Sushi is one of the most popular dishes in the world. Many restaurants and fast food chains offer it and it is usually made this way, but when you find a place that does it the right way and with fresh ingredients, it becomes a real treat. It is not difficult to make at home and you are in control of all the steps of the process.

Although now considered a luxury food, sushi had very humble origins. And we owe the most modern way of preparing sushi to a Japanese man named Hanaya Yohei.

The ancestor of sushi. Southeast Asia has a great fishing tradition. This is not surprising, considering that it is a large area along the coast and is where we find both the East China Sea and the Sea of ​​Japan. However, although we associate sushi with Japanese cuisine, its ancestor was first documented in China.

About this topic nar-zushiAlthough its origins are confusing, it is a method of preparing fish, with the first references dating from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD. It was a popular preparation in China, Korea, and Japan, which were heavily dependent on fish.

Protection. This preparation consists of fermenting fresh foods, especially seafood, in order to preserve the food for longer periods of time. Since there were no methods of refrigeration, fish rotted quickly and, contrary to some myths, ancient people knew very well not to eat spoiled food in order to protect themselves from epidemics.

And the truth is nar-zushi It doesn’t look very appetizing: basically fish, lactobacilli, salt, and rice left to ferment in a container. The rice was used to control spoilage and was usually thrown away. Some people think Japan has its own precursor to sushi. funa-zushi was a fermented carp-based food. The result was an acidic-smelling food that should not have been very pleasant. By some accounts, it also tasted unpleasant.

Funa-zushi’s current dish

Japan. Tracing the exact origins of sushi is complex, but funa-zushi like that nar-zushi These are assumed to be its predecessors and consisted essentially of the same thing: fermenting fish to prolong its preservation, a type of pickle. Focusing on Japan, where rice was of great importance in their diet, they began to develop rice vinegar.

Over the decades, the Japanese shortened the fermentation time of the fish and also ate the rice used in this process. How is this nar-zushiThe fermentation process takes weeks NamanareLater, with the use of vinegar and sake, the fermentation process was further shortened.

fast food. It was clear that the Japanese did not intend to prepare the fish within a month, but rather to try to prepare it as quickly as possible. This was what came in the Edo period. Instead of lactic fermentation of rice, the fish was mixed directly with vinegar and rice. The entire long fermentation process was eliminated and beech-zushiAlthough it still took time, it was a kind of fast food at that time.

In fact, if you like sushi, you can name it like this: Maki ZushianyShi Zushi any chirashi zushi These will sound familiar to you, and you should know that their preparation began at that time by experimenting with the preparation, pressing, and placement of both the fish and the rice or seaweed (if used). The taste was still acidic (due to the vinegar and salt they used instead of sugar), but the goal of obtaining a quicker, more nutritious food than the ancestral preparations was achieved.

Salmon nigiri

Hanaya Yohei. The foundations of modern sushi beech-zushibut the finishing touch was missing. That’s where Hanaya Yohei comes in. At the end of the Edo period, this chef decided to marinate the fish in soy sauce instead of doing any fermentation or vinegaring, which still had a sour taste. Because there was no fermentation, lactic acid was not released and cooking times were much shorter.

Cutting down on preparation seems to have been a goal of Japanese restaurateurs for decades, and what Yohei achieved with his revolutionary method was the ability to serve much fresher food. Since the preparation was simpler, it could also be done faster, and the presentation was long rice balls with vinegar (less than is currently the case) and fish on top. Current nigiri, wow.

Breaking the mold. Yohei’s technique revealed Nigiri Zushi and this was a revolution for its time, not only because of the improvement in taste and the reduction of preparation times, but also because the chef processed the rice with his own hands. The traditional way was to use wooden molds and presses ( hako zushifor example), but Hanaya was quicker to prepare, allowing cheaper sushi stands to appear in cities. Gradually, specialty restaurants appeared, and the rest is history.

Primitive sushi recipe. Considering the origins of modern-day sushi, how about trying this sushi? funa-zushi? Our colleagues at Directo al Paladar have a recipe, and most people will find it unappetizing, but hey, we eat weirder things. We’ll leave the steps to you, the rest is up to you:

• The traditional one is to use carp or carp. Preferably caught in spring, full of females and eggs, but you will see if you want to make your life that difficult.
• The internal organs are cleaned, the toughest bones are removed and cured with salt. This initial curing takes between 10 days and a month and is intended to dry out the fish and tenderize the meat.
• At the end of this period, we remove the salt and cover the fish with cooked rice. It is necessary to put it in a wooden container with a weight on top for fermentation. How long? Turn the container for a few weeks to expel the water.
• When you think it’s done, throw away the rice (because it’s only there for the lactic acid bacteria to thrive and prevent the fish from rotting), fillet the fish and… let’s eat.

No, it certainly doesn’t look very appetizing, but hey, another option is to make homemade sushi. And just like in the old days, it’s a lot quicker than it is today. funa-zushi.

Pictures | Xataka, Wikimedia, Tim Reckmann, Utagawa Hiroshige

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