Sushi (鮨 or 鮓 or 寿司) is a Japanese dish consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients such as raw fish, raw or cooked shellfish, or vegetables. Sushi is sometimes confused with sashimi, which is the seafood sometimes served with sushi. In Japan, conveyor belt sushi restaurants are a popular way to eat sushi.
History
Chinese origins
Sushi is made up of three simple ingredients; rice, rice vinegar, and fish. So one would think that the cultivation of rice was necessary, however, the history of sushi begins before rice. The first “sushi or 鮨” might have been a salt pickled pork.
The first use of “鮨” appeared in the oldest Chinese dictionary “爾雅” believed to be written in 3rd or 4th century BC. It is explained as “魚謂之鮨 肉謂之醢”, literally “Those made with fish (are called) 鮨, those made with meat (are called) 醢”. “醢” is a sauce made from minced pork and “鮨” is a sauce made from minced fish. The Chinese character “鮨” is believed to have a much earlier origin, but this is the earliest recorded instance of that character being associated with food. “鮨” was not associated with rice.
Five hundred years later, in 2nd century AD, “鮓” appeared in another Chinese dictionary: “鮓滓也以塩米醸之加葅 熟而食之也”, which translates as “鮓滓 is a food where fish is pickled by rice and salt, which is eaten when it is ready”. This food is believed to be similar to Narezushi or Funazushi and was eaten after removing the rice.
A century later, the meaning of the two characters had become confused and by the time these two characters arrived in Japan, the Chinese themselves did not distinguish between them. The Chinese had stopped using rice as a part of fermentation process, and then stopped eating pickled fish altogether. By Ming dynasty, “鮨” and “鮓” had disappeared from Chinese cuisine.
Origin of Sushi
In 718, the first written record of “sushi” in Japan appeared in the set of laws called Yororituryo (養老律令). As an example of tax paid by actual items, it is written down as “雑鮨五斗 (about 64 liters of zakonosushi or zatsunosushi?)”. However, there is no way to know what this “sushi” was or even how it was pronounced. By 9th and 10th century “鮨” and “鮓” are read as “Sushi” or “Sashi”. These “Sushi” or “Sashi” were similar to today’s Narezushi.
For next nearly 800 years, until early 19th century, sushi slowly changed and the Japanese cuisine changed as well. Japanese started eating three meals a day, rice was boiled instead of steamed, and most important of all, rice vinegar was invented. The time of fermentation gradually decreased and rice could be eaten as well. Soon, Oshizushi was made by using vinegar and skipping the fermentation process. This new process gradually took shape in Muromachi period. In Azuchi-Momoyama Period, Namanari was invented. In 1603, a Japanese Portuguese dictionary was published and this had an entry of Namanrina Sushi, lit. half made sushi. This namanari was believed to be fermented for a period less than that of narezushi and possibly marinated with rice vinegar. It still had the distinctive smell of narezushi.
The smell of narezushi was likely one of the reasons for shortening and eventually skipping the fermentation process. It is commonly described as “a cross between blue cheese, fish, and rice vinegar”. A story from Konjakumonogatarisyu written in early 12th century makes it clear that it was not an attractive smell, even if it tasted good. A man visited a friend in Kyoto and got on a horse to go home. A drunken woman sleeping nearby woke up startled and got dizzy and she vomitted on a bowl of narezushi she had been selling on foot. Instead of throwing away or trying to scoop out, she quickly mixed it into narezushi. The man stingingly pointed out that narezushi was like a pile of spit to begin with and those who bought them most have eaten them anyway. He would from this point on, tell any one who would listen to him to not to buy a narezushi from anyone or any store.
From Oshizushi to Sushi
In the early 18th century, Oshizushi was perfected in Osaka and it came to Edo by the middle of 18th century. These sushi were sold to customers, but because they still required a little fermentation time, stores hanged a notice and posters to customers on when to come for a sushi. Sushi was also sold near a park during a hanami period and a theater as a type of Bento. Inarizushi was sold along oshizushi. Makizushi and Chirasizushi also became popular in Edo period.
There were three famous sushi restaurants in Edo, Matsugasushi (松が鮓), Koube (興兵衛), and Kenukisushi (毛抜き) but there were thousands more sushi restaurants. They were established in a barely twenty year span as soon as 19th century started. Nigirizushi they sold was an instant hit and it spread like a wildfire in Edo. In a book Morisadamanko (守貞謾稿) published in 1852, the writer wrote that for a cho(100 by 100 meters or 10,000 square meter) section of Edo, there were twelve sushi restaurants but only one soba restaurnt could be found in 12 cho. This means, that there were nearly 150 sushi restaurants for every soba restaurant.
