SUSHI WORLD

2008-08-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

Sushi Origin
Sushi originated as a way of preserving funa -a type of fish. The fish was salted and allowed to mature on a bed of vinegar rice, after which the rice was discarded. Before long vinegar rice came to be eaten together with the fish and then other ingredients. Thus the word sushi was derived: the marriage of vinegar rice with other ingredients. Many different combinations of sushi and ways of serving them evolved. It is not surprising that most people mistaken or associate the word sushi to raw fish. It may be because many sushi varieties are prepared using some type of fish or seafood and the raw part just happens to stick in peoples mind. But actually, sashimi means "raw fish". Sushi is the marriage of vinegar rice to other ingredients. Sushi is now one of Japans most popular foods and increasing in popularity all over the world. Listed below are the most common types of sushi.

Nigiri Sushi .......... The word sushi alone commonly refers to "nigiri sushi", a hand shaped sushi commonly served at sushi restaurants. Nigiri sushi is representative of Tokyo food and many varieties use some type of seafood or fish. The reasons for this might relate to the fact that the city (known as Edo prior to 1868) was rich in seafood of all kinds.

Oshi Sushi .......... The rice merchants of Osaka - the financial capital of Japan, developed "oshi sushi" or pressed sushi. For pressed sushi, vinegar rice is packed into a mold and covered with marinated fish or other ingredients. When un-folded, the resulting loaf of sushi is cut into bite-sized pieces.

Maki Sushi ......... Maki sushi is a "rolled sushi" with narrow strips of different ingredients (seafood, crisp vegetables or pickles) layered on a bed of vinegar rice and spread on a sheet of nori or seaweed, thus calling it "nori-maki sushi". Nori-maki is the most well known sushi in the U.S. and with the most variety because just about any ingredient can be rolled into the center from crisp vegetables, strips of omelet to strips of avocado.

Chirashi Sushi ......... The easiest type of sushi to make, made in all Japanese kitchens "chirashi sushi" or scattered sushi. Chirashi-zushi is simply sushi rice with other ingredients mixed in or placed on the rice. Chirashi-zushi without any seafood often makes its appearance in lunch boxes. It's taken on picnics and often sold on railway station platforms. "Station lunches" are not exclusively chirashi-zushi but many are. Stations are known for their type of food as well as for their unique lunch containers in which they are sold.

Maze sushi ......... There are many other types of sushi that fall into the lunch or snack food category of maze sushi or "mixed sushi". Several examples are Inari sushi and fukusa sushi. Inari sushi consists of deep fried bean curd pouches stuffed with mixed vinegar sushi rice. Fukusa sushi or "silk-square sushi" uses a square paper thin omelets to wrap the vinegar sushi rice. The word "fukusa" meaning silk squares (silk fabric) are often used to wrap presents or precious articles in Japan.

Sushi Rice - "Sushi meshi"
Whether it is hand-packed, mold pressed or rolled in seaweed, for sushi to be sushi there is one constant ingredient - vinegar rice. Vinegar rice is a little harder than plain boiled rice because the rice is cooked with a little less water. Many restaurants cook rice in hot water rather than cold to achieve this. Quick cooling while tossing is the real key to making good sushi and helps to produce the desired consistency and gives the sushi rice a nice shiny gloss.
Tossing rice is traditionally done in a large wooden tub called "hangiri". The size of the tub allows to spread it in a thin layer and the wood absorbs the moisture from the hot rice and makes the rice cool even quicker and thus the grains are not mashed during tossing. You can use a large plastic shallow tub and a rice paddle for tossing. Avoid using metal since the vinegar reacts with it creating an unpleasant taste.

SUSHI CHEF

SUSHI WORLD