| Toro
- Fatty Tuna |
|
| There
are three kinds of tuna commonly used for sushi and sashimi,
blue fin tuna (hon maguro), southern blue fin tuna (minami maguro)
and big eye tuna (mebachi). Fatty part of tuna is called "toro"in
Japanese." O-toro" is considered the most prized and
expensive part of tuna, like tenderloin of beef. And there is
a small part called "sunazuri" within O-toro.The texture
of sunazuri is marbled with thin lines of fat. The look and
the taste of sunazuri make it very special. |
|
| |
|
| Wasabi
- [Eutrema wasabi] |
|
| Wasabi
is a native Japanese plant found around clear spring water.
Shogun Iyeyasu Tokugawa started cultivating wasabi in 16th Century
and spread the method all over Japan. Its root is grated to
be used as a condiment for sushi, sashimi or soba noodle. Its
distinctive pungent taste is a result of enzyme action. It has
been widely used when eating raw fish because of its effect
of killing germs and parasites. It is said that wasabi also
helps digestion. Wasabi powder is commonly used, but is a substitution
made from dyed horse radish. The term "hon-wasabi"
is used to distinguish the real one from the substitutions. |
|
| |
|
| Shari
- Sishu Rice |
|
Sushi
rice is called "shari" (means a tiny piece of Buddha's
bone) because of its shape resemblance and preciousness. It
is a basic part of preparing sushi, yet requires special skill
to make good one. There used to be specialists called "shari-ya"
who devoted himself in making sushi rice in large sushi shops
in Japan. Good sushi rice has a delicate balance of sweetness
and sourness, proper firmness and stickiness, and it shines
like a pearl.
|
|
| Aged
rice is usually preferred to make sushi rice. The cooking method
called "yudaki" where rice is cooked with hot water
is used widely among sushi shops in Japan. Cooked rice is marinated
with "awase-su" (mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and
salt), then kept at the right temperature (about the temperature
of human skin) and humidity. |
| |
|
| Eel
- Unagi |
|
Eel
(unagi) is commonly used for sushi in US. It is very nutritious
and contains 100 times more vitamin A than other fish. Sea
eel or conger eel (anago) is a different species in the same
family. Edomae sushi (Tokyo style sushi, nigiri sushi) features
anago since it has been found in Tokyo Bay. Unagi, on the
other hand, is rarely used in Edomae sushi but very important
food in the Japanese diet otherwise.
|
|
Unagi,
because of its nutritious value, is believed to have an effect
on gaining men's sexual drive. Japanese wives would prepare
unagi for dinner to suggest their husbands that they want
to have an intimate night.
Many Japanese avoid having unagi and umeboshi
(pickled plum) at the same time. It is a superstition called
"tabeawase" that certain combinations of food have
bad effect when taken at the same time. A combination of tempura
and watermelon is another example of tabeawase.
|
| |
|
| Sake |
|
| Class |
Distilled
Alcohol Added? |
Size
of polished rice grain |
| Ginjo |
Yes |
Less
than 60% |
| Dai-ginjo |
Yes |
Less
than 50% |
| Junmai |
No |
Less
than 70% |
| Junmai
Ginjo |
No |
Less
than 60% |
| Junmai
Dai-ginjo |
No |
Less
than 50% |
|
|
