March 3rd is Hina-Matsuri, the Doll's festival for girls, and we eat special Sushi named Chirashi-zushi. There are a variety of "Sushi" in Japan, and I will show you some of them.
1. Chirashi-zushi (Mixed-sushi)
 |
| Chirashi-zushi |
Stripped baked egg, boiled shrimps, salty-sweet mushrooms, cubed cucumbers, etc. are on vinegar rice. We often eat Chirashi-zushi on celebratory occasions.
If the toppings are raw fish, we call it as Kaisen (fresh seafood) Chirashi-zushi.
2. Nigiri-zushi
Nigiri-zushi is the most common type of sushi. If someone just says "Sushi", it might mean Nigiri-zushi. Nigigiri-zusi is a bite-sized vinegar rice ball with a sliced raw fish or shellfish on top.
3. Maki-zushi (Rolled-sushi)
 |
| Top: Nigiri-zushi Middle: Maki-zushi Bottom: Inari-zushi |
All ingredients are rolled with vinegar rice in a sheet of dried seaweed. We often eat Maki-zushi at a school's sports festival or at a picnic.
If most of the ingredients are raw fish, we call it as Kaisen (fresh seafood) Maki-zushi. Be sure not to take Kaisen type of sushi to an outdoor event because raw fish goes bad under the sun.
4. Temaki-zushi (Hand-rolled-sushi)
 |
| Temaki-zushi |
Raw fish and some vegetables are rolled with vinegar rice in a sheet of dries seaweed. We eat Temaki-zushi at home rather than at a restaurant, such as when friends and families get together at home.
5. Inari-zushi
Vinegar rice is packed in a fried Tofu bag which tastes salty-sweet. As raw fish is not included in Inari-zushi, people who don't want to eat raw fish might be able to eat this sushi.
From early 18 centuries to the middle of 20 centuries, Sushi, especially Inari-zushi, was often eaten as a fast food and there were lots of sushi stalls in Tokyo. You can see a replica of Inari-zushi stall at Fukagawa Edo Museum (https://www.kcf.or.jp/fukagawa/).
 |
| Replica of Inari-zushi stall (Fukagawa Edo Museum) |
By Yasuko
No comments:
Post a Comment