The dish spread from China to Japan in the 8th century. Over the next few centuries, the plate began to change slowly. The concept of sushi was probably introduced to Japan in the 9th century, and became popular there as Buddhism spread. The Buddhist dietary practice of abstaining from eating meat led many Japanese people to turn to fish as a staple food.
The Japanese are credited with first preparing sushi as a whole dish, eating the fermented rice along with the canned fish. This combination of rice and fish is known as nare-zushi or aged sushi. Sushi is said to have originated in China between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, as a means of preserving fish in salt. Narezushi, the original form of sushi, has been made in Southeast Asia for centuries, and today, there are still traces of it in some parts.
Narezushi appeared in Japan in the 8th century, and it still survives today in the form of foods such as carp sushi. Narezushi was primarily a means of preserving food, and each Japanese region developed its own version. In those days, sushi was eaten during holidays and festivals, and it was also an integral part of the celebration. Generally speaking, narezushi was made of rice and pickled fish together, mixed with rice vinegar and sake, placed under a large stone to prevent decay, and allowed to ferment.
However, rice was mainly used to promote fermentation, and was discarded so that only fish could be eaten. The method spread throughout China and, by the 7th century, had reached Japan, where seafood has historically been a staple food. The Japanese, however, took the concept further and began to eat rice with fish. Originally, the dish was prepared in the same way.
However, in the early 17th century, Matsumoto Yoshiichi, who lived in Edo (the city we now know as Tokyo) began seasoning rice with rice wine vinegar while preparing his' sushi 'for sale. This allowed the dish to be eaten immediately, rather than waiting for the months it would normally take to prepare the sushi. Sushi originated in Southeast Asia as a way to increase the shelf life of fish by placing it in fermenting rice. A fourth-century Chinese dictionary contains a character meaning pickled fish with rice and salt.
People discovered that when they placed salted fish in fermenting rice, the fish was preserved through a pickling process. This was the first type of sushi. When cooked rice begins its fermentation process, lactic acid bacilli are released. Bacilli interact with salt to pickle fish.
This process is sometimes referred to as pickling, and it is the reason why the sushi kitchen is called a tsuke-ba or pickling place. The history of sushi is shrouded in some degree of mystery, but the basic concept has been part of human culture for almost 2 millennia. The reason is not only the special taste characteristics of sushi, but also the cunning Japanese businessmen are good at creating an “sushi culture atmosphere”, constantly improving the sushi production method and creatively introducing new varieties of sushi. In the 1970s, thanks to advances in refrigeration, the ability to ship fresh fish over long distances, and a thriving post-war economy, demand for premium sushi in Japan skyrocketed.
It was a strange business model in this transitional period, but sushi restaurants offered unexpected pleasure in a difficult period when the direction of the future was uncertain. Sushi continued to be the “hot dish” served at chi-chi lunches and dinners across the country (even reaching North Dakota) until the 1907 Gentlemen's Agreement severed ties between Japan and the U. Served from its stall, this was not only the first of true “fast food” sushi, but it quickly became very popular. In the Edo period (1603-186), an attempt was made to further reduce the fermentation period, and “Haya-zushi (; quick sushi) was born using separately created vinegar to produce the acidic flavor.
Each region uses local flavors to produce a variety of sushi that has been passed down from generation to generation. If you're a bold type, you can also try buying high-quality fish suitable for sushi, some rice vinegar, rice dishes and seaweed wraps to try to make your own. However, finally, in the late 1940s, Japanese businesses began to open once again, bringing with them Japanese businessmen with a craving for sushi. And for those fans like us, take a quick history lesson with us and dive into the land of sushi below.
Sushi has an interesting history, and there are several different types of sushi and preparation methods. . .
