tuesday.october6th.

mmmm. sushi.
i love sushi.
anytime. anyday.
thusfar, without exception.
this wasn’t always the case.

Sushi, like wine, is an acquired taste.

You have to start with your gateway sushi – California and Cucumber Rolls.
Then you graduate to the spicy tuna or salmon, dynamite rolls, maybe some bbq eel.
Finally, you get to the straight up raw fish – sometimes on rice, sometimes not depending on how carb-friendly you’re feeling that day.

My biggest accomplishment of my weekday off this week was going with a friend for sushi at lunch.

Having now had many a visit of indulging in the raw fish and alleged miniscule amounts of mercury poisoning, I thought maybe I should read up a bit more about sushi. (Health Note: The mercury poisoning concerns relate primarily to the consumption of tuna (especially bluefin). As it happens, I don’t like tuna. So bring on the sushi!) Without further rambling…

My sushi of choice these days is from Kokoro Sushi on Marlee Avenue at Glencairn.
Inexpensive, yummy, and the friendliest employees you could ask for.

They even ran out the door after me one day when we almost forgot the miso soup that goes with our order. I may also perhaps love it because it’s walking distance from my house, and they give you 10% discount on take out orders that you pay for with cash money.

Technically speaking…

Sushi - vinegar rice, usually topped with other ingredients, such as fish.
Sashimi – sliced raw fish alone.
Nigirizushi – sashimi served with hand-formed clumps of rice
Makizushi – sushi served rolled inside or around nori (dried seaweed)
Futomaki – literally, large or fat rolls made with 2-3 fillings chosen for their complimentary tastes and colours
Hosomaki – smaller rolls containing only one filling.
Kappamaki – a type of Hosomaki filled with cucumber

As I’ve just learned, my favourite rolls are all the “Americanized” ones. What can I say, I’m a sucker for sesame seeds, spicy tuna and tempura bits.

California roll - consists of avocado, kani kama (imitation crab stick), and cucumber.
Caterpillar roll - avocado, unagi, kani kama, and cucumber.
Dynamite roll - yellowtail (hamachi), and fillings such as bean sprouts, carrots, chili and spicy mayonnaise (Dynamite roll and Crunchy roll are essentially reversed in some parts of Canada, especially western Canada.)
Rainbow roll - a California roll topped with several various sashimi.
Philadelphia roll - smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, and/or onion.
Salmon roll - grilled salmon skin with sweet sauce and cucumber.
Crunchy roll - a California roll deep fried tempura-style, topped with sweet eel sauce or chili sauce.

File Under Sushi History

Sushi has been around since circa 3rd century B.C. when it was first described as smashed/pulped fish. The original type of sushi was called nare-sushi. Fish was salted and wrapped in fermented rice. Nare-sushi was made of this gutted fish stored in fermented rice for preservation. Nare-sushi was stored for fermentation for a few months then removed. The fermented rice was discarded and fish was the only part consumed. This early sushi was a great source of protein.

The Japanese preferred to eat the fish with the rice, called seisei-sushi. During the Muromachi period seisei-sushi was the most popular type of sushi. Seisei-sushi was partly raw fish wrapped in rice, consumed fresh, before it lost its flavor. This new way of consuming fish became a new dish in Japanese cuisine, escalating from just a form of preservation.

During the Edo era (the early modern period, 1603 to 1868 in Japan), haya-sushi was introduced. Haya-sushi was assembled so that both rice and fish could be consumed at the same time, and the dish became unique to the Japanese culture. It was the first time that rice was not used for fermentation. Rice was now mixed with vinegar. Fish, vegetables and dried preserved foods were added. Haya-sushi is thus the closest to the sushi we eat today, with each region localizing flavours (including Canada!)

Sushi Is Japanese Fast Food?

Today what we know internationally as "sushi", is a fast food invented by Hanaya Yohei at the end of Edo period in Tokyo. People in Tokyo were living in haste even a hundred years ago. The nigirizushi invented by Hanaya was not fermented and could be eaten using the fingers or chopsticks. It was an early form of fast food that could be eaten at a road side or in the theatre.

More Sushi…

Sushi Star at Spadina & College – I haven’t been here myself but have a friend who swears by their lunch combos
Sushi Island at College & Clinton – an All-You-Can-Eat Sushi Haven in an old Mexican Restaurant in Little Italy. Is that Toronto enough for you?
Rainbow Sushi on Bathurst at Lawrence – also close to home, but mainly because they’ve got a nicer dine-in experience. Best when you go with a few friends and share things around.