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Dish

Sushi

SOO-shee
Also Known As Nigirizushi The dominant modern form, distinguished from the older narezushi fermentation method the entity's origin-region fact also describes.
Rice, Grain and Starch Dishes

Vinegared rice paired with raw or prepared fish, vegetables or egg, descended from narezushi, an older Southeast Asian and East Asian method of preserving fish by packing it in fermented rice. Edo-period Tokyo (then Edo) developed the fast, vinegared-rice style eaten fresh, nigiri-zushi, that spread worldwide as sushi today, displacing the slower fermented original as the dominant form.

Facts
Origin Period, From (Year)
from 1824 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the traditional attribution of nigirizushi, the fast vinegared-rice style eaten fresh that became the dominant modern form, to the chef Hanaya Yohei in Edo (Tokyo); the older narezushi fermentation method it displaced is far older and rooted in Southeast Asia.
Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own account
Southeast Asia (narezushi origin, Mekong River basin); modern nigirizushi developed in Edo (Tokyo), Japan 1
FAQs

Does sushi mean raw fish?

Sushi refers to the seasoned rice; the fish is usually but not always raw.

No. According to CooksInfo, sushi actually refers to the seasoned rice, and the pieces of fish are sashimi. The sushi rice is called sushi meshi. The fish is usually, but not always, raw.
Connections

Expresses Tradition

Narezushi and Fermented Fish, Food Traditions
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson

In Cuisine

Japanese Cuisine, Cuisines
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson

Long-Form Articles

Three Chefs, One Contested Roll, Articles

Uses Ingredient

Rice, Ingredients
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidsontier 1
Japan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidsontier 1
Southeast Asia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidsontier 1
Sources
1. Sushi (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • History, Narezushi
    Fermented fish using rice, such as narezushi, originated in Southeast Asia, where it was made to preserve freshwater fish, possibly in the Mekong River basin
  • Hayazushi section
    One common story of the origin of nigirizushi is of the chef Hanaya Yohei (1799-1858), who invented or perfected the technique in 1824 at his shop in Ryōgoku.
View the Source
The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014Expresses Tradition: Narezushi and Fermented Fish, s.v. Sushi
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