So… What is Sushi???Posted on October 17th, 2006 · Post a comment »
Sushi Advice
Sushi [soo-shee] - cold boiled rice moistened with rice vinegar, usually shaped into bite-size pieces and topped with raw seafood (nigiri-zushi) or formed into a long seaweed-wrapped roll, often around strips of vegetable or raw fish, and sliced into bite-size pieces (maki-zushi). (Dictionary.com)When people think of the Japanese culture, sushi often automatically comes to mind, and for good reason. Sushi began as a method for preserving fish in Japan. Rice was used in the fermentation process, as both fish and rice are in abundant supply in Japan. Over the years, the preparation changed and evolved into the sushi we know today, which looks and tastes much better and uses many ingredients aside from fish. Now, sushi is a very popular dish which is often served as a quick, cheap meal at stands all over Japan.
In the United States, sushi can range from cheaper, typical types such as the California roll and Inari-zushi, to more expensive types seen at fusion restaurants and nicer restaurants all across America. Many people shy away from the thought of eating raw fish, but most come back for more when they find that not only is most sushi made from ingredients other than raw fish, but that it is actually delicious!
I personally think sushi is wonderful - a little bite of heaven. Many of the recipes I provide won’t be completely traditional, but hey… it’s still yummy!
So if you’ve never had sushi, go out and try some! I promise you can find some type you like 
. And when you do decide you love sushi, come back and try making some with me!
Sources:
“sushi.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. 07 Sep. 2006.
Nice post! I am from Brazil and sushi is quite popular here too.
The recipes from here have also been adapted because there are plenty different fish here that are not found in Japan’s coast, and some of those are pretty expensive.
Regards,
Ulysses
Hello! I’m from Brazil too. I saw once, in a TV program about sushi, a sushiman from Japan saying that Brazil has something good to contribute to sushi: green lemons.
There are no green lemons in Japan, so they use vinegar. Because there _are_ green lemons on Brazil (I think they’re called Meyer lemons in USA), you can use them instead, making a more sofisticated sushi.
Try it someday!
Interesting! Thanks Nanda, I will definitely look into that! Do you replace the rice vinegar in the sumeshi with green lemon juice?
Yes, Allison… If I remember correctly, the Itamae replaced all vinegar for green (acid) lemons. =)
Ops… correction: green lemon juice (just squeeze the green lemons - Meyer lemons).
Nanda - I just might have to try that! That sounds very interesting!
ok allison this may sound stupid but i just can’t get a handle on how to roll the maki sushi? How do you roll it without getting the mat stuck underneath? Can you tell im new to this but sooooo willing and wanting to try.
Niki, that doesn’t sound stupid at all! You can try wrapping the rolling mat in plastic wrap, and also take a look at my post about rolling maki sushi to see if either of those help you. If you still have questions, feel free to ask! (No question is stupid, I promise!) I’m really glad to hear that you are so enthusiastic about learning to roll sushi!
Quick question: Is sushi served cold, hot, or room temp? Maybe it varies from recipe to recipe? Thanks!
It varies. Those with raw fish are typically cold, so the fish doesn’t go bad, while those that are tempura fried are usually warm. It generally depends on what ingredients are being used in the sushi, since some need to stay cold and others are better warm or hot.
wow! i was just checking out your site. where do you get all those ingredients!? the recipes all look so good..im really currous as to what i’d find sitting in your fridge! hehe..
(anyway stumbled on to your site while i was looking for instructions how to make good sushi rice–something im really having difficulty with.)