Japanese session

[shells]

ok, i posted the qtn to some sushi lovers in another group.  here's why sushi is mixed with vinegar



Chris Moore
United States
 Re: why do we put vinegar to mix with the sushi rice?
2006-11-13 8:57 am
A former life as a chef knows the answer to this…

The vinegar is in the rice for the same reason as the pickled ginger and wasabi. They all act as a killer for any nastiness the fish may contain. Chemically, vinegar cooks the raw fish nullifying any (read: most) parasites left over by even the most careful of chefs. It is sweetened for flavor. The acid also has a nice effect on the gluten (starch) of the rice keeping the rice sticky but separate when it hits the mouth without being a risotto mush. The pickled ginger is a stomach salve. It calms digestion (and sea sickness) as well as buffers even more stragglers. Seaweed is a nice fully loaded vegetable protein with tons of vitamins and antioxidants and wasabi is not only a lovely kin to horseradish, it also has a chemical reaction to eradicate parasitic oocysts. This balance is/was necessary to fend off food borne illness, so “relish,” all of the goodies when eating sushi.

So Mom was still right, eat everything on your plate.

Chris

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MEIJNHARD
Netherlands
 Re: why do we put vinegar to mix with the sushi rice?
2006-11-13 10:49 am
Around 800 - 1100 AD rice was used to preserve fish. The fish was layered in boiled rice and stored under a (stone) weight to ferment for at least a year (nare sushi).
Seven centuries later this fermentation time was reduced to a month and contrary to nare sushi, where the rice was discarded, the fish was consumed with the rice(nama nare sushi)
Several centuries later, with the availability of vinegar, it was able to reduce this preservation time to only a day (haya sushi). Finally in the 19th century, the rice was shaped into handsize balls with slices of raw fish (nigiri sushi).
So the use of vinegar has besides the preservation and taste a definite historic origin.

About the rice sticking to your hands: good sushi rice has the property that it isn't very sticky, so practice on the quality of your rice. And keep your hands moist with some water. Don't make them too wet otherwise the rice in your hands will become too moist and the rice will fall apart.

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[shells]

hi... anyone keen to resume our monthly experiment sessions?  supposed to be doing sushi this month.. but i'm very flexible.  anyone would like to volunteer their kitchen this time?  :p

[KM]

Hi Shells,

My colleague wife is a japanese & her cooking is super.
If I can arrange with her to teach, will you be interested?
Can be at her place near bangkok mrt or at someone's house.
 
 

[PowerPuffGirl]

I'll be quite Buzi cos I need to run some errands and make some pineapple tarts perhaps...Thinking of doing egg roll as well. Ve to wait till after CNY to continue the cooking sessions. Meanwhile u enjoy...