Home Sushi Preparations Made Easy
Three Simple Classical Sushi Preparations Featuring Simplicity
Hello…Hello…I recommend getting up to speed on how to make sushi rice before moving along in this article. Here’s a link to my recent sushi rice primer – How to Make Sushi Rice – Following my simple instructions will help considerably when exploring the three preparations I highlight in this article, and you could be preparing and presenting sushi at home in a matter of hours.
I sacrificed a great deal to become a professional chef.
I left a high-paying management job in telecommunications, sold all my belongings, and enrolled in a top culinary school thousands of miles away from my comfortable California existence. I moved to Europe and worked in Michelin-rated restaurants for 6 months – without pay. Even my paying jobs were…well…less than adequate to sustain an expensive Swiss existence. And I did all this while working 12-15 hours per day.
It was a challenging introduction into a world I chose and love…and it was nothing compared to what a trained sushi chef experiences.
A sushi apprentice often begins at a sushi shop around the age of seventeen. The sole job of the apprentice for a couple of years is to do the dishwashing and deliver takeout orders. The next step is learning how to make the rice – a daily task the apprentice will intimately get to know during the next 2-3 years. Then, after carefully observing the master at work, the apprentice earns the right to watch the master expertly carve everything in sight with super-sharp knives. The apprentice finally graduates to assistant and begins to learn everything there is to know about operating a sushi shop – a process that may take another 5-7 years before gaining full sushi chef recognition. In other words, an investment of 10-12 years working long hours and earning very little.
Overcoming the Sushi Mystique
The evolutionary road to today’s sushi began as early as the 5th century BC. The first iteration of what would become known as sushi began as a method to preserve fish inside fermented rice. Increased rice production eventually led to the invention of rice wine vinegar during the 17th century, and suddenly it was possible to rapidly press vinegared rice and fish into a bamboo box, which was sliced and served as a kind of fast food.
Sushi continued to develop during the next few hundred years as the demand for this kind of ‘health’ food exploded…and not just in Japan, but worldwide. Suddenly, sushi popped up everywhere – chain store locations, supermarkets, food stalls – and most of it was prepared by sophisticated machines. Sushi had become a fast-food item mostly made on an assembly line.
Somehow, the classic sushi chef prevailed despite the evolutionary changes taking place on a worldwide scale. And there is nothing quite like watching a master craftsman owning the stage while seated at a sushi bar. The white clothes are impeccable. Two knives are never far from the chef’s reach…the glistening edge leaves no doubt that these knives are razor-sharp. All the fillings and toppings are artfully arranged in glass containers so the chef and patron can plainly see the display. Words are barely spoken in the sushi chef’s domain. Platters are crafted like unique paintings. Watching this show unfold behind the sushi bar is both a pleasure and intimidating.
I’m filled with joy when I witness a sushi chef at work. I sense the years of training as an apprentice and assistant. I see the dedication to the craft of making sushi. I feel the respect the chef has for the customers. I know I am enjoying a moment I couldn’t possibly re-create in my kitchen…and that feels intimidating to me as a professional chef – and I suppose I’m not alone.
Most people never consider taking on the task of making sushi at home. Sushi, it seems, is best left to chefs who have invested years of training or machines that pump out uninspired sushi rolls by the thousands.
But there is a space between the expert work of a sushi chef and the mass production of machines. It is a place where the humble beginnings of sushi can be revisited, explored, and mastered by the home cook.
Exploring Variations and Keeping It Simple
The idea of sushi grew out of a need to preserve fish. The earliest version was simply fish packed into the rice and allowed to ferment – sometimes up to one year. The fish was consumed, and the rice was discarded. Eventually, the rice was boiled and eaten with the fish and other toppings scattered over the rice. This scattered sushi variation remains popular in Japanese homes today.
Another change occurred a few hundred years later in the city of Osaka. Toppings, usually fresh or marinated fish, were placed inside a bamboo mold, rice was added, and everything was pressed into a box shape. The pressed sushi was inverted, sliced into bite-sized pieces, and sold as a kind of early fast food. As with scattered sushi, this method remains popular today.
Once rice vinegar was available during the early 1800s, sushi chefs began pressing vinegared rice into a ball and topping it with a slice of raw fish or some type of vegetable. Nigiri sushi, as it was called, remains one of the most popular types of sushi today…and with the help of a small square of clingfilm, home cooks can create a variety of interesting variations with minimal effort.
Getting caught up in the mystique of making sushi is simple – especially after watching a master chef expertly roll sushi rice and a filling wrapped around a nori sheet and into a tight roll using a bamboo mat. But there are many sushi variations to explore that do not require master-sushi-chef status. With a few fresh ingredients and a little care, it becomes reasonable to consider making sushi at home…and it will taste far better than anything you could buy ready-prepared.
Just keep this in mind - all sushi is only vinegared rice with a filling or topping.