FOOD STORY
AUGUST 18, 2022
One Little Story Of Sushi
This one little story of sushi will open your knowledge about this delicious popular Japanese food that already known worldwide.
Susyi or sushi is a Japanese food consisting of rice formed with side dishes (neta) in the form of seafood, meat, raw or cooked vegetables. Sushi rice has a mild sour taste because it is seasoned with a mixture of rice vinegar, salt, and sugar.
Sushi then combined with other ingredients, usually with raw fish or other seafood. However, a wide variety of vegetables can also be used in sushi.
Sushi is required to use rice and is sometimes supplemented with other raw material. In essence, what makes sushi “sushi” is the short-grain rice mixed with vinegar, not the complementary protein.
The forerunner of sushi originally came from a method of preserving fish from Southeast Asia which later spread to China, then to Japan, called narezushi.
Narezushi is a way of preserving fish by placing the fish on salted rice, then wrapping it in leaves. The fish then undergo a fermentation process. This process makes the fish still edible and delicious to eat even though it is stored for a long time.
The forerunner of modern sushi, appeared in the Edo period around 1600-1800 in Japan. At this time fish and vegetables are placed on top of rice with a size large enough, as big as onigiri. Processed it also develops by mixing vinegar in it. When it first appeared sushi was a very expensive food.
In the late Edo period, in Japan the early forms of nigirizushi became known. However, the portion size of the nigirizushi has been reduced to make it easier to enjoy. A sushi expert named Hanaya Yohei created a new type of sushi which is now called edomaezushi. However, the size of the sushi is huge, like onigiri.
At that time, fish cooling techniques were still not advanced. As a result, fish taken from the sea around Japan must be processed first so that they are not damaged when made into milk.
When it first appeared, sushi was a very expensive food. It is said that the price of sushi at that time was the same as a tax levied on the state. Over time, sushi became a fast food in the Edo period that could be eaten in a hurry and sold in street vendors.
The origin of the word Sushi comes from the word [Su], vinegar in Japanese, mixed with rice = [Su Meshi], the word Me from Sumeshi has somehow disappeared, and is then referred to as Sushi.
Sushi is a good source of protein. If consumed regularly, this Japanese food helps repair muscle damage. In addition, the omega-3 contained in sushi can lower cholesterol levels.
Until now there are still many Japanese people who prefer to eat raw fish in the form of sushi, sashimi, and so on. According to the Japanese, eating raw fish can make them feel better, look fresher, and have more energy.
In addition to tuna and salmon, there are other fish that are usually processed into sushi or sashimi. Some of them are halibut or flounder which have a flat body shape or known as hirame in Japanese restaurants.
Every year on June 18th is known as International Sushi Day. This memorial day just started in 2009.
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