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Unlike the popular belief of being a raw fish fancy dish, the Japanese cuisine refers to sushi as a vinegared rice with toppings of fish, vegetables, meats, and so on. In this post lets unravel the mystery of one of the most famous food in the world "Sushi" with Chef Jajo as she helps you know your favorite sushi a little better. While dining at Mix@36 or Seasonal Tastes for the delectably tempting Dim Sum & Sushi Fest until March 31, 2012, you may know as much as the chef who assembles your unlimited platter.
Origin - The original sushi didn't come from Japan, but it made its way there through China from South East Asia. Literal meaning of the word sushi is "sour tasting" however it isn't grammatically used any more. The concept originated in South East Asia by the preservation and fermentation of fish with salt and rice. The science behind the fermentation of fish in rice is that the vinegar produced from the fermenting rice breaks the fish down into amino acids. Amino acids broken down from the protein are easily digested. This results in one of the five basic tastes, called umami in Japanese. The oldest form of sushi in Japan, Narezushi still very closely resembles this process. In Japan, Narezushi evolved into Oshizushi and ultimately Edomae nigirizushi, which is what the world today knows as "sushi". Originally, when the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only the fish was consumed and the fermented rice was discarded. The strong-tasting and -smelling funazushi, a kind of narezushi made near Lake Biwa in Japan, resembles the traditional fermented dish. During the Muromachi period (1336–1573) of Japan, vinegar was added to the mixture for better taste and preservation. The vinegar accentuated the rice's sourness, and was known to increase its life span, allowing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned.
Art & Types of Sushi - As an assembly sushi is an intricate of culinary arts and has many types. The one being rolled in a dried and pressed layer of seaweed or alga or nori is called as makizushi or rolls. The sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice called nigirizushi; toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inarizushi; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashi-zushi. The variety in sushi arises from the different fillings and toppings, condiments, and the way these ingredients are put together. The same ingredients may be assembled in a traditional or a contemporary way, creating a very different final result. The types of sushi rolls typically found in the west are rarely found in Japan. This is typically thought of as an invention to suit the American palate. The increasing popularity of sushi in North America, as well as around the world, has resulted in numerous kinds of uramaki and regional off-shoots being created, such as the California roll, the B.C. roll (grilled salmon skin), and the Philadelphia roll (cream cheese). More about the types of sushi would be discussed in the following posts.
Ingredients - The ingredients that go into making of the sushi are very basic and can be differentiated whether its a topping or a filling that will determine the type of sushi. Rice is the most common of ingredients as is vinegar.
Sushi Rice - The essential quality is its stickiness. Rice that is too sticky has a mushy texture; if not sticky enough, it feels dry. It is a white, short-grained, Japanese rice mixed with a dressing made of rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and occasionally kombu & sake. It is usually cooled to room temperature before being used for a filling in a sushi.
Fish - For culinary, sanitary, and aesthetic reasons, fish eaten raw must be fresher and of higher quality than fish which is cooked. The most common fish used in sushi are tuna (toro), snapper, amberjack, salmon (sake), mackrel (saba), yellowtail, fresh water eel (unagi). Of course the most valuable ingredient is the fatty cut of tuna i.e. toro. More often the variety of tuna is blue fin. Aburi style refers to nigiri sushi where the fish is partially grilled (topside) and partially raw. Most nigiri sushi will be completely raw.
Seafood - The most popular seafood ingredients that sushi is known for is baby octopus, squid, shrimp, crab, sea urchin and clam. One won't see an oyster in sushi as an original concept.
Red Meat - Ham, spam, beef, sausage and horse meat are the red meat varieties seen in sushi and are lightly cooked.
Vegetables - Pickled daikon radish (takuan) in shinko maki, pickled vegetables (tsukemono), fermented soybeans (nattō) in nattō maki, avocado, cucumber in kappa maki, asparagus, yam, pickled ume (umeboshi), gourd (kanpyō), burdock (gobo), and sweet corn may be mixed with mayonnaise.
Nori - The seaweed wrappers used in maki and temaki are called nori. Nori is an alga, traditionally cultivated into the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into thin, edible sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making rice paper. Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available with salt or flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.
Omelette or Tamagoyaki - When making fukusazushi, a paper-thin omelet may replace a sheet of nori as the wrapping. The omelet is traditionally made on a rectangular omelet pan (makiyakinabe), and used to form the pouch for the rice and fillings. Tofu and eggs (in the form of slightly sweet, layered omelet called tamagoyaki and raw quail eggs ride as a gunkan-maki topping) are common.
Condiments of sushi -
Shoyu, the common name for soy sauce. In Japan it may also be referred to as murasaki.
Wasabi, a piquant paste made from the grated root of the wasabi plant. Real wasabi (hon-wasabi) is Wasabi japonica. Hon-wasabi has anti-microbial properties and may reduce the risk of food poisoning. The traditional grating tool for wasabi is a shark skin grater or samegawa oroshi.
Gari, a sweet, pickled ginger. Eaten to both cleanse the palate as well as to aid in the digestive process.
Ocha, green tea (ocha) is invariably served together with sushi in Japan.
