11 supergrappige sushi feiten
Today is International Sushi Day and it should be celebrated. With a sushi cake for example, but also with some sushi facts, because what do we actually know about it?
1. Sushi doesn't actually come from Japan
Well, that was a bit of a shock. It comes from Southeast Asia near the Mekong River and slowly meandered to Japan, where it really took its current form around 1850.
2. Sushi rice was not meant to be eaten
But to press the filling tightly together and to protect the dish itself from flies.
3. It takes five years to become a sushi chef
In Japan, a real sushi chef is called Itamea-San. Such a chef is knowledgeable about all aspects and developments in the profession. To become an Itamea-San master, you must go a long way, as you need to complete a special training. This training lasts at least five years and achieving it is not that easy. This only works if you have a huge passion for Japanese cuisine and possess a good dose of perseverance.
4. Sushi is a movie snack
How wonderful if instead of popcorn you get delicious sushi served? That used to be the case. It was a cheap snack for a quick bite.
5. Sushi or shoesi
There is a sushi artist who makes sneakers out of sushi.
6. Sushi should be eaten with your hands
Because it was a snack in between. How nice, because I always struggle with those chopsticks because the sushi is simply too big to get in your mouth all at once with chopsticks. But THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN. Wonderful: I now have the best excuse to eat with my hands.
7. That's why sushi is really tastier in Japan
Do you know why? Because everywhere in the Western world, the fish, even if they say it's fresh, is frozen for at least 24 hours. They do this to kill parasites. Japanese sushi chefs are so trained that they can tell if there are parasites in the fish. So there, the fish is really fresher than fresh.
8. Leaving soy sauce behind is very rude
My colleague from FavorFlav drinks her soy sauce bowl empty at the end of the meal. That's also a way of not wasting soy sauce. The Japanese prefer that you pour tiny bits of soy sauce into your bowl and then keep adding a little bit. There are also chefs who cringe at the need to dip your sushi in the soy sauce because hey, they have brought the sushi to perfect flavor, you shouldn't ruin it with an excess of soy sauce.
9. This is also seen as the height of amateurism
Dipping your sushi rice in the soy sauce so that the rice crumbles and falls into your sauce. A lot of love has been put into the rice, you shouldn't ruin it with an overdose of sauce. If you want to add soy sauce, sprinkle the sushi with some sauce instead of dipping the sushi in it.
10. Nigiri is eaten the other way around
So first the fish or egg part on your tongue and then the rice on top.
11. Never tip the sushi chef
That is considered extremely rude. You can offer him a sake or otherwise make a nice bow for him.
