Kinja Eats: Sushi Part 2

January 21, 2019

Kinja is currently looking to hire an experienced Sushi Chef. We would prefer someone with previous and varied experience preparing both traditional and modern Japanese Sushi. We are also looking for help in the kitchen as well as an additional server. The ability to work well with others and handle constructive advice is a must. We are an easy going family owned establishment so we are looking for someone who can fit in to that kind of an environment. At the same time we take our business very seriously in that we provide the highest quality ingredients and dishes that we can to our customers. If you are interested in and qualified for this position then please contact us.

Daily Dish:

Sushi

A Japanese dish made up of a variety of seafoods such as, fish, shrimp, squid etc. It is usually served on rice that has been seasoned with a vinegar and sugar mixture. Sushi is usually presented in a roll that is sliced into individual portions.

Types

The common ingredient in all types of sushi is vinegared sushi rice. Fillings, toppings, condiments, and preparation vary widely.

Note that due to rendaku consonant mutation, sushi is spelled with zu instead of su whenever a prefix is attached, such as in nigirizushi for instance.

Chirashizushi

Chirashizushi (ちらし寿司, "scattered sushi", also referred to as barazushi) serves the rice in a bowl and tops it with a variety of raw fish and vegetable garnishes. It is commonly eaten because it is filling, fast and easy to make.[citation needed] It is eaten annually on Hinamatsuri in March.

Edomae chirashizushi (Edo-style scattered sushi) is served with uncooked ingredients in an artful arrangement.
Gomokuzushi (Kansai-style sushi) consists of cooked or uncooked ingredients mixed in the body of rice.
Sake-zushi (Kyushu-style sushi) uses rice wine over vinegar in preparing the rice, and is topped with shrimp, sea bream, octopus, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots and shredded omelette.

Inarizushi

Inarizushi (稲荷寿司) is a pouch of fried tofu typically filled with sushi rice alone.

Tales tell that inarizushi is named after the Shinto god Inari. Foxes, messengers of Inari, are believed to have a fondness for fried tofu, and an Inari-zushi roll has pointed corners that resemble fox ears.

Regional variations include pouches made of a thin omelette (帛紗寿司, fukusa-zushi, or 茶巾寿司, chakin-zushi) instead of tofu. It should not be confused with inari maki, which is a roll filled with flavored fried tofu.

Cone sushi is a variant of inarizushi originating in Hawaii that may include green beans, carrots, or gobo along with rice, wrapped in a triangular aburage piece. It is often sold in okazu-ya (Japanese delis) and as a component of bento boxes.

Makizushi

Makizushi (巻き寿司, "rolled sushi"), norimaki (海苔巻き, "Nori roll") or makimono (巻物, "variety of rolls") is a cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat known as a makisu (巻き簾). Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori (seaweed), but is occasionally wrapped in a thin omelette, soy paper, cucumber, or shiso (perilla) leaves. Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitutes a single roll order. Below are some common types of makizushi, but many other kinds exist.

Futomaki

Futomaki (太巻, "thick, large or fat rolls") is a large cylindrical piece, usually with nori on the outside. A typical futomaki is five to six centimetres (2 to 2 1⁄2 in) in diameter. They are often made with two, three, or more fillings that are chosen for their complementary tastes and colors. During the evening of the Setsubun festival, it is traditional in the Kansai region to eat uncut futomaki in its cylindrical form, where it is called ehō-maki (恵方巻, lit. happy direction rolls). By 2000 the custom had spread to all of Japan. Futomaki are often vegetarian, and may utilize strips of cucumber, kampyō gourd, takenoko bamboo shoots, or lotus root. Strips of tamagoyaki omelette, tiny fish roe, chopped tuna, and oboro (food) whitefish flakes are typical non-vegetarian fillings. Traditionally, the rice is lightly seasoned with salt and sesame oil/perilla oil. Popular protein ingredients are fish cakes, imitation crab meat, eggs, or seasoned beef rib-eye. Vegetables usually include cucumbers, spinach, carrot and takuan (沢庵) (pickled radish). After the makizushi has been rolled and sliced, it is typically served with takuan.

Short grain white rice is usually used, although short-grain brown rice, like olive oil on nori, is now becoming more widespread among the health-conscious. Rarely, sweet rice is mixed in makizushi rice. Nowadays, the rice in makizushi can be many kinds of black rice, boiled rice and cereals etc.Besides the common ingredients listed above, some varieties may include cheese, spicy cooked squid, yakiniku, kamaboko, lunch meat, sausage, bacon or spicy tuna. The nori may be brushed with sesame oil or sprinkled with sesame seeds. In a variation, sliced pieces of makizushi may be lightly fried with egg coating. Tamago makizushi (玉子巻き寿司) is makizushi is rolled out by a thin egg. Tempura Makizushi (天ぷら巻き寿司) or Agezushi (揚げ寿司ロール) is a fried version of the dish.

