Further ingredients
Vinegar (Su)
Rice vinegar undoubtedly is the most important spice
concerning the preparation of Sushi. You should absolutely
use rice vinegar, for wine vinegar or apple vinegar is much
too intensive in taste - they would conceal every other
taste. The rice vinegar is used to spice the cooked rice.
You may also disinfect the raw fish with it.
Tip
You often find rice vinegar already mixed with sugar and salt
called Sushi-zu that you can use especially for
the preparation of Sushi.
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Ginger (Gari) · ガリ
 | Root |
In the whole Japanese cooking, ginger plays an important
role, also in preparing Sushi. Pickled ginger is always
served with Sushi and normally eaten between the single
bites to neutralize the taste in your mouth so that every
mouthful shows to advantage.
The pickled ginger is cut in very thin slices, having a good
effect on digestion and being very stimulating.
Horseradish (Wasabi) · ワサビ
 | Root |
Japanese horseradish is green and much more aromatic than
the European one. Therefore it is not possible to replace
Wasabi by European horseradish. It is nearly
impossible to get fresh Wasabi here, which is
rubbed delicately with a grater before using. You may find it
in the form of powder or in tubes. The powder is stirred with
water to a thickened paste, Wasabi being in tubes
can be used instantly without further treatment. If you make
Nigiri-zushi you will absolutely need
Wasabi. Many people appreciate it if it is put
additionally into soy sauce. Therefore you stir a small amount
of Wasabi into soy sauce before serving it to
Sushi. However, you should be careful with using
Wasabi. Like the European horseradish, it
does not leave much to be desired concerning its pungency.
Seaweed (Nori/Kombu) · 海苔/昆布
You will need Nori (海苔) for rolled Sushi.
Nori sheets are pressed from dried seaweed
that was cut into small pieces. They are lightly roasted, tasting
discreetly salty. Nori is also used to build a
cup for the different sorts of fish eggs
(Gunkan-style).
Kombu (昆布) on the other hand is a special sort of
seaweed which is dried in whole pieces before being used for
cooking. Kombu is rich in calcium, iodine and
iron and also containing natural glutamate which intensifies
the taste. You should not wash Kombu but only
wipe it with a damp tea towel, as the white powder on the
surface is responsible for a substantial part of the taste.
Kombu contains that much iodine that you should
not eat a lot of it at once.
Sesame (Goma) · ゴマ
Sesame seed is used as a refinement for some Sushi. It is used
above all with the different types of Maki-zushi.
Together with ice cream tasting vanilla or green tea it will
make a simple, delicious dessert.
Soy sauce (Shoyu) · 醤油
Soy sauce exists in two variations, being pale or dark. For
Sushi you take the dark sauce. At the beginning of the meal
you put soy sauce in a small bowl, possibly mix it with some
Wasabi, and use it to dip the separate Sushi
bites in.
Rice wine (Mirin) · みりん
Mirin (みりん) is a sweet wine, made out of different
sorts of rice, being often used in the kitchen for marinades.
There are two types of rice wine, hon mirin and
shin mirin, slightly different in taste. For the
preparation of Sushi you may use both.
Flat cake of tofu (Abura-age) · 油揚げ
You need fried flat cakes of tofu for
Inari-zushi (稲荷寿司).
Therefore you sweeten the cakes and fill it with the vinegared
rice.
Bonito flakes (Katsuo-bushi) · 鰹節
Bonito is a fish related to the tuna. Because of its very
individual taste it is hardly used for Sushi. In Japanese
cooking there are the so-called bonito flakes
(Katsuo-bushi) used as a spice. For making
them, the bonito is cooked at first. Next it is smoked and
dried several times until it has become very stiff. With a
special tool the flakes are then cut off the fish. The flakes
are among other things one of the two main ingredients for
Dashi stock.
Shichimi tōgarashi
The main part of these very spicy mixed herbs is chili-pepper.
Added are orange peel, seaweed and sesame seed.
Togarashi is a seasoning used at the table. It
gives soups and noodles a piquant touch.
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