Sushi

File:Sushi4.jpg

In Japanese cuisine, sushi (寿司) is a food made of vinegared rice combined with seafood. Most, but not all, fish used in sushi is un-cooked, but other ingredients may be cooked, blanched, sauteed, or marinated.

Sushi is an English word that has come to refer to a complete dish with rice and toppings; this is the sense used in this article. The original term Japanese: 寿司 sushi (-zushi in some compounds such as makizushi), written in kanji, means snack and refers to rice, but not fish or other toppings.^[1]

Outside of Japan, sushi is often misunderstood to mean clumps of rice topped with raw fish or even the raw fish by itself. It is also misunderstood to refer to fresh raw-seafood dishes, such as a Japanese delicacy called sashimi (sushi and sashimi are considered distinct in Japan).

There are various types of sushi. Sushi served rolled in nori (dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed or alga) is called maki or rolls. Sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice is called nigiri, toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inari; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashi-zushi.

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The basic idea behind the preparation of sushi, a well-known Japanese dish, is the practice of preserving fish with salt and fermenting with rice, a process that can probably be traced back to seafood-preserving methods used in China where it has a long history of rice cultivation. It was origined during Tang Dynasty in China, though modern Japanese adopted sushi evolved to have little resemblance to this original Chinese food.

Today's dish internationally known as "sushi" (nigirizushi; Kantō variety) is a fast food invented by Hanaya Yohei (華屋与兵衛; 1799 - 1858) at the end of Edo period in today's Tokyo (Edo). People in Tokyo were living in haste even over one hundred years ago. The nigirizushi invented by Hanaya was not fermented and could be eaten by hands (or using a bamboo toothpick). It was an early form of fast food that could be eaten at a road side or in a theater.

Modern Japanese sushi has little resemblance to the traditional fermented rice dish. When the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only the fish was consumed and the rice was discarded. The strong-tasting narezushi made near Lake Biwa resembles the traditional fermented dish.

Starting in the Muromachi Period of (1336–1573) in Japan, rice vinegar was added to the mixture for a better taste. Rice vinegar also accentuated the sourness of the rice dish and was known "to increase its life span", allowing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned.

During the following centuries, the development of oshi-zushi (seafood and rice were pressed into wooden moulds) in Osaka arrived in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in the middle of the 18th century. In the early 19th century in Edo, the dish evolved into Edo-mae zushi, which used fish freshly caught in the Edo-mae (Edo Bay). At that time, it was considered an inexpensive meal for many people. This Edo-mae zushi has become the standard sushi popular today throughout Japan and the world.

The science behind the fermentation of fish in rice is that the vinegar produced from the fermenting rice breaks down the fish into amino acids. This results into one of the five basic tastes called umami. When added, rice vinegar shortened the fermentation process.

A common ingredient across all the different kinds of sushi is sushi rice (known as shari in Japanese). A variety of sushi soon arises in the choice with different fillings and toppings, adding other condiments, and the matter of putting these ingredients together. Putting these ingredients together is important to see if the sushi has its suitable, delicious tastes. The same ingredients may be assembled into different traditional, contemporary ways.^[2]

• Nigiri-zushi (握り寿司, lit. two-cut or hand-formed sushi). The most typical form of sushi in restaurants. It consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that is pressed between the palms of the hands, with a speck of wasabi and a thin slice of topping called (neta) draped over it. This is possibly bound with a thin band of nori (known as seaweed). Assembling nigiri-zushi is surprisingly difficult. This is sometimes called Edomaezushi, which reflects its origins into Edo (the present-day of Tokyo) in the 18th century. It is often served in pairs.

• Gunkan-maki (軍艦巻, lit. warship roll). A special type of nigiri-zushi: an oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice that has a strip of "nori" wrapped around its perimeter to form a vessel that is filled in with topping(s). The topping is typically some soft ingredient that requires the confinement of nori such as roe, natto, or (a contemporary fusion) macaroni salad. Gunkan-maki was invented at Kyubei restaurant (est. 1932) in Ginza; its invention expanded significantly the repertoire of soft toppings used in sushi.

