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What is Sushi?                                               >>Find Sushi Restaurants                                           

You have probably heard of it, maybe even eaten it, but what exactly is sushi? Sushi is the most popular Japanese cuisine; a perfect combination of vinegared rice, raw fish, and vegetables. A common mistake made by foreigners is to think that whenever they are eating raw fish they are eating sushi, this not true. Raw fish by itself is called sashimi, not sushi.

To see just how much the Japanese love sushi, you should look at how they write it. In kanji (Japanese characters), sushi can be written in two different ways: "鮨" and "寿司." The first way is a combination of the two characters "fish" and "delicious." While sushi is the most famous culinary export of Japan, the sushi you find in Japan will probably a little different than what you get at home. For one thing, there are no California rolls in Japan, and the sushi definitely tastes better.
                                                                                                                            

Varieties of Sushi

Sushi started with nare-sushi, but since then there has sprung up countless variations and varieties of sushi as the process has been refined and the art of preservation has developed. Here we will introduce some of the more popular varieties.

Nigiri Sushi

Nowadays, when you ask for sushi, you will receive Nigiri sushi because it is by far the most popular. Nigiri sushi consists of a bite sized amount of sushi with the fish or shellfish placed on top. However, for the best taste there are two variables that need to be considered: freshness and the skill of the chef. Fresh fish and a highly skilled chef will be ideal, but it is said that freshness is more important. In fact, the Japanese even have a ratio between the two, saying that freshness has a 7 to 3 advantage over the skill of the chef. But how do you measure the skill? The skill is in how the rice is prepared, whether it is too hard, too soft, or solid enough. Typically, wasabi is placed between the rice and seafood to give the sushi a spicier taste. If you don't want spicy sushi, all you have to say is “sabinuki kudasai” and you will have sushi without wasabi.

Maki Sushi (Rolled Sushi)

Maki sushi has the seafood placed inside the seaweed and rice. Typically, raw fish, cucumbers, and fried eggs are used.

Chirashi Sushi

Chirashi sushi is a beautiful looking sushi that is commonly eaten at times of celebration because it has a very pleasing look and does not require any technical ability to make so anyone can make it at home. All chirashi sushi is simply raw fish and sliced vegetables combined put on rice.

 

Inari Sushi

Inari sushi might look weird but is quite tasty. Created at the Shinto temple Toyokawa Inari, inari sushi is deep-fried tofu wrapped around rice.
 

Temaki Sushi

Temaki sushi is a long conical shaped sushi that has a lot of seaweed wrapped around rice and seafood. Temaki is rarely seen at restaurants, but instead is more common at house parties. Temaki can easily be bought at a convenience store in Japan.
                                                                                                                          

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Helpful terminology at a sushi restaurant

When you go to a sushi restaurant in Japan, the waiter will be impressed if you know these few simple words:

Agari (green tea)

Agari comes from an old expression meaning “finish” and is used for tea because it is said that the tea cleanses the sushi taste out of your mouth after eating it.

  Oaiso (check)

Aiso means courtesy or affable and when the O prefix is added to the front it denotes a level of politeness. The word is used because when traditionally, sushi restaurants did not have their prices displayed because they were always changing with the market price of the fish, so when customers received their check, they would lose their oaiso (affable attitude).

 Gari (sliced vinegary ginger with a sweet taste)

Gari is an onomatopoeic word because when you eat gari it makes a “gari, gari” sound. It is used to get rid of the taste of each fish so you eat it inbetween eating sushi with a different fish. Gari is free so feel free to eat as much or as little as you want.

 Gun kan (Vinegared rice rolled vertically with a dried layer of seaweed)

Gun kan is a certain type of sushi that has seafood on top of it that easily comes apart like salmon eggs or a sea urchin.

Sushi Etiquette                                                                                        >>Find Sushi Restaurants

How to Eat Sushi

There are two simple ways to eat sushi: use chopsticks or your hand. People typically will use which ever method they want, but it is more polite to use chopsticks. Don't even think about using a fork or spoon because most likely the restaurant won't have them.

Order of eating sushi

There are several types of fish available at a sushi restaurant and so there is a specific way you should eat it: light to dark. You can eat your sushi however you like but it is recommended that you start with the light fish because they don't have as strong a taste as the darker fish. By eating the darker fish first, their taste will linger in your mouth when you eat the lighter sushi. Drink tea or eat gari in between different types of sushi to refresh your palette.

Don't wear strong perfume

Sushi has a delicate smell and wearing excessive amounts of perfume will mask that smell and make your experience less enjoyable.

