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Chinese origins

Sushi is made up of three simple ingredients; rice, rice vinegar, and fish. So one would think that the cultivation of rice was necessary, however, the history of sushi begins before rice. The first “sushi or 鮨” might have been a salt pickled pork.

The first use of “鮨” appeared in the oldest Chinese dictionary “爾雅” believed to be written in 3rd or 4th century BC. It is explained as “魚謂之鮨 肉謂之醢”, literally “Those made with fish (are called) 鮨, those made with meat (are called) 醢”. “醢” is a sauce made from minced pork and “鮨” is a sauce made from minced fish. The Chinese character “鮨” is believed to have a much earlier origin, but this is the earliest recorded instance of that character being associated with food. “鮨” was not associated with rice. (Read the article)

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Beside sushi-grade fish (we will get to this later), you will need the following ingredients to roll sushi:

* short-grained rice, preferably Cal-Rose (do not substitute instant rice, converted rice, or brown rice)
* nori, toasted seaweed sheets
* wasabi, Japanese horseradish mustard, comes in cans of powder (add water) or in tubes
* gari or shoga, sliced ginger, a condiment used to reset the taste buds (also aid in digestion)
* shredded daikon radish (optional)
* su or awaze-zu, sushi vinegar (used in rice preparation)
* imitation crab, for California rolls, pieces will also work if you can’t find the sticks
* kappa, cucumber
* avocado, make sure they are ripe, it’s easier to peel
* sakura denbu, seasoned shredded cod fish (pink powder)
* hari hari zuke, pickled vegetable mix (yellow)
* ao shiso no mi, prepared beefsteak plant seeds (green)
* shiso sakura, pickled radish and ginger with beefsteak plant (pink)
* kampyo, seasoned Japanese gourd (dark yellow)
* nametake chazuke, prepared mushrooms
* shoyu, soy sauce, mixed with the wasabi for dipping the sushi

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Raw fish

It is that it is risky to eat store bought fish as sushi due to the higher potential for parasitic or bacterial contaminants. Seafood vendors that store their fish at 4°F (-20°C) or below for 24 hours’ is sufficient to kill parasites. Go to a store that specializes in sushi (or sashimi) grade fish if possible.

Other ingredients (sushi rice, ginger, nori, wasabi)

The good place to stock up your personal sushi bar is at an oriental grocer. In the city I live in (Windsor, ON), there is an area of town with a high concentration of oriental businesses with many grocers such as this. Other options include high quality grocery stores and the mini stores that some sushi bars have.

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In this video, youtube member gregwillits (from Rosary Army) teaches you how to make his version of california rolls. He uses shrimp instead of imitation crab meat. Also he adds mayonnaise to the recipe. Greg squeezes his rolls tightly and uses a wet serrated knife to slice the individual rolls. Add soy and wasabi and there you have it!

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