Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish that has gained wide popularity around the world since the early 1980s. It is famous for its unusual taste and a huge variety of interpretations of the preparation. And now it’s worth studying the history of sushi, as well as touching upon the features of cooking this dish.
Title
I would like to start with it. In general, dictionaries usually come up with two options - “sushi” and “sushi”. The first is the most common. It is borrowed from the English language. Everyone got used to it, but among Japanese, this pronunciation variant causes a sharp rejection. Because the "sushi" still more closely matches Japanese phonology.
Why is this version of pronunciation pronounced? Because the fashion for the dish came not from Japan, oddly enough, but from the West.
Occurrence
The history of sushi began in South Asia many centuries ago. The first versions of this dish appeared in the sixth century. Then the Asians began to use boiled risk in order to cook and preserve fish.
How was this done? Purified and then cut into pieces fish was sprinkled with salt, and then mixed with rice. Then the resulting mass was placed under a heavy stone press. The Japanese waited several weeks, and then replaced the massive structure with a lid.
Then for several months there was a process of lactic acid fermentation. It was thanks to him that the fish remained usable for a whole year.
Of course, rice was turning into an unpleasantly smelling mass, similar to glue. It was rarely used to cook fish repeatedly, usually thrown away.
Around the seventh century, through Thailand and China, this method became popular in Japan.
Spread
Continuing to talk about the history of the occurrence of land, it is necessary to make a reservation that the tradition of using pickled or sauerkraut fish for food is rooted. Even today, in the countries of South Asia they use dishes based on them.
This is worth knowing, since the Chinese character, which means sushi, translates as "pickled fish." However, the tradition of cooking in China itself has already been lost. Nowadays, they are also preparing narezushi in Japan.
By the way, about the varieties. Narezushi is one of the oldest types of land. Purified fish, which is used in their preparation, is first salted for 10-30 days, and then washed with water and transferred to rice. This mixture is sealed with otosibut and tsukemonoisi. When water appears on the surface, it is removed. After 6 months, the fish is used.
Technology development
Studying the history of sushi, it must be said that the option that is stronger than the previous ones resembles the modern one appeared in the XVII century. It was a rice dish that included boiled rice, malt, as well as vegetables and seafood. At the same time, they began to use special vinegar. It was added to rice in order to exclude the fermentation process and reduce the time it took to prepare sushi.
A new milestone in the history of land took place in the 19th century. Then Ehei Hanai, a famous chef from Tokyo, refused to use pickled fish. It was he who decided to serve it raw. It was incredible - the cooking time was reduced to a few minutes.
Cooking options
A new type of sushi instantly became popular. Two cooking styles immediately appeared.
The first was called Kansai, in honor of the city of Osaka. And the second is Edo. That is what Tokyo was called until 1868.
Numerous restaurants and eateries began to appear, special rice appeared in stores, which was bought by people who wanted to make sushi on their own.
The last fundamentally important stage in the entire history of land was the period that fell on the 1980s. Then invented machines designed for the manufacture of this dish. They were called sushi robots.
One line of such machines, each of which performs either one or several operations, can replace several dozen cooks. Moreover, all issues of sanitation, hygiene and technology immediately cease to depend on the human factor.
Discussing everything about land and a brief history of their occurrence, we must make a reservation that the use of such robots is only expanding in our time. Although opinions about the fact that a person must cook a dish are held by a huge number of people. Therefore, the expansion of the use of automata is restrained.
Varieties
They should also be told about, since we are talking about the history of the appearance of classical and dark land. There are such varieties:
- Nigirizushi. The most popular type. It looks like an oblong rice ball with a thin layer of filling that covers it. Sometimes they tie in the middle with a strip of nori.
- Gunkan Maki. Oval pressed rice wrapped in nori looks like a ship. It is usually stuffed with natto (fermented soybeans), caviar or pasta salad.
- Makizushi. They are made using a bamboo mat. They have a cylindrical shape, twisted in a nori, a little less - in an omelet. They are divided into 6 or 8 pieces. It is makizushi that is also called rolls.
- Futomaki. Sushi large cylindrical. Inside, as a rule, 2-3 types of filling, combined in color and taste.
- Hosomaki. Small rolls with nori out. They are made with only one filling.
- Temakizushi. Sushi in the form of a cone with nori out. Ingredients "get enough sleep" from the wide end. They can reach a length of 10 cm. Eat with your fingers, because chopsticks are uncomfortable.
- Uramaki. Medium-sized rolls stuffed with two kinds (or more). A feature of this species is the rice located outside. Nori inside. And the filling is in the middle, surrounded by an algal leaf. Rice is usually dipped in dried tuna flakes, caviar or fried sesame.
- Oshizushi. Sushi looks like whetstones. They are made with the help of osibako - a wooden device. The filling is laid on its bottom, then it is covered with rice, and is compressed to obtain a block. Then they cut it.
- Inarizushi. This is a bag that is only filled with rice. It is made from deep-fried tofu. Rarely is it made from dried pumpkin or a thin omelet.
- Tirasizushi. It looks very unusual - this is a plate of rice, on top of which the filling is laid out. Sometimes this type of sushi is called barazushi. There are two serving options: edomae tirasizushi (raw filling nicely laid out on top), and homokuzushi (raw or prepared ingredients mixed in rice).
