Sushi: The Japanese dish that originated in China
If you have a taste for raw food, then sushi is probably one of your favourites. This timeless Japanese dish made from cold rice wrapped around raw fish or vegetables, seasoned with vinegar, sushi is shaped into various forms. But do you know that sushi didn’t actually originate in Japan? Let’s delve deep into the history and legends of this delectable delicacy.
Surprising but true: The Chinese origin of sushi
Sushi has been around for an incredibly long time, though not in its current form. Surprisingly, sushi has its origins in China during the 2nd century AD. This may come as a surprise as most people believe sushi originated in Japan! While Japan is undoubtedly the world's sushi capital, and is credited with popularising the dish, sushi has its roots in a Chinese delicacy known as ‘narezushi!’
Fermented rice and salted fish made up narezushi. This was a method for preserving food. Contrary to popular belief, it was not fermented or salted for flavour. The rice was fermented to make it last longer, and the fish was thoroughly salted to inhibit the growth of microorganisms, allowing it to stay fresh for longer even back when there were no refrigerators! Interestingly, upon eating the fish, the rice was usually thrown away. It was simply used to wrap the fish and keep it fresh! Interesting, isn’t it?
Sushi reaches Japan
In the 8th century AD, the dish travelled from China to Japan. The Yoro Code, written in the year 718 AD, saw the first of mention ’sushi.’ It was one the of several codes on governing rules created in early Nara period (710 AD- to 794 AD) in Classical Japan (538 AD to 1185 AD). Around 1824 in the Edo period, Japanese chef Hanaya Yohei is thought to have devised nigiri-zushi, the style of sushi that is most famous today. Nigiri zushi uses seafood that is laid over hand-pressed vinegared rice.
Of robbers, rice and osprey
As with many other dishes, sushi’s discovery too is laced with legends and folklore. One such ancient Japanese legend tells us that an elderly woman in Japan began hiding her pots of rice in an osprey (an eagle-like bird) nest, worried that robbers would take them away. However, when she gathered her pots over time, she discovered the rice had fermented! She also noticed that the rice had been contaminated with fish scraps from the osprey’s meal. Well, not only was the combination delicious, but it also acted as a means of preserving the fish, ushering in a new era of seafood preservation!
Varieties of sushi
With time, sushi has evolved. Here is a low-down on a few popular types of sushi:
- Makizushi: Also known as "norimaki", it is a style of sushi in which rice and other ingredients are delicately folded in nori seaweed and then cut into smaller pieces. Norimaki is a combination of two Japanese words: Maki which means ‘to roll’ and nori which refers to the toasted nori seaweed sheet used to wrap the components.
- Temaki: It's a form of sushi that resembles an ice cream cone in shape. Rice and other ingredients are held together in a conical shape by a sheet of nori. Given its simplicity, it's popular at restaurants as well as at home.