Sushi is one of the world's proud representatives in the kitchen of Japan, as it is very much a complicated dish: simple, traditional but idiosyncratic. In fact, it is not simply food; sushi is an intricate cultural art form with all that it implies in centuries. Origination of sushi can be traced to Southeast Asia, where it was found that fishes were preserved with fermentation using rice as a medium. This procedure would go on to spread to Japan. The packed, cleaned fish with rice condition would go on for months; this is the narezushi method. The rice served as a preservative from which one would not consume the fermenting rice. In the course of time and through innovations in culinary techniques, sushi grew from a mere means of preserving food to being an admirable fine culinary craft meant to bring them fresh tastes from season to season. Sushi had already developed before the Edo period (1603-1868). It was during this period that it became popularly recognized as a street-food genre in Japan, particularly in what was called Edo, now Tokyo.
The Edo period introduced nigiri sushi, which still stands as one of the more recognizable forms of sushi to this day. As it is hand-pressed vinegared rice laden with fresh slices of seafood, such innovation was largely resulted from the busy lifestyle of Edo people where quick yet soothing meals were considered staples. Unlike its predecessor from fermentation, nigiri sushi depended on the freshness of the ingredient instead of long fermentation that pleased urbanites almost instantly. The introduction of rice vinegar would also be a significant change, as it enumerated the tang for rice without long ferments. This marks the beginning of sushi as an art widely known for its precision, freshness, and balance. Central to the philosophy of sushi is the Japanese concept of shun, seasonality, and that relates to the idea of utilizing ingredients at their peak season. This becomes a part of space and time in Japanese culture beyond food, influencing everything from art to architecture. For the itamae, the sushi chef, respecting shun means using fish, seafood, and vegetables in season, so each piece of sushi manifests the essence of its natural environment. This dedication to freshness comes hand in hand with a commitment to quality and craftsmanship, for training to become an itamae is very rigorous and can take decades to master. They usually start simple with learning rice-making, then learn fish-handling and knife-technique operations. All of this is to reflect the sense of sushi-making as a form of art, with all little insignificant things somehow connected and contributing to the final product it is the preparation of sushi rice, or shari, that makes up the foundation of the success of sushi itself. For perfect shari, the desired balance of flavor that is as well texture and temperature should be achieved. The rice is then to be seasoned with the right combination of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to bring out the flavor that is soft yet distinct from the toppings, leaving them not overpowered. The grains should possess a bit of firmness but at the same time sticky enough to shape, ensuring that the rice does not but serve as an ideal foundation for the seafood. All this finely includes the seafood, which is selected, handled, and prepared very carefully so that it can be served in such a way to highlight its own flavors. This includes techniques such as sujime (curing fish with vinegar) and aburi (lightly searing fish) to bridge in flavors and textures for different ingredients while exhibiting the adaptability and creativity found within the sushi-making process. From the beginning of time until today, sushi has spread into so many forms and variations, each having its own specificities and regional influences. Traditional, raw sushi forms are nigiri (hand-pressed sushi), maki (rolled sushi), and sashimi (sliced raw fish served without rice). Nigiri is most praised as the simplest form, being the clearest manifestation of the whims of rice and seafood in a single piece. However, maki leads to a more sophisticated experience by which rice, seafood, vegetables, and seaweed come together in rolls bite-sized. Most often it is served with sushi, but it is not technically sushi, as it is sliced raw fish. This display emphasizes the quality and freshness of the seafood. Outside these formal kinds, experimental contemporary sushi chefs have innovated new genres of sushi preparations like temaki (hand rolls), chirashi (scattered sushi), or uramaki (inside-out rolls). These current topics take one's mind beyond the generally rooted principles of sushi without which it would not have existed. I'll internationally prove sushi from both the East and West as the world's new favorite food. From common roadside, local street food, today it has become an utter universal phenomenon. The truth in this history showcases the invincible foundation of sushi. If followed closely, its continental wrapping up and wellness consideration would have thrived due to their good sense of visual treat and exposure to the Japanese cultural sphere.
Sushi in the US has indeed not come into the limelight and the mainstream in behalf of Japanese cuisine until the 1960s and 1970s, solely attributed to the increasing rise of Japanese restaurants and the establishment of fusion rolls such as California Roll. The trend hastened for other countries with sushi bars and restaurants sprouting in major cities around the world. While traditionalists might grumble about the melting pot of various components and techniques of creating sushi, others deem this concept an evolution.
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