyon.

Kay Simon and Clay Mackey of Chinook Wines are huge fans of Mutual Fish. “We have shopped there for years, the fish is so fresh and the quality unbelievable. After many a Seattle wine delivery you’ll find us in Mutual Fish on our way home to Prosser picking up a three-day-supply of fresh fish. Don’t be surprised if you see other winemakers in there picking up fish to take back over the mountains. We all value their quality.”

Harry feels there are many things the general public needs to know about buying seafood besides checking for clear eyes and good color. Every shipment should have certified tags saying where it comes from, and those tags must be retained by the store for several months. Unfortunately, it appears there can be illegal stuff being sold that could be bad for one’s health, so be careful and ask questions.

When buying from a live tank, check out the origin of the seawater. Mutual Fish works closely with the University of Washington to get the correct balance of saline and other aquatic properties needed to sustain the live fish and mollusks. No, they don’t use water straight out of Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.

Over the years, the Yoshimuras have worked hard to prove their loyalty to their purveyors. Harry’s recommendation is for you to build that same sense of loyalty and trust with your own fishmonger. Mutual Fish fans are very faithful. One local foodie in Seattle, when served a dubious piece of fish in a restaurant, will march up to the chef and begin the conversation with “Have you ever heard of Mutual Fish?”

When it comes to fish, the Yoshimura family are great proponents of wild and fresh but they agree there are times when quick/flash frozen at point of catch is acceptable, and for some species, farmed provides a better product. Catfish need clean non-muddy water to have acceptable flavor and tilapia just taste better so they are both purchased from monitored organic farms (additive free). They only purchase whole fish and prefer to portion and fillet each one either to sell in their store or cut to order for many of Seattle’s A-list restaurants.

When you visit Mutual Fish, spend a few minutes reading their price tags as they are very informative. In addition to the clearly printed price you will find the name, farmed or wild, and any other pieces of info you need to know like “turtle free” Louisiana prawns, whole pan-ready farmed catfish and wild Coho salmon bellies. Thanks to the Food Network and those popular star chefs we view on television every day, today’s customers are far more discerning and have a continuously expanding base of knowledge. According to Harry, small whole fish were popular in the 50s and 60s, but in the 70s things changed. Customers wanted their fish portioned out and filleted. Now because of TV, the current trend is back to the small whole fish.

There are tasty recipes on their website for crab, clams, salmon and shrimp plus a couple from famed restaurateur Tom Douglas for albacore tuna and ling cod. Tom has great respect for Mutual Fish, and has purchased fish from them for over 30 years. In his words, “There are only a few constants in my world – family, the Dixie Chicks and Mutual Fish! While my relationship with the Yoshimura clan is old, their fish never is." Cheers to Seattle’s best seafood!

 Penny Rawson/May 2010

Penny Rawson is a long-time Northwest food writer and owner of Penny Rawson Public & Media Relations.

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