The name sushi originates from rice marinated with vinegar and salt. A long time ago this rice was used to preserve food, so that it stayed fresh in the humid and hot climate of Japan. The initial form of sushi was oshi-zushi, that is to say vegetables and fish put into a wooden box together with brined rice. Sushi has been served in this form until today. With time a wider variety of additional ingredients started to be used, like fish, vegetables and mushrooms. An inseparable addition to sushi is wasabi, green horseradish that grows in mountain stream valleys in Japan.
This ingredient is under strict protection, and so the horseradish used for the preparation of sushi is cultivated on special farms.
Types of sushi
- Nigri
- Maki
- Temaki
- Gunkanmaki
- Chirashi zushi
A ball of rice, usually weighing 8-15 grams, with a piece of fish, omelette, vegetables or meat. In Japan, it is often served with cheese or charcuterie.
In Japanese maki means "rolled". So, rather unsurprisingly, this is rice rolled with a bamboo mat (makisu) and served with various additions. Once sliced, artistically prepared maki can take on the shape of signs or drawings.
Temaki means "hand" and so this maki is hand rolled without using makisu. As the ingredients may be very different, the final effect depends on the imagination of the cook.
Rice balls wrapped in seaweed. They look like a submarine hulk loaded with such ingredients as caviar or chopped fish.
Rice served on a flat plate, with a topping of fish, vegetable, mushrooms or fresh seaweed sashimi.