These early nigirizushi were not as same as today’s nigirizushi. Fish meat were marinated in soy sauce or vinegar or heavily salted so there was no need to dip into soy sauce. Some fish were cooked before put onto a sushi. This was partly out of necessity as there were no refrigerators. Each piece was also larger, almost the size of two pieces of today’s sushi.
Styles and varieties
There are a number of different styles of sushi, of which some of the most common are:
- Narezushi (なれ鮨) is an older form of sushi. A fish is stuffed with salt after its organs and scales are removed. These fish are placed in a wooden barrel doused with salt and weighed with a heavy tsukemonoishi or a pickling stone. They are fermented for ten days to a month. Then these fish are placed in water for 15 minutes to an hour. Fish are then placed in another barrel sandwiched and layered with cooled steamed rice and fish. Then it is again partially sealed with otosibuta and a pickling stone. As days pass, fermented water seeps out and these must be removed. Six month later, these “funazushi” can be eaten but it can be eaten for another six month or more.
- Makizushi (巻き寿司) which is made by taking a sheet of dried seaweed, putting on a layer of rice (leaving a couple of centimeters free in one end), and then adding some vegetables like cucumber. This is rolled up using a makisu mat and “glued” together by wetting the seaweed so that it sticks together. The roll is then cut up into slices about two centimeters thick.
- Nigirizushi (握り寿司) is made by pressing rice together into a lump slightly smaller than a hen’s egg. On top of this, a piece of fish, prawn, or something similar is placed, often with some wasabi underneath it. Sometimes a thin band of seaweed is used to hold the fish in place.
- Temakizushi (手巻き寿司 or handroll) is a large cone formed by a sheet of dried sea weed filled with rice and other ingredients. A handroll is eaten with the fingers since it is too big to be held by chopsticks.
- Inarizushi (稲荷寿司) is vinegar rice wrapped into a thin slice of fried tofu (油揚げ or abura age). The tofu is briefly boiled in a sauce of sugar, mirin and soy sauce before usage. Inarizushi is either rectangular or triangular, not unlike an onigiri.
- Chirashizushi (散らし寿司), also referred to as barazushi (ばら寿司), is vinegar rice mixed with fish, seafood, slightly boiled and sweetened vegetables and thin slices of fried egg. It is said to be the simplest to prepare within the sushi family.
- Oshizushi (押し寿司 or pressed sushi) originated in Osaka and is vinegar rice, marinated fish and other ingredients, such as shiso, layered and pressed into an oshizushihako mold. The resulting loaf is cut into mouth size pieces before serving.
Common ingredients
Seafood
Certainly the majority of sushi is made with raw fish and other seafoods. For both aesthetic and health reasons, fish that are to be eaten raw must be fresher and of a higher quality than fish that will be cooked. A professional sushi chef is trained in recognizing good fish, which is clean-smelling, vivid in color, and free from harmful parasites. Only ocean fish are used raw in sushi; freshwater fish, which are more likely to harbor parasites, are cooked. In addition to fish, common seafoods used in sushi are squid, octopus, shrimp, eel, fish roe, sea urchin (uni) and various kinds of shellfish.
Sushi rice
The rice used in making sushi is a short-grained, sweeter variety rather different in consistency from the long-grain and Indian rice strains Westerners may be more used to. It is cooked with rice vinegar, or vinegar may be added after cooking, and is cooled before being used to make sushi.
Nori
The seaweed wrappers used in maki and temaki are made of a cultivated sea vegetable known as nori. Originally, this plant was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into sheets, and dried in the sun. Today, it is farmed and industrially produced, and can be bought pre-cut into neat, ready-to-use squares. Some novelty shops also offer nori with decorative cut-outs in the shape of popular cartoon characters.
Other ingredients
Not all sushi contains seafood. Many things can find their way into sushi: pickled daikon radish, fermented soybeans (natto), avocado, raw quail eggs, tofu, pickled plum, omelet, beef, ham, and more.
Condiments
Sushi is served with soy sauce, wasabi (green horseradish paste), and sweet pickled ginger (gari). Wasabi is said to be an effective antidote against fish poisoning.
Recipe
A basic recipe for sushi rice is as follows:
Take one cup of short-grained rice and rinse in cold water until water runs clear. Combine rice, 1 1/4 cup cold water, and a small piece of dashi kombu (a type of seaweed, optional if not available) in a saucepan and turn heat to high. Remove kombu just before water boils. After water begins to boil, turn heat to low, cover pan tightly, and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and leave in covered pan for 10 more minutes. Use a wooden paddle to scrape rice into a large bowl, then gently stir it with the paddle while adding about 2 tbsp. of seasoned rice vinegar (season with just under 2 tbsp sugar and just under 1/2 tsp salt over low heat). Stir until rice has cooled somewhat and looks shiny.
Cover rice with a damp towel and use in any sushi recipe within one day.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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