Know the Truth about Your Sushi
There was a time when sushi wasn’t the fine and ultra chic dining experience enjoyed now in restaurants. It used to be a quick, cheap snack, eaten with the hands, along the sidewalks in post wartime Japan. No one though it could be eaten indoors in style. It has come a long way, indeed.
Rice that wrapped around fish was originally used for two purpose – to help in creating a pleasant, savory sour taste (umami) for the fish and to preserve the fish from flies. Once fermentation is completed, the rice is discarded and not eaten. Who’d know that some day, the rice used for sushi is as important as the fish served.
The seaweed – nori – that is wrapped around sushi was originally scraped off the wooden legs of piers and even from the undersides of boats. Pressed into sheets, they are dried under the sun after. Few would know that the esteemed nori, now cultivated and farmed, used to have scummy origins.
Sushi is supposed to be eaten with the hands, not with chopsticks. Actually, the correct way is to use your fingers. Chopsticks are typically for sashimi, raw fish slices.
Even the freshest raw sushi is required to be frozen first before serving. The US and Europe implement strict food safety regulations about raw fish – the requisite freezing to kill flukes and other parasites. If you are a Japanese sushi master, you are trained to recognize potential dangers in fish bought at markets. However, freezing does take away some of the original taste and texture of fish.
Do you know the proper way to eat your nigiri? Eat it upside down! With your fingers, and not with chopsticks, pick up the nigiri with the fish side on your tongue. Sushi connoisseurs recommend so.
Affordable, Delicious Sushi
Want to know more? Come to Sushi Hana, home of the best sushi here in Bothell. We know our sushi and serve them under strict standards of sanitation and safety. Best of all, enjoy delicious sushi and other favorites at prices that cannot be beat. Only here at our Japanese restaurant in Bothell.