You love Japanese Food and Sushi?

[Alchemist007]

I like sushi as in vinegary rice (what sushi really means), I don't eat seafood or any meat for that matter.

[Flying Dagger]

I prefer sashimi>sushi. Sushi tends to be rather filling given the attached rice. To fill the rest of my stomach I usually order some sort of udon.

When I was living elsewhere I had this grey-ish looking thin noodle served cold with a special sauce. Do no know the proper name for it since I do not read jap.

Eel rice is a rather cheap and popular candidate for packed lunch.

[Kyuu]

Unfortunately, Japanese food ain't cheap either.

[AnimeFangirl]

I love sushi and tempura, but I don't like most other Japanese dishes. They're always putting sugar and mirin in things that don't need to be sweetened. Yurggh, tamagoyaki. Urggh, nikujaga. And I will never understand their fondness of raw eggs on rice.

So I didn't pick either poll option.

[Tri-ring]

Ok since the series of earthquake related event had died down, I might as well post what I had posted earlier, sushi.

Sushi a very popular Japanese dish that made it's name in the global stage with a strip of fish and a small rice ball started as the fast food of the Edo era named Nigiri sushi or Edo-mae sushi sometime around the Bunka Nenkan (1804-1817) the original fast food of Japan.
Edo mae was actually a local dish using ingredients that was caught in the bay of Tokyo and all were pre-prepared in some way so it will not spoil so they can be served at stalls.
Most famous is Hikari mono, the Blue-backed fish such as kohada which is first salted then marinaded in a vinegar solution.

Kohada no Nigiri

Other methods were Zuke or marinaded in a soy-sauce solution, boiled, Kobujime a method to slight dehydrate the fish by wrapping in dry kelp and/or cooked.

The word sushi was derived from narezushi, an old method to preserve fish by fermenting them through Lactic acid fermentation. This method can be traced back to the Yayoi period after the start of cultivation of rice in Japan.
Narezushi uses rice to start the fermentation process.
Here are some narezushi dishes that can be found today.


Nare Zushi


Kabura zushi


Funa zushi

The Narezushi culture has a strong root in the western Japan and that is where a transition is made in the history of Sushi.
Ok for fun, here is a pop quiz, what other Blue-backed fish can you think of that are traditionally served as nigiri zushi?
Try answering them in their original Japanese names.

Next time I will post another history of sushi.

[AnimeToonzaiFan182]

I eat Sushi every day! I'm going to try some sashimi sometime soon!

[Endless Soul]

I love most kinds of Japanese food. Fortunately there are several sushi places around my work to choose from. At home when I'm in the mood for noodles I'll make some udon.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

I like sushi as in vinegary rice (what sushi really means), I don't eat seafood or any meat for that matter.

Sushi was originally (historically) fermented fish+rice dish. Not sure where you got your definition from.

I'd recommend you try Miso, another delicious Japanese food, if you haven't already. It will provide you with a source of vitamin B12. Unless you're already supplementing with it you're probably deficient since it's usually only found in animal based foods.

[Alchemist007]

I got it from my Japanese teacher. I trust her above all. It may be paired with fish but that's not the basis of what is sushi.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

I got it from my Japanese teacher. I trust her above all. It may be paired with fish but that's not the basis of what is sushi.

The vinegar rice thing is primarily an invention of the Edo period. The 'original' sushi of fermented rice and fish is potentially neolithic and predates Japanese history (earliest evidence of the dish is actually in Southeast Asia). Fermentation was common in the ancient period as a method of food preservation, and that original fermented dish entered into Japanese cuisine and evolved into the myriad forms of today.

Perhaps your teacher was referring to "modern sushi," the type sold in carts since the 19th century. Either way, that dish can still trace its origin to the ancient fermented one.

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

The vinegar rice thing is primarily an invention of the Edo period. The 'original' sushi of fermented rice and fish is potentially neolithic and predates Japanese history (earliest evidence of the dish is actually in Southeast Asia). Fermentation was common in the ancient period as a method of food preservation, and that original fermented dish entered into Japanese cuisine and evolved into the myriad forms of today.