• Makizushi (巻き寿司, lit. rolled sushi or cut rolls). A cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat, called a makisu. Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori, a sheet of dried pressed edible seaweed that encloses the rice and fillings, but can occasionally be found wrapped in a thin omelette.[1] Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes as an order. Below are some common types of makizushi, but there are also many other kinds exist that will not be mentioned.
  • Futomaki (太巻き, lit. large or fat cut rolls). A large cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. A typical futomaki is three or four centimeters diameter. They are often made with two or three fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. During the Setsubun festival, it is traditional in Kansai to eat uncut futomaki in its cylindrical form. Futomaki is mainly vegetarian, and may include toppings such as daikon and egg.
  • Hosomaki (細巻き, lit. thin cut rolls). A small cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside. A typical hosomaki is about two centimeters thick and two centimeters wide. They are generally made with only one filling.
    • Kappamaki, a kind of Hosomaki filled with cucumber, which is named after the Japanese legendary water imp fond of cucumbers called the kappa (河童). Kappamaki is consumed as a way of clearing the palate in-between eating raw fish and other kinds of food, so that the flavors of the fish are distinct from one other food.
    • Tekkamaki (鉄火巻き) is a kind of Hosomaki filled with tuna. "Tekka" (鉄火) describes a hot iron, which has a color similar to red, tuna flesh.
  • Uramaki (裏巻き, lit. inside-out cut rolls). A medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings. Uramaki differs from other maki because the rice is on the outside and the nori inside. The filling is in the center surrounded by nori, then a layered of rice, and an outer coating of some other ingredients such as roe or toasted sesame seeds. This is a typical thought as an invention to suit what may be an American palate [2], Uramaki is not commonly seen in Japan. The California roll is a popular form and an example of uramaki. The increasing popularity of sushi in North America, as well as around the world, has resulted in numerous kinds of uramaki and regional off-shoots being created. Regional types includes the B.C. roll (grilled salmon skin) and Philadelphia roll (cream cheese).
    • The caterpillar roll includes avocado, unagi, and carrot antennaes.
    • The dynamite roll includes prawn tempura along with vegetables like radish sprouts, avocado or cucumber, as well as Japanese mayonnaise.
    • The rainbow roll features sashimi layered outside with rice.
    • The spider roll includes fried soft shell crab and other fillings such as cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts or lettuce, and spicy mayonnaise.
    • A Philadelphia roll contains smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, and/or onions.
    • A BC roll has grilled salmon with sweet sauce and cucumber. It's named after British Columbia for its famous wild Pacific salmon.
    • The Godzilla Roll includes yellowtail, deep-fried in tempura, topped with teriyaki and a stripe of hot sauce, and then sprinkled with green onions.
    • Other rolls may include scallops, spicy tuna, beef or chicken teriyaki, okra, vegetarian, and cheese. Brown rice and black rice rolls have also appeared in the Japanese delicacy too.
• Temaki (手巻き, lit. hand rolls). A large cone-shaped piece, with nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters long, and is eaten with fingers since it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. Temaki must be eaten quickly after being made for its optimal taste and texture, as the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling, making it lose its crispness and become somewhat difficult to bite.

• Gunkanmaki ("battleship" sushi). More or less wrapped nigirizushi, a large rice ball, with wider-cut nori on the outside to hold loose or fine-chopped, unwieldy toppings such as cucumber bits, oysters, roe, quail eggs, or even more liquid or semi-liquid ingredients like guacamole.

• Inari-zushi (稲荷寿司, stuffed sushi). A pouch of fried tofu filled with usually just sushi rice. It is named after the Shinto god, Inari, who's a messenger and the fox. "Shinto god" is believed to have a fondness for fried tofu. The pouch is normally fashioned as deep-fried tofu (油揚げ or abura age). Regional variations include pouches are made of a thin omelet (帛紗寿司 (hukusa-zushi) or 茶巾寿司 (chakin-zushi)) or dried gourd shavings (干瓢 or kanpyo).