Don't return your unused plate to the conveyer belt at a conveyer belt restaurant

Sometimes foreigners get too excited at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant and take several plates at once; this is not a good idea. No one wants to eat something that you already had in front of you. Take one plate at a time and if there isn't what you want on the conveyor belt, just ask the chef for what you want.
                                                                                                                          

Types of sushi restaurants

Typical sushi restaurant in Tokyo

At a typical sushi restaurant, you will normally have two options of where to sit, at the counter or at a table. We recommend the counter so you watch the chef in action and ask him questions. The chefs are normally quite nice and always willing to talk to customers and answer questions so chat away.

When you order at a sushi restaurant, with the exception of chirashi sushi, sushi comes in sets of two. For example, if you order “toro” then you will receive two pieces of toro. Sometimes you will have a sheet in which to write down the number of pieces you want, but in case there is not, just expect two pieces. If you can't decide on what to order, just say “Omakase” which means that the chef will choose for you. All you need to do is let them know your budget so they can accommodate you accordingly. The board that your sushi is served on is called a geta and looks like the traditional sandals you might see around the town.

Conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Tokyo

The Japanese like to incorporate all sorts of technology into their daily lives and the conveyor sushi belt restaurant is an example of this. People like to go to these sorts of places because you just pick up whatever looks good to you. They don't have waiters to order from so just take what you want. Also, the price is very easy to understand. Each plate is a certain color that represents its price. For example, a red plate will cost 200 yen and a green plate 300 yen. These restaurants are perfect for someone who does not know what kind of sushi they like because it allows you them to see the food before they decide to eat it. Also, you don't need to know any of the names of the sushi.

  

Delivery

In Tokyo, there are some places where you can order sushi delivered to your doorstep. Some places are run through a kiosk where you place your order and others are ones you simply call. The kiosks are not necessarily delivery but more of take home sushi.

Sushi Chefs-Only men?                                                                          >>Find Sushi Restaurants

Thinking about an exciting career as a sushi chef? If you are a woman, the chances of you becoming one now are very low. Women in Japan are empowered and closing in on equality in all aspects of like, but becoming a sushi chef is not one of the areas. Throughout the history of sushi restaurants, it has been men that are the chefs and this is because the Japanese believe that men have a lower body temperature and so they won't change the temperature of the rice or fish as much as a women. The Japanese also believe that since the physical condition of women changes so much during menstruation that they are unable to grasp the delicate changes in sushi as well as men can.

Doesn't make a lot of sense does it? Well it is more because of cultural reasons than anything else that it is only men who are sushi chefs. Beginning with Yohei Hanaya, the man who created the first sushi restaurant, sushi chefs have always been men and it does not show any signs of changing. This sort of thinking follows the Japanese belief that "men work out and women protect the home."

The process of becoming a sushi chef is not easy, nor is it a short one. It takes about three years to learn how to cook the gingered rice and eight years to learn how to make sushi. Learning how to pick out the freshest seafood at the fish markets, like Tsukiji, is one of the most important and difficult tasks of the sushi chef. During the training, the chef must overcome both rigorous mental and physical obstacles. It is also not uncommon for the chefs to live in the shop they work at.

History                                                                                                      

Sushi came to Japan about 10,000 years ago along with rice cultivation from Southeastern Asia. When it came to Japan, it was in the form of nare-sushi, a fermented food that has unique nutritional properties. However, nare-sushi would take months to ferment and this did not suit the Japanese taste. So, around the 15th century, the modern sushi took shape by adding vinegar to the rice to help it keep its shape and add taste and then the rest is just history.

As the 17th century dawned, Yohei Hanaya, the owner of Yohei Sushi, invented nigiri-sushi and served it at is restaurant in Edo (present day Tokyo). Nigiri-sushi became very popular among the people of Edo, but what was it. It was a sushi that was made from a Maguro (type of fish) and served Zuke style (a soy based seasoning).

After World War II, as the Japanese economy began to grow and they began to spread their culture, more and more sushi restaurants appeared outside of Japan. Sushi is becoming very popular at sushi bars across the globe partly for its great taste and because it is a low fat food. However, as Japanese restaurants have proliferated throughout the globe, many of them are being run by those who are not Japanese and created dishes that are not real Japanese food. As such, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan announced that it will launch a new policy called "Recommendation of Japanese Restaurants Outside Japan." The main goal of this initiative is make the Japanese culture and food popular overseas in ways that are actually Japanese. But, some of the mass media has labeled this as Japan trying to prevent a new food culture from forming and dubbed them as the "Sushi Police."
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