Sunday, September 2, 2012

Few Important Things About Sushi

By Crystal Salazar


When choosing among many Japanese restaurants serving sushi Calgary residents can surely find something for themselves. Names like Fuji Yama, Sukiyaki House or Calgary Sushi are quite distinctive, and most of them also offer delivery. Well, here are some interesting facts about this popular food.

Sushi is a simple dish with numerous variations. Basic ingredients are Nori algae, rice and raw fish, or any other sea food. The rice has to be very sticky, and the best nori is shiny and dark green. Bite sized pieces are served with different sauces, and soy is the inevitable ingredient.

Modern sushi is a little different than the ancient one. A long time ago, Japanese folks used to eat only the raw fish inside the roll, and the rice was prepared differently. It would be very strange to throw away everything else today, especially because people really developed taste for those little snacks.

Raw fish or shrimps, eel or shellfish with all kinds of pickled vegetables and spices taste just great, especially if you add some fresh slices of cucumber. You may add fruits as well. Sometimes they put wasabi on filling, and sometimes it can be served with the meal. It's hot both ways.

Wasabi is made from very hot and spicy root of the Wasabia Japonica. There are some substitutes made from horseradish, but they don't have the same qualities. It is usually in the form of paste, but you can buy wasabi powder and make your own paste at home, just adding some water in it. If you mix it with soy sauce, you will get extremely hot dipping.

Soy sauce is made of fermented soy beans. It is quite salty, and that is the main reason for dipping only the topping in it. Rice would absorb too much of it. Soy sauce is used as an essential condiment to Asian meals, especially when serving your favorite snacks.

If you add a little sugar and sweet rice wine in it, you will make your own Unagi sauce. It will taste just perfect if you put eel in your filling. With the addition of Dashi, rice vinegar and lemon juice you can make another sauce called Ponzu. For those who want a little bit of fat in their meals, there is a Japanese mayonnaise called Kewpie.

Because the main ingredients are low fat, but with high vitamin and Omega 3 level, this kind of food is considered to be dietary food. Lot of minerals, proteins and carbohydrates make it nutritionally valuable. Well, if you add fatty ingredients like Kewpie, maybe not so dietary.

Gari, or pickled ginger is often added as a valuable digestive but also very tasty condiment. It is very nice custom to serve a cup of green tea with your meal. Soy sauce is a must, by all means. Wasabi is not only tasty; it will also protect you from poisoning if your fish isn't perfectly fresh.

Among different Asian restaurants and bars serving sushi Calgary citizens can choose those with their favorites. Vegetarian version are also available, as well as those containing sweet corn, fruits and rare ingredients. Everything has to be fresh, especially fish and sea food. Keep that in mind if you want to prepare it yourself.




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