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Sushi? |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Also from previous Cultural Corner articles
Anecdotal information
(In Two Parts)
By Emy Murakawa
Part II
Sushi is literally vinegared rice. Part I presented the different types of sushi. Part II presents common ingredients and their names.
Common ingredients
Sushi rice: The rice used in making sushi is a short-grained, sweeter variety rather different in consistency from the long-grain and Indian rice strains Westerners may be more used to. It is cooked with rice vinegar, or vinegar may be added after cooking, and is cooled before being used to make sushi.
Nori: The seaweed wrappers used in makizushi and temakizushi are made of a cultivated sea vegetable known as nori. Originally, this plant was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into sheets, and dried in the sun. Today, it is farmed and industrially produced, and can be bought pre-cut in neat, ready-to-use squares. Some novelty shops even offer nori with decorative cut-out shapes of popular cartoon characters.
Seafood: Certainly the majority of sushi is made with raw fish and other seafood. For both aesthetic and health reasons, fish that are to be eaten raw must be fresher and of a higher quality than fish that will be cooked. A professional sushi chef is trained to recognize good fish, which is clean-smelling, vivid in color, and free from harmful parasites. Only ocean fish are used raw in sushi; freshwater fish, which are more likely to harbor parasites, are cooked. In addition to fish, common seafood used in sushi includes squid, shrimp, eel, fish roe, sea urchin and various kinds of shellfish. Common fish roe include:
Ikura - Salmon roe. Large reddish-orange individual spheres. Since salmon eggs are also used as bait, first-time sushi eaters who have experience fishing may be intimidated.
Kazunoko - Herring roe, pinkish yellow, usually pickled. The roe is in a single cohesive mass and so looks like a piece of fish.
Masago - Small eggs of the Capelin, slightly orange in color
Tobiko - Flying-fish roe, very crunchy. It is similar in appearance to masago, but more red.
Uni - sea urchin roe, soft and melting. Color is an indication of quality and can range from orange to pale yellow.
Other ingredients: Not all sushi contains seafood. Many things can find their way into sushi: pickled daikon radish or other tsukemono, fermented soybeans (natto), avocado, raw quail eggs, tofu (soybean cake), umeboshi (pickled plum), omelet, beef, ham, and almost anything else you’d like. This has led to the development of American sushi like California roll (krab, avocado, masago, and mayonnaise) and Dragon roll (California roll with unagi and avocado on the outside). Would you be inclined to try a Godzilla roll? That one is a temakizushi with tempura, salmon, and yellowtail with jalapeño, drizzled with a spicy sauce!
Condiments: Sushi is served with soy sauce, wasabi (green horseradish paste), and sweet pickled ginger (gari or benishoga). Wasabi is said to be an effective antidote against fish poisoning.
Recipe: A basic recipe for sushi rice is as follows:
1 |
cup of sushi rice | |
1-1/4 |
cup of cold water | |
2” |
square of kombu |
Seasoned rice vinegar for 1 cup of rice:
2 |
Tbsp. vinegar | |
2 |
Tbsp. sugar | |
¼ to ½ |
tsp. of salt |
Take one cup of short-grained rice and rinse in cold water until water runs clear. Combine rice, 1 1/4 cup cold water, and a small piece of dashi kombu (a type of seaweed or kelp, optional if not available) in a saucepan and turn heat to high. Remove kombu just before water boils. After water begins to boil, turn heat to low, cover pan tightly, and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and leave in covered pan for 10 more minutes. (This can be done with a rice cooker if you have a small one or if you double the amount of rice. If you use a rice cooker, it will not hurt to leave the kombu floating on the top during the cooking process. If you double the amount of rice, don’t forget to double the seasoned rice vinegar!).
Use a shamoji (wooden paddle) to scrape rice into a large bowl, then gently stir it with the paddle while adding about 2 tbsp. of seasoned rice vinegar (season with just under 2 tbsp sugar and just under 1/2 tsp salt over low heat). Stir until rice has cooled somewhat and looks shiny.
Cover rice with a damp towel and use in any sushi recipe within one day.