How to know if sushi is good

The Japanese are very sensitive to copyright. sushiAnd they're ready to unleash their vengeance on anyone who tries to copy or revise a signature dish of their cuisine, much like pasta in Italy. In Japan, a sushi chef is considered a sort of samurai, and can only be called such after 10 years of experience working with raw fish.

The origins of sushi are still largely unknown, and numerous Southeast Asian peoples claim to have invented this dish, from Koreans to Japanese. The truth is that, before becoming a delicacy, sushi was originally just a way to preserve freshly caught fish, and it originated in China. There, fresh fish, lacking freezing systems, were salted and rolled in fermented rice, and the fermentation of the rice allowed the fish to preserve itself. Gradually, the fermentation process was shortened, until sushi was eaten. raw fish.

How to recognize good sushi

There are some very important signs to understand if sushi is truly good. The most important are the following:

• The color of the fish should be bright and shiny. Dullness doesn't reflect well on its freshness.
• The cut of the sushi fish It must have its own consistency. It must be firm, especially in the case of tuna.
• The flavor should be delicate and fresh and not have a bitter aftertaste.
• Quality sushi is a fish that does not have a strong, pungent odor.
• Rice: Good sushi has slightly sticky rice, but not overly so. It should be well seasoned with vinegar, sugar, and salt, but not overpowering the flavor of the fish. The rice should be fresh, not dry or hard.
• IntroductionGood sushi is aesthetically pleasing and well-organized. The pieces must be cut carefully, so that the fish fits perfectly into the rice without the rice falling apart.

History of sushi

Sushi as we know it today, thattasty and special assembly of rice and fish crude, dates back precisely to the Edo period of Japanese history, when it lost the characteristics of preserved fish and became spiced rice rolled together with raw fish, the so-called nigiri sushi most similar to what we see on our plates.

And if all this attention to the history of sushi seems excessive, know that its origins are still highly controversial: the Japanese are very proud to be able to claim that modern sushi was born in the city of Nara, arguing with their Chinese neighbors who claim it was invented, and with the Koreans who point to Korean sushi, kimbap, as an illustrious ancestor of the more common sushi.

A seemingly unresolved historical debate, with scholars and researchers studying the history of raw fish with rice, such as Danish biophysicist Ole Mouritsen, who studies it primarily from a nutritional perspective. It's also unclear when Westerners first encountered sushi: the most widely accepted date is 1953, when, according to the Milwaukee Journal, Prince Akihito offered it to some American officials during a luncheon at the Japanese Embassy in Washington. Since then, sushi mania has swept across the globe: there are thousands upon thousands of restaurants where you can enjoy this delicacy, one in almost every city, and in major cities, it's not uncommon to find more than two on the same block.

Types of sushi

But do we know exactly what we eat when we eat sushi?

Sushi is nothing more than fish Raw fish of various types (ranging from salmon, tuna, and sole) rolled in rice, spices, and various other ingredients such as eggs, seaweed, or vegetables. Many of these are found on Western restaurant tables.

• Il nigiriFor example, very similar to the original sushi, sashimi is an oblong rice ball topped with a slice of fresh raw or cooked fish. The fish used is octopus, salmon, tuna, shrimp, or sole, and it's often accompanied with nori seaweed, one of the main ingredients of sushi.
• THEhosomaki It is perfect for the first approaches to sushi, being the smallest and simplest morsel of rice with fish inside, sticks of avocado or carrot, shrimp or sturgeon eggs wrapped in nori seaweed.
• Il futomaki It is, instead, a giant version of hosomaki, a kind of rice roll filled with 4 ingredients, always chosen from vegetables, fish eggs or various types of shellfish or fish, which is wrapped in nori seaweed and is one of the largest pieces you can find on a mixed sushi tray.
• THEuramaki It's also called the California Roll, and it's so named because it was created in the 70s by a Japanese chef in the United States. It's simply a "negative" version of futomaki, with nori seaweed in the center holding fish, shellfish, or vegetables, and rice with sesame seeds or spices around it.
• Il Temaki, finally, in Japan, it is conceived as a food to go, a real snack ten centimeters long that recalls, in concept and appearance, the much loved 'cuoppo' of southern cuisine. It is nothing other than a cone of nori seaweed, stuffed with rice, vegetables, and fish. It's eaten in bites, obviously given the impossibility of picking it up with chopsticks.
• Il sashimi, finally, is nothing more than a plate of slices of raw salmon, tuna, or sea bass, which are placed on a bed of ice.

How to eat sushi

Did you know, then, that there is a real etiquette for using chopsticks And what about eating sushi? Even when faced with a platter of sushi, we shouldn't forget etiquette. Indeed, it's a type of food with well-established traditions, both regarding the art of preparing it and eating it. First of all: avoid cutlery; for the Japanese, this is almost an insult. If you really don't know how to use chopsticks, eat it with your hands; it's better. Obviously, this only applies to sushi, not sashimi, but in both cases, sushi etiquette dictates eating it in one bite and not breaking it. This is because in Japanese cuisine, everything is prepared to be eaten all at once, and it's considered absolutely inelegant to break or tear food before putting it in your mouth.

Also, sushi chefs don't like mixes: if they accompany your sushi or sashimi with soy sauce, don't dip the whole morsel like a croissant in a latte, but slowly place it fish-side down.
As for wasabi, a green paste with a spicy and strong flavor that is served with ginger to season your sushi, it should never be dissolved in soy sauce, it's a typically Italian habit that is not much loved by the Japanese. And it ginger?
The ginger slices served with sushi aren't meant to be a side dish, but rather a "meal-breaking" snack: they cleanse your mouth of the flavor of the previous dish before moving on to the next. Simply lift a few to your mouth with chopsticks, but don't overdo it.
Finally, when you're finished eating, don't rub your chopsticks together to clean them, and don't leave them on your plate; simply place them on their rests. Never cross them.

Safety with sushi

Like all raw foods, sushi also carries a significant risk factor if the fish is poorly prepared, in precarious hygienic conditions and is not fresh or not properly cleaned.
Contrary to popular belief, sushi fish shouldn't be consumed freshly caught: it must first be chilled in a blast chiller, technically called "battering," to kill any germs or bacteria. Furthermore, if the fish isn't properly stored at a temperature that kills all potentially toxic microorganisms—usually between minus 20 and minus 35 degrees Celsius—it could be dangerous, potentially contaminating the food.

One of the most dangerous and harmful bacteria we can encounter when eating sushi is anisakis, a parasite found in various fish and producing dangerous larvae. Ingesting them can lead to very unpleasant consequences: nausea, abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, and, in severe cases, internal bleeding, peritonitis, and intestinal blockages. The good news is that anisakis is killed if the fish is properly stored, as is another bacteria that can contaminate raw fish, Escherichia coli.

Beware of mercury and dioxin, substances that can be ingested or absorbed by fish through the water, and which can cause poisoning that's quite difficult to eliminate. The health risks of sushi are numerous, but there's no need to give in to unnecessary alarmism or deprive yourself of this food: just a few simple precautions will keep you safe. First and foremost, choose only well-known, certified places (from word of mouth, customer review sites, etc.). Avoid sushi bars that offer cheap raw fish with appetizers, places with excessively low or discounted prices, and, if you cook sushi at home, freeze the fish for at least four days at a temperature below -15/-20 degrees Celsius.

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• Fish broth: a recipe for making it with just leftovers. And a few vegetables.
• Vegetarian sushi recipe, a great alternative to the famous fish dish