• Oshizushi (押し寿司, lit. pressed sushi). A block-shaped piece formed using a wooden mold, called an oshibako. The chef lines the bottom of the oshibako with the topping, covers it with sushi rice, and presses the lid of the mold down to create a compact, rectilinear block. The block is removed from the mold and then cut into bite-sized pieces.

• Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司, lit. scattered sushi). A bowl of sushi rice with other ingredients mixed in (also refers to barazushi). It is commonly eaten in Japan because it is filling and easy to make. Chirashizushi most often varies regionally, and it is eaten annually as a part of the Doll Festival, celebrated during March in Japan.
  • Edomae chirashizushi (Edo-style scattered sushi) is an uncooked ingredients that are arranged artfully on top of the rice in a bowl.
  • Gomokuzushi (Kansai-style sushi). Cooked or uncooked ingredients mixed in the body of rice in a bowl.

• Narezushi (熟れ寿司, lit. matured sushi) is an older form of sushi. Skinned and gutted fish are stuffed with salt, placed in a wooden barrel, doused with salt again, and then weighed down with a heavy tsukemonoishi (pickling stone). They are supposedly salted for ten days to a month, then placed in water for 15 minutes to an hour. They are then placed in another barrel, sandwiched, and layered with cooled steamed rice and fish. Then this mixture is again partially sealed with otoshibuta and a pickling stone. As days pass, water seeps out, which must be removed. Six months later, this funazushi can be eaten, and remains edible for another six months or more.
• Funazushi (鮒寿司 Funazushi) is a dish in Japanese cooking, which involves the fermentation of the tuna fish, a member of the carp family. The dish is famous as a regional dish to Shiga Prefecture, and is considered to be a chinmi, a delicacy in Japanese cooking.

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All sushi has a base of specially prepared rice, and complemented with other ingredients.

Sushi is made with white, short-grained, Japanese rice mixed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, salt, kombu, and occasionally sake. It is usually cooled to room temperature before being used for a filling in a sushi. In some fusion cuisine restaurants, short grain brown rice and wild rice are also used.

Sushi rice (sushi-meshi) is prepared with short-grain Japanese rice, which has a consistency that differs from long-grain strains such as India. The essential quality is its stickiness. Rice that is too sticky has a mushy texture; if not sticky enough, it feels dry. Freshly harvested rice (shinmai) typically has too much water, and requires extra time to drain the rice cooker after washing.

There are regional variations in sushi rice, and of course, individual chefs have their individual methods. Most of the variations are in the rice vinegar dressing: "the Tokyo version of the dressing commonly uses more salt; in Osaka, the dressing has more sugar".

Sushi rice generally must be used shortly after it is made. The Wiki Cookbook has a simple recipe for sushi.

The seaweed wrappers used in maki and temaki are called nori. Nori is an algae, traditionally cultivated into the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into sheets, and dried in the sun, in a similar process in making paper. Nori is toasted before being used in food.

Today, the commercial product is farmed, produced, toasted, packaged, and sold in standard-size sheets in about 18 cm by 21 cm. Higher quality nori is thick, smooth, shiny, black, and has no holes.

Nori, itself is an edible snack. Many children love flavored nori, which is coated with teriyaki sauce. However, those tend to be cheaper, means lesser quality of nori that is not used for sushi.

When making fukusazushi, a paper-thin omelette may replace a sheet of nori as the wrapping. The omelette is traditionally made in a rectangular omelette pan (makiyakinabe), and used to form the pouch for the rice and fillings.

• Fish

For culinary, sanitary, and aesthetic reasons, fish eaten raw must be fresher and of higher quality than fish which is cooked.

Professional sushi chefs are trained to recognize good fish. Important attributes include smells, color, and is free of obvious parasites that normal commercial inspection does not detect (many go undetected).

Only ocean fish are used raw in sushi; freshwater fish, which are more likely to harbor parasites harmful to humans, are cooked.

Commonly-used fish are tuna, Japanese amberjack, snapper, conger, mackerel and salmon. The most valued sushi ingredient is toro, the fatty cut of tuna. This comes in varieties ōtoro (often from the bluefin species of tuna) and chutoro, meaning middle toro, implying it is halfway in fattiness between toro and regular red tuna (akami).

