I love it raw. Sushi and sashimi.

When I'm in the need for food that is clean and simple, my go-to is sushi. I am a self admitted sushi whore. I could eat it every day.  The picture on the left shows a selection of rolled sushi from a local restaurant called Tachibana.  We were there to celebrate my friend Valiant Ang's birthday. On that special occasion, we pigged out but truth be told, I go there quite often for Saturday for lunch with Valiant and his brother Soon, both of whom I travelled to Guatemala with.  In fact, we were all just there yesterday along with our colleague, Pepin, who has been craving for good Japanese food ever since he moved from Houston a year and a half ago.  Tachibana now has another fan!

As much as I love sushi, I salivate over good sashimi so our Saturday lunch usually begins with sashimi which comes with a small serving of salmon "bits and pieces" marinated in sesame oil served in a carved out bit of cucumber, a few pieces of seared tuna, rice, miso soup and salad.  Eveything on the plate is delicious but the salmon is the standout.  Simply put, it's luscious, it's silky soft and has a clean refreshing taste to it.  I could just die eating that salmon.  In fact, yesterday the salmon was so good that we ordered eight pieces to end our meal instead of dessert :-)  All this for $15.  How can you go wrong?

To say that I love to dine on sushi and sashimi would be an understatement so you can imagine just how excited I am to be going to Japan and it was a no-brainer to include a visit to the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo on the itinerary.  No surprise that some of the best places to devour raw fish are the restaurants around the market.  I've not worked out all the details of our time in Tsukiji but you can imagine it will include a meal of  fish :-)

As a foodie, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I know very little about sushi - couldn't tell you the different types if my life depended on it so time for some education.

First, a lesson in spelling.  In spelling the word "sushi"  the first s is replaced with z when a prefix is attached.  For example,it's not nigirisushi, it's nigirizushi.

Now for some history.

The origins of sushi date back to 7^th century China eventually making its way to Japan during the Heian Period.  Back then, fish was salted and wrapped in fermented rice as a way of preserving the fish.  After several months of storage, the  fermented rice was discarded and fish was eaten. This early form of sushi, referred to today as nare-zushi was a great source of protein.

During the Muromachi Period, a food shortage in Japan changed the way in which sushi was made.  Rather than throw the rice out, it was now eaten along with the fish.  Additionally, the fermentation process was shortened so the fish although still safe to eat, was a little on the raw side.  Because the fermentation process was shortened, the sushi had a slightly sour taste, which people loved.  As people began experimenting, they discovered that by making the rice with a little vinegar the same sour taste was produced and better yet, the fermentation time was dramatically reduced to one or two days. This new way of consuming fish, which was known as namanare was no longer a form of preservation but rather a new dish in Japanese cuisine.

Painting by Mary Ellen Johnson

During the Edo Period another third type of sushi was introduced, hayazushi.  Hayazushi was assembled so that both rice and fish could be consumed at the same time. It was the first time that rice was not being used for fermentation. Rice was now mixed with vinegar. Fish, vegetables and dried preserved foods would be added.  Hayazushi is still very popular today.

Towards the end of the Edo Period, sushi as we currently know today came into being.  During this time, mobile food stands became the dominant food service.  Believe it or not, sushi was invented by Hanaya Yohei as a form of fast food which could be eaten using using the fingers and it was commonly from mobile food stands as well as a snack in theatres.

Types of Sushi.

Nigirizushi ("hand-formed sushi") consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that the sushi chef presses into a small rectangular shape between the palms of the hands, usually with a bit of wasabi and a topping draped over it. Toppings are typically fish such as salmon, tuna or other seafood. Certain toppings are typically bound to the rice with a thin strip of nori, most commonly octopus (tako), freshwater eel (unagi), sea eel (anago), and sweet egg (tamago). When ordered separately, nigirizushi is generally served in pairs.

Gunkanmaki ("warship roll") is a special type of nigirizushi: an oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice that has a strip of "nori" wrapped around its perimeter to form a container.  The rice is topped with an ingredient that requires the nori to hold it in e.g., roe, sea urchin, quail egg.  I love the ones with the large salmon roe!

Makizushi ("rolled sushi") is a cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat. Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori and is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes a single roll order.  There's a large variety of makizushi....something to suit every palate.

A variation of makizushi, futomaki ("thick, large or fat rolls") is a large cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. A typical futomaki is three or four centimeters (1.5 in) in diameter. They are often made with two or three fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. Futomaki is often vegetarian, but may include non-vegetarian toppings such as tiny fish roe and chopped tuna.

Another variation of makizushi is hosomaki ("thin rolls") which is a small cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside. A typical hosomaki has a diameter of about two centimeters (0.75 in). They generally contain only one filling, often tuna or cucumber.  The tuna version is known as tekkamaki.  I could easily devour a dozen of these and I especially love the spicy tuna version. The cucumber version which is known as kappamaki is suppose to be eaten as a palate cleanser, between pieces of fish sushi.

Temaki ("hand rolls") is a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. For optimal taste and texture, Temaki must be eaten quickly after being made because the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness and becomes somewhat difficult to bite.  These are the sorts of rolls that you ask the sushi chef to just go ahead and put in whatever he wants and you can never go wrong!

Uramaki ("inside-out rolls") is a medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings. Uramaki differs from other makimono because the rice is on the outside and the nori inside. The filling is in the center surrounded by nori, then a layer of rice, and an outer coating of some other ingredients such as roe or toasted sesame seeds.  Uramaki is more popular in western countries because of people's aversion to seaweed whereas in Japan, it's less popular because it's a bit messy to hold the sticky rice covered pieces with one's fingers.

Inarizushi is a pouch of fried tofu filled with usually just sushi rice.

And last but not least, there is chirashizushi ("scattered sushi") which is a bowl of sushi rice served with cooked and uncooked ingredients mixed in.

Okay, I was going to end this posting by writing about how sushi has invaded Japanese pop culture like this sushi shaped USB flash drive (cute, huh?) but that will have to be another posting. All these pictures are making me drool and fueling a craving for raw salmon sashimi.  Japan and Tsukiji can't come soon enough but until then, I have lunches at Tachibana to satisfy my need for sushi and sashimi!