100 Kinds of Sushi

Japanese Ingredient #5 – M.S.G. – Fifth sense of taste

Besides sweet, sour, salty and bitterness, there is umami. Such a interesting word is Japanese standing for freshness. According to wikipedia, "Umami is a Japanese word meaning "savory" or "deliciousness" and thus applies to the sensation of savoriness, specifically to the detection of the natural amino acid, glutamic acid, or glutamates common in meats, cheese and other protein-heavy foods. " Basically the "hearty" feeling is generated by MSG(Monosodium Glutamate) in some form. One thing ...

Japanese Ingredient #4 – Konbucha, NOT Kombucha

There are so many different variation from the original spelling in Japanese, but I believe the best one is "Konbucha", directly translated from the Japanese word 昆布茶. It is not to be confused with Kombucha, which is a fermented tea drink. Definition from Wikipedia: Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented by a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a "kombucha colony," usually consisting principally of Acetobacter-species and yeast cult...

Japanese Ingredient #3 Wasabi – not the ones that you think it is

Common misconception about wasabi is people think wasabi is Japanese horseradish. It is completely wrong! Wasabi is actually the gratings from the roots of the wasabi plant. Unforunately, in a lot of the places you are being served imitation wasabi. But real wasabi is really expensive. You have to pay probably 3-4 dollars for 1 wasabi plant which might only be able to serve 2-3 people in such amount. Not to mention it is hard to find in the US and you have to buy and serve it fresh. Real w...

Japanese Ingredient #2 Gari – Picked Ginger

Pickled ginger should look pink in colour although I have seen other variations of white and light yellow. I like to eat gari and it taste really good with sushi. My habit is to eat 1 piece of it between sushis and it taste pretty good in that way. Actually when you are served a plate of nigiri sushi, ginger is always served (usually wasabi might not be served in real japanese restaurant, because it is already added to the sushi). The ginger(gari) is more than a decoration itself, it serves a...

Japanese Ingredient #1 Shari – Japanese Sushi Rice

Rice is the most important ingredient when you create sushi. Do not under estimate the small piece of rice under the fish. There are a lot of work to be done before it is served with the sushi. This is how they do it. How to make sushi rice(shari): And after making the rice, you need a good chef to put the rice and sushi fish together. Don't think it is easy either. Try it yourself! It is really hard to squeeze the correct amount of rice let alone make the rice adhere to the fish. T...