(Voice actor) Mr.Chris Koprowski

Japanese food is popular all around the world. Among Japanese food, sushi is the most popular. The style to eat rice topped with fresh fish or shellfish and soy sauce can be seen not only in Japan, but globally. Sushi was originally fermented fish, like the traditional food of Shiga prefecture, “Funa-zushi.” Back when the technology to transport fresh fish wasn’t available, fish needed to be fermented to be preserved. Sushi became what it is now during the Edo period under the Tokugawa regime. Only after a city was built near the ocean and fresh fish became available, the modern-day, hand-pressed sushi and rolled sushi were born. However, the amount of rice was larger at the time, about the size of a rice ball. Naturally, many sushi restaurants were established in the densely populated Edo. Therefore, sushi served with fish caught in the Edo bay, Edomae-zushi, became synonymous with sushi. On a side note, the people of this era did not like the fatty parts of the fish. So, these parts of the tuna, like the fatty tuna we call Otoro, were thrown away or fed to cats. What a waste. Now, the amount of fish that could be caught in Edo was limited. It wasn’t until around 1900 that large number of fish could be used for sushi. There were more ice cube vendors, and refrigerators that use ice cubes became accessible, so it was possible to maintain the freshness of fish. With that, the variety of fish grew rapidly. Also, around this time, the size of rice became closer to what it is now and the shape of sushi became similar to that of what we know. In this way, sushi was passed down to the modern day while changing according to the transitions of era. By the way, sushi used to be made exclusively by sushi chefs, but the conveyor-belt sushi was born after the Second World War to make it a more casual dining experience. As such, sushi became a popular meal enjoyed by a wide range of people, from high-end sushi restaurants to casual sushi-belt restaurants. Currently, fish and shellfish caught all around the world are used for sushi. The popular tuna is a good example. It can be caught in the sea around Japan, but tuna caught in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic are gathered. That became possible because of transportation technology. And on the other hand, Japan’s traditional techniques are used to maintain the freshness of fish. What are the traditional technique and latest technology that are used to produce modern-day sushi?