Mix@36 - INR700 + taxes, Seasonal Tastes - Addition of INR 100 to the buffet price of INR 699 + taxes for lunch and INR 900 + taxes for dinner.
For reservations +91 020 6721 0000
Share your experiences of the Sushi Fest at Mix@36 or Seasonal Tastes by posting images on our social networking sites.
Seasonal Tastes Mix@36
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| Chef Jajo & Chef Sameer at Seasonal Tastes for the Dimsum & Sushi Fest |
Unlike the popular belief of being a raw fish fancy dish, the Japanese cuisine refers to sushi as a vinegared rice with toppings of fish, vegetables, meats, and so on. In this post lets unravel the mystery of one of the most famous food in the world "Sushi" with Chef Jajo as she helps you know your favorite sushi a little better. While dining at Mix@36 or Seasonal Tastes for the delectably tempting Dim Sum & Sushi Fest until March 31, 2012, you may know as much as the chef who assembles your unlimited platter.
Origin - The original sushi didn't come from Japan, but it made its way there through China from South East Asia. Literal meaning of the word sushi is "sour tasting" however it isn't grammatically used any more. The concept originated in South East Asia by the preservation and fermentation of fish with salt and rice. The science behind the fermentation of fish in rice is that the vinegar produced from the fermenting rice breaks the fish down into amino acids. Amino acids broken down from the protein are easily digested. This results in one of the five basic tastes, called umami in Japanese. The oldest form of sushi in Japan, Narezushi still very closely resembles this process. In Japan, Narezushi evolved into Oshizushi and ultimately Edomae nigirizushi, which is what the world today knows as "sushi". Originally, when the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only the fish was consumed and the fermented rice was discarded. The strong-tasting and -smelling funazushi, a kind of narezushi made near Lake Biwa in Japan, resembles the traditional fermented dish. During the Muromachi period (1336–1573) of Japan, vinegar was added to the mixture for better taste and preservation. The vinegar accentuated the rice's sourness, and was known to increase its life span, allowing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned.
 |
| Sushi Roll or makizushi |
Ingredients - The ingredients that go into making of the sushi are very basic and can be differentiated whether its a topping or a filling that will determine the type of sushi. Rice is the most common of ingredients as is vinegar.
 |
| sushi rice |
Fish - For culinary, sanitary, and aesthetic reasons, fish eaten raw must be fresher and of higher quality than fish which is cooked. The most common fish used in sushi are tuna (toro), snapper, amberjack, salmon (sake), mackrel (saba), yellowtail, fresh water eel (unagi). Of course the most valuable ingredient is the fatty cut of tuna i.e. toro. More often the variety of tuna is blue fin. Aburi style refers to nigiri sushi where the fish is partially grilled (topside) and partially raw. Most nigiri sushi will be completely raw.
Seafood - The most popular seafood ingredients that sushi is known for is baby octopus, squid, shrimp, crab, sea urchin and clam. One won't see an oyster in sushi as an original concept. Red Meat - Ham, spam, beef, sausage and horse meat are the red meat varieties seen in sushi and are lightly cooked.
Vegetables - Pickled daikon radish (takuan) in shinko maki, pickled vegetables (tsukemono), fermented soybeans (nattō) in nattō maki, avocado, cucumber in kappa maki, asparagus, yam, pickled ume (umeboshi), gourd (kanpyō), burdock (gobo), and sweet corn may be mixed with mayonnaise.
Nori - The seaweed wrappers used in maki and temaki are called nori. Nori is an alga, traditionally cultivated into the harbors of Japan. Originally, algae was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into thin, edible sheets, and dried in the sun, in a process similar to making rice paper. Nori by itself is an edible snack and is available with salt or flavored with teriyaki sauce. The flavored variety, however, tends to be of lesser quality and is not suitable for sushi.
Omelette or Tamagoyaki - When making fukusazushi, a paper-thin omelet may replace a sheet of nori as the wrapping. The omelet is traditionally made on a rectangular omelet pan (makiyakinabe), and used to form the pouch for the rice and fillings. Tofu and eggs (in the form of slightly sweet, layered omelet called tamagoyaki and raw quail eggs ride as a gunkan-maki topping) are common.
 |
| Futomaki |
Shoyu, the common name for soy sauce. In Japan it may also be referred to as murasaki.
Wasabi, a piquant paste made from the grated root of the wasabi plant. Real wasabi (hon-wasabi) is Wasabi japonica. Hon-wasabi has anti-microbial properties and may reduce the risk of food poisoning. The traditional grating tool for wasabi is a shark skin grater or samegawa oroshi.
Gari, a sweet, pickled ginger. Eaten to both cleanse the palate as well as to aid in the digestive process.
Ocha, green tea (ocha) is invariably served together with sushi in Japan.
Mix@36 - INR700 + taxes, Seasonal Tastes - Addition of INR 100 to the buffet price of INR 699 + taxes for lunch and INR 900 + taxes for dinner.
For reservations +91 020 6721 0000
Share your experiences of the Sushi Fest at Mix@36 or Seasonal Tastes by posting images on our social networking sites.
Seasonal Tastes Mix@36
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