As you can see, there are quite a few varieties of sushi. The stories mentioned above are also known to narezushi, but they have already been mentioned. And now, in fact, it is rarely where you can meet a product with salted or pickled fish. Unless in some authentic Japanese institutions.
What rice is needed?
Much has been said above about the types and history of Japanese sushi. Now you can delve into the topic regarding the preparation of this interesting dish. And the most important thing in it is rice.
In no case is not suitable for making sushi the one that is used for porridge or pilaf. Also, long-grain and steamed are not suitable. And the taste will not be the same, and rolls will not work.
Rice should be large, solid and round. You can choose any variety, most importantly, that the grains have a high percentage of gluten. Why is it important? Because in this case, the finished sushi will turn out to be sufficiently sticky and dense and hold its shape. At the same time, such rice does not remain on the teeth, and still does not stick to the hands during cooking.
Cereal preparation
Before proceeding to the study of the recipe for traditional Japanese sushi, it is necessary to talk about how to process white grains. Fortunately, there are no problems with the choice in our time. In each supermarket you can find a package that says "Rice for sushi."
But the choice is only half the battle. Then you need to prepare the grits. First you have to sort out the grains, throwing away all the unfit. Then rinse thoroughly, changing the water several times. By the way, they use only cold.
If you want to meet the standards, then you need to change the water at least 7 times. This is what cooks in Japan do. They say that the better the cereal is washed, the better the sushi.
However, rice is of different quality, and therefore it must be washed until the water is completely clean and transparent.
By the way, grains that after this procedure remained on the surface of the water, but did not sink to the bottom, will have to be thrown away. The Japanese say that such grains are not suitable for food.
Rice cooking
Talking about the history of various types of sushi and the features of their preparation, it should be noted that the selection and washing of rice is far from all the steps that must be followed exactly with the recommendations described. Another cereal must be properly cooked.
It is best to put it in a cast-iron cauldron. A pan with a bottom and thick walls will do. You need to cook rice in a ratio of 1: 1 with cold water over medium heat. As soon as the contents boil, you need to reduce the power and cover the container with a lid. You will still need to cook for 15 minutes, without stirring.
The lid must not be lifted, otherwise all ethers and useful substances will simply disappear along with the steam. By the way, that is why in the process of preparing the cereal is not mixed. Also, it can not be checked for readiness with a spoon. It is impossible to digest rice - grains will lose their shape, stick to the walls and bottom.
When it is ready, you do not need to immediately transfer the mass from the pan. Cooks leave the cereal for 12-14 minutes - during this time, steam with the rest of the water will be absorbed into it.
Cooking
As mentioned earlier, in a discussion of the history of sushi and rolls, rice vinegar is traditionally added to cereals. For 500 grams of grains, it needs about 120 ml. It must first be diluted with sugar (85 g) and salt (15 g), and then, when it takes 12-14 minutes after the rice is cooked, pour it in the resulting mass and knead with a wooden spatula. Need 3-4 times every 5 minutes. The cereal will not stick together, it will be very tasty.
Then take a bamboo mat, cover with cling film and a little grease with vegetable oil. Lay the nori with the rough side up. A small amount of rice will need to be distributed on the algae layer, in no case crushing it. On top of the nori, it is necessary to leave 1 centimeter without cereals.
Then lay out the filling and wrap the roll inward, pressing lightly. The edge of the nori that was left without rice should be slightly moistened with water. So it will be convenient to “glue” the roll. Then you will need to sharpen the knife very sharply and, wetting it each time with water, cut the resulting roll into pieces.
What to put inside?
Having studied the history of the appearance of sushi and rolls, it was possible to understand that in addition to rice, the dish also has fish and vegetables. The filling can be combined to your taste. Here are the most popular and well-combined ingredients:
- Philadelphia cream cheese, fresh cucumbers and red fish.
- Shrimp, avocado and mayonnaise.
- Chicken eggs and smoked eel.
- Crab meat, avocado, Japanese mayonnaise.
- Mussel meat (usually not combined with anything).
However, it is difficult to single out any standards. Usually people just put what they like - starting with smoked chicken, sausage and bacon, ending with mushrooms, zucchini and carrots.
The main thing is to put the filling correctly on the rice, which the nori sheet is covered with. The photo shows how to arrange the ingredients.
Recommendations
If you study the reviews left about the process of making sushi, then you can find in them a lot of life hacks shared by home cooks. Here are some of them:
- Be sure to take fish cold. Hands are also desirable to cool, you can even dip in ice.
- Components for nigiri must be cut into thin slices. And for rolls - with sticks.
- For slicing, be sure to use a long sharp knife. It is better to moisten it in rice vinegar diluted with water. So the ingredients will not stick.
- It is worth trying to make not an ordinary omelet, but sweet. This is elementary: add brown sugar (2 tsp), 1 tsp to 2 beaten eggs. soy sauce and a pinch of salt with pepper. Fry in a pan with butter in the form of thin pancakes.
And most importantly - you need to experiment. You can make rolls in an omelet, in bacon, in eel, open, sweet. Traditional sushi is delicious, but one should not forget that culinary is an ideal area for improvisation.