Short Grain is bringing the Charleston community sustainable seafood on four wheels! This untraditional Japanese food truck by Shuai Wang and Corrie Wachob offers delicious and unique dishes prepared with local, seasonal ingredients.
Sustainability has always been a priority for Short Grain, and we are thrilled that this rolling restaurant is our very first Good Catch Partner food truck! Get to know the sustainability-minded duo behind Short Grain:
How did Short Grain get started?
In a variety of ways, Short Grain began out of necessity. On our first day living in Charleston, we learned that the jobs we had lined up had fallen through. Tired of working for other people anyway, we saw it as a sign and almost immediately began browsing the real estate market for the perfect little brick and mortar. At the time, we considered either doing a Mexican or Japanese spot. After months of searching, and still not having found a location, a friend suggested we do a food truck and it just felt right. As did going the Japanese route because it most resembles the kind of food we like to eat at home. Plus, Shuai and I had worked together at an untraditional Izakaya – a Japanese pub — in NYC. At the end of every shift he would make a late night staff meal out of sushi rice. It got to the point that I primarily went to work for the rice bowls. We had a feeling other people might feel the same.
What makes Short Grain a sustainability-minded Food Truck?
Since the day we began, it has been very important to us to be as green as possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is with our ingredient sourcing. We buy locally-grown produce, meats, and fish as much as possible. (I always say “as much as possible” because some of our Japanese products, by their very nature, cannot come from local sources). It means less of a profit for us, but once you meet the people who grow the food you prepare and learn about the hard and important work they do on their farms, the added costs seem minimal. Plus, there’s just no comparison when it comes to taste.
Where does your seafood come from?
As much as possible we source all our fish from Mark Marhefka at Abundant Seafood, which has become one of our favorite places in Charleston. We usually go down to the docks to pick it up ourselves! We buy our shrimp from Tarvin Seafood.
See Short Grain’s schedule here!