Sushi

is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also referred to as , or .

The inventor of modern sushi is believed to be Hanaya Yohei, who invented nigiri-zushi, a type of sushi most known today, in which seafood is placed on hand-pressed vinegared rice, around 1824 in the Edo period (1603–1867). It was the fast food of the ''chōnin'' class in the Edo period.

Sushi is traditionally made with medium-grain white rice, though it can be prepared with brown rice or short-grain rice. It is very often prepared with seafood, such as squid, eel, yellowtail, salmon, tuna or imitation crab meat. Many types of sushi are vegetarian. It is often served with , wasabi, and soy sauce. Daikon radish or are popular garnishes for the dish.

Sushi is sometimes confused with sashimi, a similar dish in Japanese cuisine that consists of thinly sliced raw fish or occasionally meat.

History

A dish known as , stored in fermented rice for possibly months at a time, has been cited as one of the early influences for the Japanese practice of applying rice on raw fish. The fish was fermented with rice vinegar, salt, and rice, after which the rice was discarded. The process can be traced back to the early domestication of rice in the Neolithic cultures of China. Fermentation methods following similar logic in other Asian rice cultures include (), (), , (), and .

The lacto-fermentation of the rice prevents the fish from spoiling. When wet-field rice cultivation was introduced during the Yayoi period, lakes and rivers would flood during the rainy season, and fish would get caught in the rice paddy fields. Pickling was a way to preserve the excess fish and guarantee food for the following months, and became an important source of protein for Japanese consumers. The term ''sushi'' literally means "sour-tasting," as the overall dish has a sour and umami or savory taste. The term comes from an antiquated terminal-form conjugation, no longer used in other contexts, of the adjectival verb , resulting in the term . still exists as a regional specialty, notably as from Shiga Prefecture.
Vinegar began to be added to the preparation of in the Muromachi period (1336–1573) for the sake of enhancing both taste and preservation. In addition to increasing the rice's sourness, the vinegar significantly increased the dish's longevity, causing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned. The primitive sushi would be further developed in Osaka, where over several centuries, it became or ; in this preparation, the seafood and rice were pressed into shape with wooden (typically bamboo) molds.

It was not until the Edo period (1603–1868) that fresh fish was served over vinegared rice and nori. The particular style of today's became popular in Edo (contemporary Tokyo) in the 1820s or 1830s. One common story of 's origins is of the chef Hanaya Yohei (1799–1858), who invented or perfected the technique in 1824 at his shop in Ryōgoku. The dish was originally termed as it used freshly caught fish from the (Edo or Tokyo Bay); the term is still used today as a by-word for quality sushi, regardless of its ingredients' origins.

The earliest written mention of ''sushi'' in English described in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is in an 1893 book, ''A Japanese Interior'', where it mentions sushi as "a roll of cold rice with fish, sea-weed, or some other flavoring." There is an earlier mention of sushi in James Hepburn's Japanese–English dictionary from 1873, and an 1879 article on Japanese cookery in the journal ''Notes and Queries''.

Types

The common ingredient in all types of sushi is vinegared sushi rice. Fillings, toppings, condiments, and preparation vary widely.

Due to consonant mutation, ''sushi'' is pronounced with instead of when a prefix is attached, as in .

serves the rice in a bowl and tops it with a variety of raw fish and vegetable garnishes. It is popular because it is filling, fast, and easy to make. It is eaten annually on in March and in May.
* (Edo-style scattered sushi) is served with uncooked ingredients in an artful arrangement.
* (Kansai-style sushi) consists of cooked or uncooked ingredients mixed in the body of rice.
* (Kyushu-style sushi) uses rice wine over vinegar in preparing the rice and is topped with shrimp, sea bream, octopus, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and shredded omelette.

is a pouch of fried tofu typically filled with sushi rice alone. Tales tell that is named after the Shinto god Inari. Foxes, messengers of Inari, are believed to have a fondness for fried tofu, and an roll has pointed corners that resemble fox ears.

Regional variations include pouches made of a thin omelette (, , or , ) instead of tofu. It should not be confused with , a roll filled with flavored fried tofu.

Cone sushi is a variant of originating in Hawaii that may include green beans, carrots, or gobo along with rice, wrapped in a triangular piece. It is often sold in (Japanese delis) and as a component of bento boxes.

, or is a cylindrical piece formed with the help of a mat known as a . is generally wrapped in nori (seaweed) but is occasionally wrapped in a thin omelette, soy paper, cucumber, or (perilla) leaves. is often cut into six or eight pieces, constituting a single roll order. Short-grain white rice is usually used, although short-grain brown rice, like olive oil on nori, is now becoming more widespread among the health-conscious. Rarely, sweet rice is mixed in rice.

Nowadays, the rice in can be many kinds of black rice, boiled rice, and cereals. Besides the common ingredients listed above, some varieties may include cheese, spicy cooked squid, , , lunch meat, sausage, bacon or spicy tuna. The nori may be brushed with sesame oil or sprinkled with sesame seeds. In a variation, sliced pieces of may be lightly fried with egg coating.

Below are some common types of , but many other kinds exist.

* is a large, cylindrical style of sushi, usually with nori on the outside. A typical is in diameter. They are often made with two, three, or more fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. are often vegetarian, and may use strips of cucumber