SUSHI: The Story

Salmon, tuna, yellowtail, shrimp, octopus, mackerel, eel, roe. All the wonderful sea goods that remind us of sushi. I'm personally not a huge fan of raw fish, but who it certainly is difficult to resist the beckoning of smoked salmon. It has taken many years for sushi to develop to what we know it as today. Even now it is an art form that continues to evolve.

Sushi has been around for a very long period of time. According to a fourth century Chinese dictionary, cooked rice was used to stuff fish cavities, thus preserving the fish. As this method hit the coast, the Japanese changed the traveling food to include seaweed (Nori), raw fish, and rice vinegar was used to skip the fermentation process. 

Sushi Here:

Sushi in the U.S. have distinctive differences to sushi in Japan. In general, American-style sushi is large. The pieces are often too big to eat in one bite and the rice is made a bit sweeter.  It has evolved with a different style of presentation, sauces, and combination of ingredients. The result? Unique rolls we have grown accustomed to here, like Dragon Roll and Sexy Roll. 

This is just an extremely brief look into the history of sushi. To learn more, I recommend The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice by Trevor Corson.

I hope you enjoyed this looksie into one of my favorite foods! I love the eel cucumber roll. What's your favorite?