Sushi is about the rice
The word sushi does not mean raw fish. It refers to a dish built on vinegared rice, and the fish or other toppings are what vary. Raw fish on its own is called sashimi. This is a useful starting point, because the history of sushi is really a history of how rice and fish have been combined over time.
Preserved fish: narezushi
Many food historians trace the earliest ancestor of sushi to a way of preserving fish in fermented rice, a method associated with parts of Southeast Asia and southern China, and later with Japan. The fish was salted and packed with cooked rice and left for weeks, months or longer. The rice fermented, producing acid that helped preserve the fish. When the fish was ready, the rice was usually discarded and only the fish eaten. The result is called narezushi, “ripened sushi.”
Narezushi still exists in Japan, with funazushi from the Lake Biwa region among the best known. It has a strong smell and a sour, intense flavor quite unlike modern sushi, and many people encounter it as a regional specialty rather than an everyday food. The sourness of the old form is one reason the later use of vinegar made sense, and this ties sushi to the wider fermentation tradition. The word sushi itself is commonly explained as relating to sourness.
Toward quicker sushi
Over the centuries, people began to eat the rice along with the fish and to shorten the fermentation time. In the Muromachi and later periods, this led to forms in which the rice was only lightly fermented. By the Edo period, cooks had begun adding rice vinegar instead of waiting for fermentation to sour the rice. This meant sushi could be prepared quickly, and one version, pressed sushi in a wooden mold (oshizushi or hakozushi), became popular in the Osaka area.
Edo and the rise of nigiri
The style most people recognize today, nigiri, a small hand-pressed mound of rice with a topping, is generally linked to Edo, the city that became Tokyo, in the early nineteenth century. It developed as fast food for busy townspeople, sold at stalls and from carts. The fish was often marinated, simmered or cured in vinegar or soy sauce, since fresh raw fish was harder to keep, and those techniques remain in the traditional style. Popular accounts credit one particular Edo sushi seller with popularizing the style, though like many food origin stories, the details are uncertain.
Sushi was thus a city snack, a part of the lively food culture of Edo townspeople. Only later, with better refrigeration and transport in the twentieth century, did it move toward the high-end image it has in many places today.
Common styles
Several forms are widely served.
- Nigiri: a hand-formed rice mound with a slice of fish or other topping.
- Maki: rice and fillings rolled in dried seaweed (nori) and cut into pieces. Thin rolls, thick rolls and cones (temaki, hand rolls) are common varieties.
- Gunkan: “battleship” sushi, a small rice oval wrapped with a strip of nori and topped with loose items such as roe.
- Chirashi: rice in a bowl with toppings scattered over it.
- Inari: rice in a pocket of sweet fried tofu.
- Oshizushi: pressed sushi, as above.
- Regional and home styles: many areas have their own, and families often make rolled or scattered sushi for festivals and celebrations.
A “California roll” and other overseas inventions are part of sushi’s later spread, and they show how the dish changed as it traveled. The conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, which appeared in Japan in the mid-twentieth century, made sushi cheaper and widely accessible, and it is now a familiar part of casual eating in many countries.
Etiquette in brief
Sushi manners are easier than they may appear. Customs vary between restaurants, and a few general points cover most situations.
- Hands or chopsticks. Nigiri may be eaten with fingers or chopsticks. Both are commonly considered acceptable.
- Soy sauce. If you use it, a light touch is generally preferred. Dip the topping rather than the rice, so the rice does not soak up the sauce and fall apart. Some sushi chefs apply sauce themselves, in which case no more is needed.
- Wasabi. Many chefs place a small amount between the rice and fish. Mixing a lot of wasabi into the soy sauce is generally seen as unnecessary.
- Ginger. The pickled ginger (gari) is meant to refresh the palate between pieces, not to be eaten on top of them.
- One bite. Pieces are typically meant to be eaten whole, in one bite when possible.
- Order. Some people begin with lighter fish and move to richer ones, but there is no strict rule.
- Gratitude. As with any meal, saying itadakimasu before eating is a courteous habit.
Customs differ, and a sushi counter is often relaxed. If you are unsure, watching the people around you or asking the chef is fine.
A note on raw fish
Raw seafood carries a risk of foodborne illness. Pregnant people, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are often advised to take extra care, and a qualified health professional can offer guidance. Reliable freshness, handling and storage are the responsibility of the restaurant or seller.
One dish, many layers
Sushi began as a way to keep fish from spoiling and became fast street food, a restaurant art and a global dish. It reflects a long Japanese interest in the quality of the rice and in the best moment of the fish, a theme that links it to the habit of choosing seasonal ingredients.