Fast-food sushi

How sushi became fast food Takeo Funabiki explores the smelly origins of Japan’s global culinary delight

In part one of this article, published in the last issue of Time Out Tokyo, I wrote that ‘sushi lives and dies by its ingredients’. My hope is that fishermen will try to refine their palates in order to create their own form of sushi, instead of attempting to recreate the ‘Edo style’.

The fermented roots of sushi In fact, what is commonly called sushi these days, i.e. Edomae sushi, is a recent phenomenon in the history of sushi: it only appeared in the latter part of the Edo period (early 19th century) as a convenient form of fast food. Until then, ‘sushi’ referred to fermented fish and game, which had been buried in a mixture of salt and cooked rice (and, in some cases, sake lees and koji mould) and left to ferment for months or even years. The rice component was originally a fermentation agent and was not to be eaten.

To understand the origins of Edomae sushi, one has to look into the social history of fermented food. Consumables like wine, liquor, cheese, miso and gyosho fish sauce are all core components of their respective food cultures. Proper fermentation requires a high level of skill as it involves stabilising the chemical decay process of food just before it goes bad. Mastering this technique allowed people to create as a city: following the large-scale new, ‘artificial’ tastes, which do not urban development that started occur naturally. around the year 1600, its population

The high value accorded to such eventually grew to one million, food and drink is reflected in how creating a huge concentration of strongly people identify with the people living far away from their fermented food they have been families’ homes. Over hundreds of eating since childhood, considering it years, a culinary culture specific to an indispensable part of their culture, Edo came into being, as rootless while outsiders urbanites abandoned the dismiss it as ‘smelly’ distinct, divisive flavours and unpleasant. of narezushi in favour of Japanese natto is a perfect example: like many foreigners, Tokyo gave birth to something anyone could enjoy right away: the brisk taste of vinegared rice people in the western parts of the country may even find it modernity in aspects like paired with freshly caught raw fish – Edo’s signature fast food, nigiri (handdisgusting, while easterners never stop singing its praises. cuisine two centuries ago formed) sushi. The reason sushi came to be appreciated overseas some 200 years after Edo’s modern fast food its Edo transformation is because In the same way, sushi was originally that’s how long it took for the rest region-specific, and only became of the world to catch up with Tokyo’s a ‘mainstream’ food as the result rootless, busy modernity. Sushi’s of two developments. The first was worldwide success story most the invention of vinegar. Itself a likely began in California, where the fermented product, vinegar could sensibilities of a global, mobile and be mixed into rice to instantly create busy population proved compatible ‘fermented rice’. The beauty of with the ideals of Edo modernity vinegar was that it fulfilled many – although the fact that sushi was people’s longstanding desire to eat considered diet-friendly also helped. at least a little bit of the narezushi Now, readers who think rice, which had been a little too ‘modernity’ came from the West smelly in the past. The second may find my thinking a little curious, factor relates to the nature of Edo but I maintain that modernity ought

not to be understood as a linear historical process, popping up in a specific place and then proceeding from there. Instead, it is a number of systems brought about by new needs created when specific technologies combine with specific populations. In this sense, the city of Edo (Tokyo) gave birth to modernity in aspects like cuisine two centuries ago.

Sushi comes full circle Finally, although its current simple, clean taste and use of only a few ingredients suggest that sushi has now left the domain of fermented food, some signs point to an opposite trend: first seen at high-end shops, an endless array of appetisers now precede the original fast food nigiri at practically every sushi-serving restaurant worth the name. Chefs dish up things like karasumi (dried mullet roe), konowata (sea cucumber entrails) and kuchiko (sea cucumber ovaries), all fermented delicacies, to complement the simplicity of the main attraction. Thus, sushi is perhaps about to come full circle: having originated as a fermented dish and then transformed into the fresh Edoera fast food we know today, it is slowly moving back towards its roots. Now that’s a thought worth raising a glass of sake to, of course while nibbling on shiokara (salted seafood guts) or some other fermented delicacy.

You know you’re in Tokyo when… J apan is a land with a rich culinary culture, where chefs take into account the current season when preparing their dishes. Hotpots in winter. You find yourself axing a watermelon Ichigo daifuku (strawberry and sweet bean By Benjamin Boas balls) in spring. And in summer, a slew of refreshing treats, including some of the You’ve presumably eaten watermelon before, but if you want to do it in the traditional summer Japanese style, you have to hunt it first. Here’s how: take your group of watermelon-eaters to the beach and conceal your prized fruit in the sand. Take turns being blindfolded. When it’s your turn, you’re given a large stick and sent in search of the watermelon – which, in true samurai fashion, you’re expected to whack open with one hit. After all, food tastes so much better when you catch it yourself. If your spider senses aren’t tingly enough to gauge the melon’s location, that’s okay, because everyone will be shouting directions at you – though be warned, some of your wilier friends might lead you chopping into the surf. kookiest dishes this country has to offer. We’ve waded through all of them, nixed TOKOROTEN the weirder ones (squid-on-a-stick, beerIs it a noodle? A jelly? Cthulhu flavoured ice cream), and now present you with our five favourites. Beat the heat with GARIGARItentacles, perhaps? Even though it’s impossible to these oddball delights! KUN guess at first sight exactly what tokoroten is made from POPSICLES (spoiler: it’s agar, or plant jelly), it’s one of the coolest summer MUGICHA Don’t let the youthful looks of this ice pop’s mascot fool you: Mr Crunchy has foods around because it can be seasoned with just about (BARLEY TEA) been around for close to 35 years now, anything. Virtually formless Japan seems to have a different variety of tea for every occasion. Sencha to welcome guests, hojicha to cleanse the palate, and of course powdered matcha for more formal occasions. If all of this is confusing, then perhaps it’s time to take a break with some mugicha – roasted barley tea – the most chillaxed tea of them and chances are that every one of your Japanese friends will be familiar with this frosty treat. Not only is it tasty, but when you’re done you’ll have the chance to win another. Check the finished stick to see if you hit the jackpot. Cheap, crunchy and a lottery on every stick. Win-win-win. and flavourless, tokoroten can adapt to just about any situation: chopped seaweed, soy sauce, ponzu, even hot sauce will work. all. Caffeine-free and generally served chilled, it’s the perfect NAGASHI (FLOWING) SOMEN beverage for just sacking out. You may have tried udon (wheat noodles) and soba (buckwheat noodles), but somen is a different animal. It’s cut extremely thin – less than 1.3mm in diameter – which, if you happen to have a few long pieces of bamboo handy, makes it possible to eat in a very entertaining way. Cut the bamboo pieces in half and join them together to create a long downwards-facing chute. Run a steady stream of cold water down the chute, send the noodles along their way, and let gravity do the rest. All diners need to do is stick their chopsticks into the water and the noodles will collect around SUIKAWARI summer way to play with your food. (WATERMELON SPLITTING)

them automatically. This is nagashi somen: the ultimate

In the next issue of Time Out Tokyo… Is Japan cool? The guys behind Cool Japan clearly think so since they’re on a mission to spread the country’s culture around the world. We peer into the project to bring you Tokyo’s best design, food, entertainment and more. Available across Tokyo from September 2015