Sushi
Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with vinegared rice, typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of ingredients, such as seafood, vegetables, or meat; raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi has numerous styles and presentations, the current defining component is the vinegared rice, also known as, or.
The modern form of sushi is believed to have been created by Hanaya Yohei, who invented nigiri-zushi, the most commonly recognized type today, in which seafood is placed on hand-pressed, vinegared rice. This innovation occurred around 1824 in the Edo period. It was the fast food of the chōnin class in the Edo period.
Sushi is traditionally made with medium-grain white rice, although it can also be prepared with brown rice or short-grain rice. It is commonly prepared with seafood, such as squid, eel, yellowtail, salmon, tuna, or imitation crab meat. Certain types of sushi are vegetarian. It is often served with gari, wasabi, and soy sauce. Daikon radish or pickled daikon are popular garnishes for the dish.
Sushi is sometimes confused with sashimi, a dish that consists of thinly sliced raw fish or occasionally meat, without sushi rice.Today, sushi is considered one of the most popular dishes in the world.
History
''Narezushi''
A dish known as, "matured fish", stored in fermented rice for possibly months at a time, has been cited as one of the early influences for the Japanese practice of applying rice on raw fish. The fish was fermented with rice vinegar, salt, and rice, after which the rice was discarded. is also called , meaning "fully fermented", as opposed to, meaning "partially fermented", a type of sushi that appeared in the Muromachi period.Fermented fish using rice, such as, originated in Southeast Asia, where it was made to preserve freshwater fish, possibly in the Mekong River basin, which is now Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and in the Irrawaddy River basin, which is now Myanmar. The first mention of a -like food is in a Chinese dictionary thought to be from the fourth century, in this instance referring to salted fish that had been placed in cooked or steamed rice, which caused it to undergo a fermentation process via lactic acid. Fermentation methods following similar logic in other Asian rice cultures include burong isda, balao-balao, and tinapayan of the Philippines; pekasam of Indonesia and Malaysia; padaek of Laos; of Thailand; sikhae of Korea; and mắm of Vietnam.
The lacto-fermentation of the rice prevents the fish from spoiling. When wet-field rice cultivation was introduced during the Yayoi period, lakes and rivers would flood during the rainy season and fish would get caught in the rice paddy fields. Pickling was a way to preserve the excess fish and guarantee food for the following months, and became an important source of protein for Japanese consumers. The term sushi literally means "sour-tasting", as the overall dish has a sour and umami or savory taste. The term comes from an antiquated し terminal-form conjugation, no longer used in other contexts, of the adjectival verb, resulting in the term. still exists as a regional specialty, notably as from Shiga Prefecture.
In the Yōrō Code of 718, the characters for "鮨" and "鮓" are written as a tribute to the Japanese imperial court, and although there are various theories as to what exactly this food was, it is possible that it referred to.
''Namanare''
Until the early 19th century, sushi slowly changed with Japanese cuisine. The Japanese started eating three meals a day, rice was boiled instead of steamed, and of large importance was the development of rice vinegar.During the Muromachi period, the Japanese invented a style of sushi called or , which means "partially fermented". The fermentation period of was shorter than that of the earlier, and the rice used for fermentation was also eaten with the fish. In other words, with the invention of, sushi changed from a preserved fish food to a food where fish and rice are eaten together. After the appearance of, sake and sake lees were used to shorten fermentation, and vinegar was used in the Edo period.
''Hayazushi''
During the Edo period, a third type of sushi,, was developed. differed from earlier sushi in that instead of lactic fermentation of rice, vinegar, a fermented food, was mixed with rice to give it a sour taste so that it could be eaten at the same time as the fish. Previously, sushi had evolved with a focus on shortening the fermentation period, but with the invention of, which is simply mixed with vinegar, the fermentation process was eliminated and sushi became a fast food. Many types of sushi known in the world today, such as,,, and, were invented during this period, and they are a type of. Each region utilizes local flavors to produce a variety of sushi that has been passed down for many generations. A 1689 cookbook describes, and a 1728 cookbook describes pouring vinegar over .Today's style of, consisting of an oblong mound of rice with a slice of fish draped over it, became popular in Edo in the 1820s or 1830s. One common story of the origin of is of the chef Hanaya Yohei, who invented or perfected the technique in 1824 at his shop in Ryōgoku. The of this period was somewhat different from modern. The sushi rice of this period was about three times the size of today's. The amount of vinegar used was half that of today's sushi, and the type of vinegar developed during this period, called, was made by fermenting sake lees. They also used slightly more salt than in modern times instead of sugar. Seafood served over rice was prepared in a variety of ways. This red vinegar was developed by Nakano Matazaemon, who is the founder of Mizkan, a company that still develops and sells vinegar and other seasonings today.
The dish was originally termed as it used freshly caught fish from the ; the term is still used today as a by-word for quality sushi, regardless of its ingredients' origins.