Aburi style refers to nigiri sushi where the fish is partially grilled (topside) and partially raw.

• Seafood

Other seafoods are squid, octopus (tako), shrimp, fish roe, sea urchin (uni), eel (unagi), and various kinds of shellfish. Oysters, however, are not typically put in sushi because the taste is not thought to go well with the rice. However, some sushi restaurants in New Orleans are known to have Fried Oyster Rolls, and Crawfish rolls.

• Vegetables

Pickled daikon radish (takuan) in shinko maki, various pickled vegetables (tsukemono), fermented soybeans (nattō) in nattō maki, avocado in California rolls, cucumber in kappa maki, asparagus, yam, tofu, pickled ume (umeboshi), gourd (kampyō), burdock (gobo), and sweet corn mixed with mayonnaise.

• Red meat

Beef, ham, Sausage, and horse meat, often lightly cooked.

Note: It is a common misconception that in Hawaii, fried Spam is a popular local variation of sushi. In reality, Spam musubi differs from sushi in that its rice lacks the vinegar required to classify it as such. Spam musubi is correctly classified as onigiri.

• Other fillings

Eggs (in the form of a slightly sweet, layered omelet called tamagoyaki), raw quail eggs riding as a gunkan-maki topping.

• Shōyu

The common name for soy sauce. In sushi restaurants, it may also be referred to as murasaki (lit. "purple").

• Wasabi

A piquant paste made from the grated root of the wasabi plant. Real wasabi (hon-wasabi) is Wasabi japonica. Hon-wasabi has anti-microbial properties and may reduce the risk of food poisoning.^[3] The traditional grating tool for wasabi is a sharkskin grater or samegawa oroshi.

An imitation wasabi (seiyo-wasabi), made from horseradish and mustard powder and dyed green, is common. It is found at lower-end kaiten zushi restaurants, in bento box sushi, and at most restaurants outside of Japan, If it is manufactured in Japan, it may be labelled "Japanese Horseradish".^[4]

In sushi restaurants, wasabi may be referred to as namida ("tears").

• Gari

Sweet, pickled ginger. Eaten to both cleanse the palate as well as to aid in the digestive process.

• Ocha

In Japan, green tea (ocha) is invariably served together with sushi. Better sushi restaurants often use a distinctive premium tea known as mecha. In sushi vocabulary, green tea is known as agari.

In Japan, and increasingly abroad, conveyor belt sushi/sushi train (kaiten zushi) restaurants are a popular, cost effective way of eating sushi. At these restaurants, the sushi is served on color-coded plates, with each color denoting the cost of that sushi it contains. The plates are placed on a conveyor belt or boats floating in a moat. As the belt or boat passes, the customers choose their desired plate. After finishing, the bill is tallied by counting how many plates of each color have been taken. Some kaiten sushi restaurants in Japan operate on a fixed price system, with each plate, consisting usually of two pieces of sushi, generally costing ¥100.

More traditionally, sushi is served on minimalist Japanese-style, geometric, wood or lacquer plates which are mono- or duo-tone in color, in keeping with the aesthetic qualities of this cuisine. Many small sushi restaurants actually use no plates — the sushi is eaten directly off of the wooden counter, usually with one's hands.

Modern fusion presentation, particularly in the United States, has given sushi a European sensibility, taking Japanese minimalism and garnishing it with Western gestures such as the colorful arrangement of edible ingredients, the use of differently flavored sauces, and the mixing of foreign flavors, highly suggestive of French cuisine, deviating somewhat from the more traditional, austere style of Japanese sushi.

Unusually for Japanese food, sushi can be eaten either by hand or by chopsticks. Traditionally, one should start with white-fleshed or milder-tasting items and proceed into darker, stronger-flavored varieties later. Only the fish (not the rice) should be dipped into soy sauce, which should be used sparingly. In top-end sushi restaurants, it is considered bad form to request or add extra wasabi, as the chef has (or should have) already placed a suitable amount in each morsel.

