Ten things you didn’t know about sushi

Ten things you didn’t know about sushi

El sushi It has been installed in gastronomy since years ago it became a fashionable dish in the main restaurants. There is a wide range within the generic name of Sushi, that combination of rice and fish, seafood or vegetables, served in small bites. As important as the combination in which salmon certainly takes the cake, Another fundamental feature of this dish is its rice seasoned with vinegar and it will be the way in which what will be called one variety and another is filled, thus finding: makis, uramakis, temakis o nigiris, Among others.

The 18 of June is celebrated the International Sushi Day, a dish that was first referenced in Japan in 718 in the Yōrō Code, a legal document from the Nara era. Today in Summum we reveal you with the help of Hung Fai, Chef Ambassador of the Norwegian Seafood Council, 10 curiosities that you surely did not know about the Japanese dish and we give you the keys to celebrate this day by tasting sushi in a different and exclusive way.

He was born in China and not in Japan

Sushi appeared in China around the XNUMXth century BC as a means of preserving fish in salt. This original form, very different from the one we know today, arrived in Japan in the XNUMXth century where it developed differently in each region. In principle, it was a mixture of rice and fish in a kind of marinade with rice vinegar and sake that was left to ferment. The rice was conducive to this fermentation, but then it was not eaten.

The salmon «Nama»

The salmon known as “Nama” is the only one used to make sushi in Japan. Nama means untouched by man and is the way the Japanese refer to Norwegian salmon. This lack of handling and guarantee of hygiene is one of the reasons why it is so appreciated for the preparation of sushi, along with its high quality.

Salmon sushi, the big favorite

Restaurants in which sushi is served through a conveyor belt are common in Japan, here the diners choose directly by hand those dishes they want to consume from a constantly moving belt that reaches all the tables from the kitchen, triumphs salmon sushi.

According to Maruha Nichiro, a renowned Japanese seafood company that produces the “Conveyor Belt Sushi Consumer Survey” every year in 2020 and for the ninth year in a row, salmon has been the favorite ingredient. Japanese consumers stated that among the frequently eaten ingredients, salmon (47,3%) came first, followed by lean tuna (Akami) (33,5%) and medium bull tuna (29,8%). ).

A Norwegian invention

In the 70s a Norwegian delegation, with the aim of expanding the market, looked for new countries to export. In 1985 the “Japan Project” arose to introduce more products in the Japanese country and in 1995 the commercialization of Norwegian salmon from aquaculture began in Japan. After these arduous beginnings, today salmon sushi has become a staple of sushi consumed around the world.

Nigiri and maki, the most popular

Sushi has multiple variations and there is a lot to choose from, but the most consumed among the Japanese are nigiri sushi and maki sushi. And if we talk about ingredients, among the wide variety of species that you can choose from when preparing sushi, tuna and salmon stand out.

El Wasabi

Contrary to what may be believed, wasabi paper is not only to enhance the flavor of sushi, but in its origins it fundamentally had an antiseptic role in the preservation of raw fish.

Rice, as important as fish

When it comes to making sushi at home, this is a point to take into account, since bad rice, a bad mixture or a bad cooking can spoil the sushi. Being mixed with vinegar, the rice serves a double function: it enhances the flavor and preserves the fish. Good Japanese masters take care of the entire rice process, from husking and washing to cooking. The result is perfect grains, almost transparent, shiny on the plate, that do not cake.

The importance of knives

Knives are the object most appreciated by a sushi master, who always carries his own with him and cares for them with care. Handling them skillfully requires a lot of work and learning time. The secret of cutting fish is that they are knives with a single edge, always perfectly sharp.

Long learning and a lot of technique

The way to prepare sushi, the importance of rice and knives, the hygienic measures to be adopted when working with raw fish. Behind good sushi there is a long and patient learning process with a good teacher and a lot of technique. It takes ten years to become a good sushi chef.

The importance of the experience

Despite its apparent simplicity, preparing sashimi correctly is the easiest and the most difficult at the same time. For this reason, in Japan chefs who prepare susi must have at least two years of experience before they are allowed to make sashimi.