Perhaps your teacher was referring to "modern sushi," the type sold in carts since the 19th century. Either way, that dish can still trace its origin to the ancient fermented one.

Actually vinegar was added to emulate the fermented fish taste since I had wrote before that Nare-sushi was through a Lactic acid fermentation which puts out a sourly pungent taste.

That is why the edo-mae Sushi is called sushi. It uses rice and fish and has a sourly taste to it.

[Alchemist007]

Yeah I think that's more along the lines of what my teacher had said (this was a couple years ago).

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Tri-ring

Ok for fun, here is a pop quiz, what other Blue-backed fish can you think of that are traditionally served as nigiri zushi?
Try answering them in their original Japanese names.

Are you talking about Sanma(秋刀魚), Konoshiro (鰶), Aji(鯵), Iwashi(鰯), and Tobiko(鰩)? The question is strange since Aozakana(青魚) technically includes them.

My favorite is Otoro(大とろ), except when I can get my hands on Kama(かま).



As for the origins of traditional sushi...... Not going into that particular mine field.

[Tri-ring]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

Are you talking about Sanma(秋刀魚), Konoshiro (鰶), Aji(鯵), Iwashi(鰯), and Tobiko(鰩)? The question is strange since Aozakana(青魚) technically includes them.

My favorite is Otoro(大とろ), except when I can get my hands on Kama(かま).



As for the origins of traditional sushi...... Not going into that particular mine field.

Close, traditional edo-mae is considered any fish that could be caught from Tokyo bay, so aji(鯵), Iwashi(鰯), sanma(秋刀魚), Konoshiro(鮗) do count Tobiuo(飛魚) are not caught in the bay.
One point is that they have to last without refrigeration so although Iwashi is now ate as sushi these day most people would not consider it edo-mae. There is an old saying, "Iwashi no iki gusare(鰯の生き腐れ)" meaning Iwashi's freshness is very short lived.
Here are some pictures of hikarimono;


Kohada


Shime saba


Aji


Sayori

Sanma is also not widely ate as sushi and are usually grilled and ate with grated daikon for it's rich fatty taste. Another aozeno sakana not usually ate as sushi would be Katsuo both are considered a seasonal fish and were valued greatly during the short period they were caught.

Now we talked about the origin of Sushi coming from Narezushi or fermented fish with rice that had a strong root in the western Japan.
From here sushi had evolved not just as a way to preserve food but also to enjoy it's taste. Dodomese originating around Okayama in the 15~16th century which mixes various ingredients into one dish this eventually evolved into what is now know as Gomoku chirashi or Chirashi Zushi.


Chirashi-zushi

Another famous sushi is developed in Nara using pickled persimmon leaves as wrapper with a slice of fish and rice which was able to be preserved for 1~2 days.
This later became Bozushi which is still ate to day.


Saba no Bozushi
These are wrapped with kelp to add flavor and keep them fresh.
Another interesting point is that instead of wasabi, they used karashi or mustard.

These pressed sushi eventually turned into hakozushi and futomaki or makizushi.


Hakozushi


Futomaki

Combining the concept of dodomese of using various ingredients and the compression technique.
At this point around the start of the 17th century vinegar was also added so people would not need to wait for the fish to ferment to obtain the pungent acidic flavor.

Ok here is another POP quiz, although not many people know about it but there is an order in the types of sushi people should follow to enjoy fully the taste of each sushi, can you name them and extra if you can explain why the order should be followed.

[RandomGuy]

Originally Posted by Flying Dagger

When I was living elsewhere I had this grey-ish looking thin noodle served cold with a special sauce. Do no know the proper name for it since I do not read Japanese.

The noodles are soba (made of buckwheat), and the specific style of preparation is known as zaru-soba. Goes well with tempura in particular.

[LMF]

I do like sushi and all but I'm eat them at a buffet.