Hosomaki

Hosomaki (細巻, "thin rolls") is a small cylindrical piece, with nori on the outside. A typical hosomaki has a diameter of about 2.5 centimetres (1 in). They generally contain only one filling, often tuna, cucumber, kanpyō, thinly sliced carrots, or, more recently, avocado. Kappamaki, (河童巻) a kind of Hosomaki filled with cucumber, is named after the Japanese legendary water imp fond of cucumbers called the kappa. Traditionally, kappamaki is consumed to clear the palate between eating raw fish and other kinds of food, so that the flavors of the fish are distinct from the tastes of other foods. Tekkamaki (鉄火巻) is a kind of hosomaki filled with raw tuna. Although it is believed that the word tekka, meaning "red hot iron", alludes to the color of the tuna flesh or salmon flesh, it actually originated as a quick snack to eat in gambling dens called tekkaba (鉄火場), much like the sandwich. Negitoromaki (ねぎとろ巻) is a kind of hosomaki filled with scallion (negi) and chopped tuna (toro). Fatty tuna is often used in this style. Tsunamayomaki (ツナマヨ巻) is a kind of hosomaki filled with canned tuna tossed with mayonnaise.

Ehōmaki

Ehōmaki (恵方巻, "lucky direction roll") is a roll composed of seven ingredients considered to be lucky. Ehōmaki are often eaten on setsubun in Japan. The typical ingredients include kanpyō, egg, eel, and shiitake mushrooms. Ehōmaki often include other ingredients too. People usually eat the ehōmaki while facing the direction considered to be auspicious that year.

Temaki (手巻, "hand roll") is a large cone-shaped piece of nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about 10 centimetres (4 in) long, and is eaten with fingers because it is too awkward to pick it up with chopsticks. For optimal taste and texture, temaki must be eaten quickly after being made because the nori cone soon absorbs moisture from the filling and loses its crispness, making it somewhat difficult to bite through. For this reason, the nori in pre-made or take-out temaki is sealed in plastic film which is removed immediately before eating.

Modern Narezushi

Narezushi (熟れ寿司, "matured sushi") is a traditional form of fermented sushi. Skinned and gutted fish are stuffed with salt, placed in a wooden barrel, doused with salt again, then weighed down with a heavy tsukemonoishi(pickling stone). As days pass, water seeps out and is removed. After six months, this sushi can be eaten, remaining edible for another six months or more.

The most famous variety of narezushi are the ones offered as a specialty dish of Shiga Prefecture, particularly the funa-zushi made from fish of the crucian carp genus, the authentic version of which calls for the use nigorobuna, a particular locally differentiated variety of wild goldfish endemic to Lake Biwa).

Nigirizushi

Nigirizushi (握り寿司, "hand-pressed sushi") consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that the chef presses between the palms of the hands to form an oval-shaped ball, and a topping (the neta) draped over the ball. It is usually served with a bit of wasabi; neta are typically fish such as salmon, tuna or other seafood. Certain toppings are typically bound to the rice with a thin strip of nori, most commonly octopus (tako), freshwater eel (unagi), sea eel (anago), squid (ika), and sweet egg (tamago). One order of a given type of fish typically results in two pieces, while a sushi set (sampler dish) may contain only one piece of each topping.[original research?]

Gunkanmaki

Gunkanmaki (軍艦巻, "warship roll") is a special type of nigirizushi: an oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice that has a strip of nori wrapped around its perimeter to form a vessel that is filled with some soft, loose or fine-chopped ingredient that requires the confinement of nori such as roe, nattō, oysters, uni (sea urchin roe), corn with mayonnaise, scallops, and quail eggs. Gunkan-maki was invented at the Ginza Kyubey restaurant in 1941; its invention significantly expanded the repertoire of soft toppings used in sushi.

Temarizushi

Temarizushi (手まり寿司, "ball sushi") is a sushi made by pressing rice and fish into a ball-shaped form by hand using a plastic wrap.

Oshizushi

Oshizushi (押し寿司, "pressed sushi"), also known as hako-zushi (箱寿司, "box sushi"), is a pressed sushi from the Kansai region, a favorite and specialty of Osaka. A block-shaped piece is formed using a wooden mold, called an oshibako. The chef lines the bottom of the oshibako with the toppings, covers them with sushi rice, and then presses the lid of the mold down to create a compact, rectilinear block. The block is removed from the mold and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Particularly famous is バッテラ (battera, pressed mackerel sushi) or 鯖寿司 (saba zushi). In oshizushi, all the ingredients are either cooked or cured and raw fish is never used.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

After reading that, the only question left to ask is, “Which one do I try first?” Come to Kinja on North Division and try some of our house fresh sushi from our comprehensive menu.

Dish of the Day Author: Kinja