Many sushi restaurants offer fixed-price sets, selected by the chef from the catch of the day. These are often graded as ume (梅, ume), take (竹, bamboo) and matsu (松, pine), with ume the cheapest and matsu the most expensive.

In Japan, staff in sushi restaurants often employ a complex code-like vocabulary, where alternate words are substituted for common items. For example, egg is called gyoku ("jewel"), rice is called shari (Buddha's bones), soy sauce is called murasaki ("purple") and the bill is known as o-aiso ("courtesy", "compliment"). The code words vary from place to place and often evolve locally to incorporate puns: for example, shako (giant clam) might be called garēji (garage), because the Japanese word shako can also refer to a vehicle depot. These terms would not be used, or even understood, in other contexts, but regular patrons may pick up and use this specialized terminology themselves while dining in the restaurant.

The main ingredients of sushi, raw fish and rice, are naturally low in fat (with the exception of some rolls and western style rolls), high in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.^[5] Specifically:

• Fats: Most seafood is naturally low in fat, and what fat is found in them is generally unsaturated fat rich in Omega-3. Since sushi is often served raw, no fat is introduced in its preparation.

• Proteins: Fish, tofu, seafood, egg, and many other sushi fillings contain high levels of protein.

• Vitamins and Minerals: These are found in many of the vegetables used for sushi. For example, the gari and nori used to make sushi are both rich in nutrients. Other vegetables wrapped within the sushi also offer various degrees of nutritional value.

• Carbohydrates: These are found in the rice and the vegetables.

On the other hand, some fish such as tuna can carry high levels of mercury and can be hazardous when consumed in large quantities.

• Fukin: Kitchen cloth.
• Hangiri: Rice barrel.
• Hocho: Kitchen knives.
• Makisu: Bamboo rolling mat.
• Ryoribashi: Cooking chopsticks.
• Shamoji: Wooden rice paddle.
• Makiyakinabe: Rectangular omelet pan.

Also see the comprehensive list of Japanese cooking utensils.

1. January 1992. A 325 kg (715 lb) Bluefin tuna sold for $83,500 (almost $257 / kg or $117 / lb) in Tokyo, Japan. The tuna was reduced to 2,400 servings of sushi for wealthy diners at $75 per serving. The estimated takings from this one fish were approximately $180,000. At the time, the fish held the record for Most Expensive Fish.
2. October 12, 1997: The longest sushi roll. Six hundred members of the Nikopaka Festa Committee made a kappamaki (cucumber roll) that was 1 km (3,279 ft.) long at Yoshii, Japan.

• 
  California Roll /Uramaki (カリフォルニア巻き)
• 
  California Roll /with tobiko (飛び子)
• 
  Dragon Roll (US style eel roll)
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  Nigiri salmon (さけ or 鮭)
• 
  Nigiri Toro (とろ, fatty tuna belly)
• 
  Salmon roll (巻き鮭)
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  Inari Sushi (稲荷寿司)
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  Kakinoha (Persimmon leaf) Sushi (柿の葉寿司)
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  Chakin-Sushi (茶巾寿司), wrapped by omelet.
• 
  Sushi plate (盛り合わせ)
• 
  Funa-mori sushi Set (舟盛り, Sushi on a boat-style-box.)
• 
  Nigirizushi for sale at a supermarket in Tokyo
• 
  Free style sushi (from New Zealand)
• Experimental Sushi shapes. Carrot and Apple (From Denmark)
  Experimental Sushi shapes. Carrot and Apple (From Denmark)
• Different types of Sushi arranged on a bamboo mat (From Denmark)
  Different types of Sushi arranged on a bamboo mat (From Denmark)

• List of sushi and sashimi ingredients and styles
• Hanaya Yohei
• Sashimi
• Japanese Dining Etiquette
• Sushi Cookbook

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• How many calories are in sushi?
• The Sushi Eating HOWTO
• What requirements must be met for fish to be designated as "sushi-grade"?
• How Sushi Works
• History of Sushi
• The Sushi FAQ

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