Sushi [ 1/3 ]

What is Sushi ?

When most people hear the word, “Sushi”, they immediately think of raw fish. In truth, dishes made with raw fish are called “Sashimi”. What defines Sushi is any dish made with vinegar rice, which may or may not include raw fish. Most often, Sushi will consist of various types of shellfish such as crab or lobster, or cooked fish along with other fresh ingredients wrapped tightly inside the sticky vinegar rice.

Traditional Sashimi

Typical Western Sushi

Sushi history

The origin of sushi is not Japan. It is said that sushi was introduced into Japan in the 7th century from China. As a way of preserving fish, the Chinese people started making Sushi but without modern day refrigerators, they used the natural process of fermentation. To complete the Sushi-making process, only rice and salt were needed. The result was delicious fish, causing Sushi to grow in popularity.

In the 1800s, Sushi was made using a process that involved pressing fish in between layers of salt and leaving it for months to ferment. This process is known as narezushi, or “edomaezushi”, which is still used in some restaurants in Japan. The name narezushi was originally called “Edomae” and shortened to Edo. This name translates to “in front of Edo” which is a reference to fish caught in front of Edo city and used for the making of Sushi. Unlike the Sushi eaten today, Edo was formed in a ball of rice with a slice of the fish. When it came time to eat narezushi, the rice ball was thrown out and only the fish eaten. Today, narezushi is very difficult to find outside of Japan in that it has a unique taste not usually appreciated by Westerners.

As time passed and many of the Japanese and Chinese cultures crossed, Sushi became a popular food choice in both countries. Throughout the cities, you would find food stands where various types of Sushi were sold. Since Sushi was easy and quick to make, it became a staple for most households in the 19th Century to accommodate the busy lifestyles of the Japanese people.

Eventually, a food shortage in Japan changed the way in which Sushi was made. Rather than throw the rice out, it was now eaten along with the fish. Additionally, the fermentation process was shortened so the fish although still safe to eat, was a little on the raw side. Because the fermentation process was shortened, the Sushi had a slightly sour taste, which people loved. As people began experimenting, they discovered that by making the rice with a little vinegar the same sour taste was produced and better yet, the fermentation time was dramatically reduced to one or two days.

Basic sushi ingridients:

SHARI – cooked and seasoned rice

SU – rice vinegar

SHŌYU – soy sauce

WASABI – green horseradish

GARI – pickled ginger

NORI – species of algae

KAMPYŌ – dried gourd strips

TAKUAN – pickled Daikon radish.

TAMAGO – omelet

UMEBOSHI – salted, pickled Japanese plums

GOMA – sesame

MIRIN – sweet rice wine

ABURAGE – fried tofu

GOBO – burdock root

NATTO – fermented soybean

Eating sushi

If you are interested in „How to eat sushi” and „What to do at Sushi Restaurants” you should check this 2 link:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=en&tl=pl&u=http%3A%2F%2Fhomepage3.nifty.com%2Fmaryy%2Feng%2Fhowtoeat.htm&anno=2

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/sushilinks1/a/sushi3.htm

Most common sushi types:

Nigirizushi

Makizushi

Oshizushi

Inarizushi

Sukeroku

Chirashizushi

Narezushi

I love traditional sushi making, but there are some corporations that make sushi using robots. Here are some movies about sushi robots:

 I must say i don't like such idea, maybe I'm "sushi traditionalist" type;]

Questions:

• Do you like sushi?
  
• Did you ever tried to make sushi on your own ?
• What is you favourite type of sushi ?
• You prefer traditional sushi with soya souse or “USA style” with ketchup and mustard ? 
• What do you think about sushi robots ? Are you "sushi traditionalist" like me ?