How much do you know about sushi?
Just think, rice and fish — what is there not to know? What is there to get confused about?
Those who have known the taste of this Japanese dish once, as a rule, are not limited to one time. Occasionally (although someone is constantly) no, no, and we pamper ourselves with sushi or rolls.
Of course, Japanese culture is fraught with many secrets and mysteries. But in this article you will find a few facts about sushi that you probably didn't even know about.
I want to warn you right away: this is not a recommendation to buy sushi or other Japanese dishes from a week ago. The fact is that everyone adheres to the widespread opinion that fresh sushi is sushi made from freshly caught fish. What will be your surprise when I tell you that this is not so!
For example, the most delicious meat is not steamed, but something that has lain for a couple of days in a cool place. During this time, blood flows down, and muscles relax. Then the meat will be tender, tasty and well digested. The same situation is with fish. She needs a little time to find a rich, rich aroma.
The fact is that the "fishy" smell does not appear immediately, but over time: when enzymes break down the protein into smaller molecules. After fermentation, the product is better absorbed, becomes tastier and healthier.
Traditionally in Japanese culture, umami is used — the taste of protein substances, the so-called "fifth taste". It can be described as a long-playing enveloping "meat" or "broth". Most Japanese dishes are prepared by fermentation (fermentation): soy sauce, fermented natto beans, tuna chips, miso.
Fresh fish is delicious if you have just caught a trout and cooked it on a fire or grill with lemon and butter. But try to eat the same fresh fish raw, and you will most likely be disappointed.
Most of the sashimi, sushi, rolls that we eat in cafes and restaurants are cooled with liquid nitrogen. This process kills microbes and many parasites that can develop in fresh fish without affecting the quality of the product.
When you go to a beautiful Japanese restaurant and order the freshest fish dish, you are not eating fish that was caught on the same day or even the day before. Good sashimi, sushi or rolls are those that use fish that has lain in the marinade for several days. Unfortunately, the tradition of using fermented fish in food has been preserved only in South Asian countries.
Most of the sushi we eat in our local establishments, as a rule, come in the form of rolls, that is, twisted sausage. Traditional sushi is eaten in the format of nigiri — an oblong lump of rice pressed with palms, a small amount of wasabi and a thin slice of fish.
Honestly, how many times have you dropped sushi into a bowl with soy sauce and tried to grab them back with chopsticks so that they don't fall apart? The thing is that you need to eat sushi with your hands!
True sushi lovers do just that. Sushi rice is usually not pressed very hard, so the whole structure will fall apart when you try to eat it with chopsticks. The most acceptable method of eating sushi is as follows: imagine holding a computer mouse, slowly turn the sushi over, slightly moisten one side in the sauce and send it to your mouth at an angle of 45 °.
Here is a funny video that ridicules the traditions and manners surrounding the culture of sushi consumption. Although it is playful, it carries a lot of useful and interesting things, in particular, about how to eat sushi:
It turns out that real wasabi is extremely difficult to grow. It's even harder to pack it properly.
The wasabi we eat is actually an imitation. It is prepared on the basis of horseradish, spices and food dyes. Imitation wasabi is made in the form of powder or ready-to-use paste in tubes.
In addition, if the sushi is cooked correctly, then they do not have to be dipped in soy sauce. High-end restaurants prepare their own soy sauce. It is called "nikiri". Chefs add it to the dish during the cooking process. That is, raw fish is already seasoned, so additional sauces are not required for it.
Now, if you eat in a real sushi restaurant, such things will be of great importance to you. If you understand in an ordinary cafe that your sushi has neither a pronounced taste nor smell, you have no choice but to dip sushi in a bowl full of soy sauce and thickly coat them with wasabi :)
The most popular sushi — with tuna and salmon — are not traditional, due to the fact that they spoil quickly. Japanese snobs shun them. For traditional sushi, it is preferable to use "white fish" or whitefish. It can be halibut, perch, shellfish or even raw octopus. Some gourmets prefer to eat sushi with live octopuses (while the muscles of the tentacles continue to convulse).
Spicy tuna rolls are also sales hits. And for chefs, it's a great way to get rid of worthless chunks of tuna.
It is very difficult to find real sushi and rolls now. The abundance of various autosouches and small eateries further corrupts the idea of these dishes of Japanese cuisine.
This does not mean that you only need to go to expensive restaurants. But knowing which sushi is real and how to eat them, it will be much easier for you to understand all the variety presented in the menu. Plus, it will make the process of eating sushi more enjoyable and effective.
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