The traditional Japanese dish, Sushi is quite popular. People are in love with this dish and thus on June 18 every year, an International Sushi Day is celebrated. Here’s all you need to know about the history, and interesting facts about Japanese dish.
History of International Sushi Day:
The origin of Sushi came from South East Asia as they had a method of preserving and storing fish for later consumption. Through a method known as Narezushi, fish was first stored by being wrapped up in salted and fermented rice, so that it would remain good and fresh for months at a time. This was made possible only because of the fermentation of the rice.
Initially, the rice was thrown away when the fish was ready to eat, and only the fish was consumed.
Another step towards the development of sushi is far more similar to the modern palate. Known as Namanare, the dish was made from partly raw fish that was wrapped in a fish skin sheet and consumed before the flavour changed. By this time, Sushi had changed from a way to preserve fish and had formed a new form of cuisine.
The traditional form of sushi we know today came to exist in the Edo Period, between 1600 and 1800AD in Japan. By this point, the dish was unique to Japanese culture and consisted of fish and vegetables wrapped in rice, that was later mixed with vinegar. This form of sushi sure had regional variations, but the basic idea of it is still one of the most popular forms of sushi today.
Significance:
People celebrate International Sushi Day as taking it as an opportunity to explore this cuisine and all it has to offer. Some people also hold small and private get-togethers where various types of sushi’s are served. Some even prefer visiting their most favourite sushi place and enjoy the most delicious sushi of their choice. This day is also a great opportunity to introduce a friend to sushi who has never tried the dish before. Some people also like to celebrate International Sushi Day by cooking sushi themselves for friends and family.
Facts about International Sushi Day:
- Traditionally, sushi was eaten by hands, but nowadays people mostly have it with chopsticks.
- The most popular sushi dish in Japan is Bluefin tuna, which was once sold for a record-setting price of $ 1.8 million USD that weighed 222 kg.
- A sushi dish doesn’t necessarily include only raw fish like sashimi, it also consists of the cooked fish
- When sushi arrived in Japan, it was so precious and high esteemed dish that citizens were able to use it to pay their taxes.