Conveyor belt sushi
In 1958, Yoshiaki Shiraishi opened the first conveyor belt sushi restaurant named "Genroku Zushi" in Higashi-Osaka. Conveyor belt sushi is a casual and affordable type of sushi restaurant.Conveyor belts are typically installed along tables or counters in the restaurant and are used to carry plates of sushi past diners, who can choose to take whatever they want. Generally, the bill is based on the number of sushi plates, with different colors representing a particular price.
When Genroku Sushi opened a restaurant at the Japan World Exposition, Osaka, 1970, it won an award at the expo, and conveyor belt sushi restaurants became known throughout Japan. In 1973, an automatic tea dispenser was developed, which is now used in conveyor belt sushi restaurants today. When the patent for conveyor belt sushi restaurants expired, a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants was established, spreading conveyor belt sushi throughout Japan and further popularizing and lowering the price of sushi. By 2021, the conveyor belt sushi market had grown to 700 billion yen and spread outside Japan.
Sushi in English
The earliest written mention of sushi in English described in the Oxford English Dictionary is in an 1893 book, A Japanese Interior, where it mentions sushi as "a roll of cold rice with fish, sea-weed, or some other flavoring". There is an earlier mention of sushi in James Hepburn's Japanese–English dictionary from 1873, and an 1879 article on Japanese cookery in the journal Notes and Queries. Despite common misconception among English speakers, sushi does not mean "raw seafood."Types
The common ingredient in all types of sushi is vinegared sushi rice. Fillings, toppings, condiments, and preparation vary widely.Due to consonant mutation, sushi is pronounced with instead of when a prefix is attached, as in.
''Chirashizushi''
serves the rice in a bowl and tops it with a variety of raw fish and vegetable garnishes. It is popular because it is filling, fast, and easy to make. It is eaten annually on in March and Children's Day in May.- is served with uncooked ingredients in an artful arrangement.
- consists of cooked or uncooked ingredients mixed in the body of rice.
- uses rice wine over vinegar in preparing the rice and is topped with shrimp, sea bream, octopus, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and shredded omelette.
Regional variations include pouches made from a thin omelette, instead of fried tofu. It should not be confused with, a sushi roll filled with seasoned fried tofu.
Cone sushi is a variant of originating in Hawaii that may include green beans, carrots, gobo, or poke along with rice, wrapped in a triangular piece. It is often sold in and as a component of bento boxes.
''Makizushi''
, or is a cylindrical piece formed with the help of a mat known as a. is generally wrapped in nori but is occasionally wrapped in a thin omelette, soy paper, cucumber, or leaves. is often cut into six or eight pieces, constituting a single roll order. Short-grain white rice is usually used, although short-grain brown rice, like olive oil on nori, is now becoming more widespread among the health-conscious. Rarely, sweet rice is mixed in rice.Nowadays, the rice in can be many kinds of black rice, boiled rice, and cereals. Besides the common ingredients listed above, some varieties may include cheese, spicy cooked squid,,, lunch meat, sausage, bacon or spicy tuna. The nori may be brushed with sesame oil or sprinkled with sesame seeds. In a variation, sliced pieces of may be lightly fried with egg coating.
Below are some common types of, but many other kinds exist.
- is a large, cylindrical style of sushi, usually with nori on the outside. A typical is in diameter. They are often made with two, three, or more fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. are often vegetarian, and may use strips of cucumber, gourd, , or lotus root. Strips of omelette, tiny fish roe, chopped tuna, and whitefish flakes are typical non-vegetarian fillings. Traditionally, the vinegared rice is lightly seasoned with salt and sugar. Popular proteins are fish cakes, imitation crab meat, egg, tuna, or shrimp. Vegetables usually include cucumber, lettuce, and.
- is is wrapped in a thin omelet.
- or is a fried version of the dish.
- During the evening of the festival of, it is traditional in the Kansai region to eat a particular kind of in its uncut cylindrical form, called. By 2000 the custom had spread to all of Japan. is a roll composed of seven ingredients considered to be lucky. The typical ingredients include, egg, eel, and shiitake mushroom. often include other ingredients too. People usually eat the while facing the direction considered to be auspicious that year.
- is a type of small cylindrical sushi with nori on the outside. A typical has a diameter of about. They generally contain only one filling, often tuna, cucumber,,, paste, and squid with .
- * Kappamaki is a kind of filled with cucumber. It is named after the Japanese legendary water imp, fond of cucumbers, called the. Traditionally, is consumed to clear the palate between eating raw fish and other kinds of food so that the flavors of the fish are distinct from the tastes of other foods.
- * is a kind of filled with raw tuna. Although it is believed that the word, meaning "red hot iron", alludes to the color of the tuna flesh or salmon flesh, it actually originated as a quick snack to eat in gambling dens called, much like the origins of the sandwich.
- * is a kind of filled with negitoro, also known as scallion and chopped tuna. Fatty tuna is often used in this style.
- * is a kind of filled with canned tuna tossed with mayonnaise.
- is a large cone-shaped style of sushi with nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical is about long and is eaten with the fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. For optimal taste and texture, must be eaten quickly after being made because the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness, making it somewhat difficult to bite through. For this reason, the nori in pre-made or take-out temaki is sealed in plastic film, which is removed immediately before eating.