If You Knew Sushi…

Sushi has taken the world by storm and today is a multi-billion dollar industry. This healthy and delicious food saw its most recent transformation in the 20th century. Sushi now appears worldwide and its popularity constantly increases as people continue to look for healthy food that is quick and easy to make.

 

Where did sushi come from?

Although today you will most commonly find sushi served in a Japanese restaurant, it actually dates back to 7th century China. The Chinese people started making sushi as a way of preserving fish.  Seeing as how they were not equipped with modern refrigerators, they used the natural process of fermentation. To complete the sushi-making process, only rice and salt were needed. The result was delicious fish. By the 8th century the Japanese had acquired this same practice which consisted of packing fish with rice.

Today, each region of Japan still preserves its own unique taste by utilizing local products in making different kinds of sushi that have been passed on for generations.  

 

Finally, a food that your hips and taste buds will enjoy

The popularity of sushi is greater now than ever.  People are much more health conscious and enjoy the fact that sushi is not only delicious, but also very good for you. Generally speaking, these finger foods are nutritionally smart bombs; sushi is low in fat, loaded with nutrients, not to mention quick and easy to make.    

The fish is an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acid, known to be protective against heart disease, and depending on the type of fish used, it can be low-fat food.

The seaweed may be a good source of iodine and potassium and the rice is rich in complex carbohydrates. When the fish is eaten together with rice, seaweed and avocado, it is a perfectly balanced meal of carbohydrate, protein and fat.  Overall, sushi can be considered healthy and has a low calorie count.  For instance, a typical serving of sushi, which consists of 8-10 pieces, has around 350-400 calories.  

It is a wonderful bonus to be able to eat the food you love without your health paying the price for your indulgence.  And for those of you who have never eaten sushi, you will probably be surprised at how delicious it is with its light taste that leaves you satisfied.

 

Sushi and Wasabi -- hand in hand

Wasabi is a highly valued plant in Japanese cuisine, used primarily as a condiment for seafood dishes. Unlike chili peppers, wasabi’s heat component is not long lived on the palate as it subsides into an extremely pleasant mild vegetable taste that even those of you otherwise averse to hot food will enjoy.  Wasabi’s unique taste and versatile flavor has given it widespread appeal throughout the world.  It is widely used in dressings, dips, sauces and marinades. 

 

Even though you will most commonly find that Japanese restaurants combine the wasabi paste with soy sauce, known as ‘wasabi-joyu’, and then use this as a dipping sauce for sushi, the best way to enjoy the full flavor of wasabi is to dip one end of the sushi into the wasabi paste and the other end in the soy sauce.

 

Low supply makes real wasabi hard to find these days.  Don’t be fooled by the smooth green clump served alongside your sushi.  It is not the real wasabi; it is wasabi paste, usually the combination of horseradish, mustard and food coloring.  Nonetheless, some restaurants do guarantee the provision of 100% wasabi.  If so, you can enjoy the health benefits of real wasabi which include cancer and harmful blood clot prevention, as well as its anti-asthmatic and anti-microbial properties.

 

With such incredible popularity as well as the health benefits of eating sushi, it is likely that this food will continue to be a part of everyday life for many more centuries to come.