Published: August 12, 2008 11:13 pm            

Get the raw deal on sushi

Bright colors, interesting shapes and fascinating flavors

FAIRMONT — Bright colors, interesting shapes and fascinating flavors are the hallmark of the art of sushi.

According to eatsushi.com, Japanese people began enjoying sushi hundreds of years ago when some enterprising folks discovered they could pickle fish in rice. Over time, the rice would release an acid and pickle the fish, giving it an unusual and delicious flavor.

Over the coming centuries, they figured out how to speed the process up and change the flavors by adding rice vinegar and other processes.

More modern sushi was first introduced in the 1820s by a man named Hanaya Yohei, who introduced sashimi to the dishes. Sashimi is fresh-sliced raw fish. He served his creations to customers through his sushi stall in Edo, which is now known as Tokyo. He also served snack food at its freshest and fastest. He might have had one of the world’s first fast-food restaurants.

These days, sushi has exploded over the world as a new and interesting way of dining. The sushi boom began in the United States in the 1970s and hasn’t showed any sign of slowing down.

There are four common forms of sushi: Nigiri-Sushi (hand shaped sushi), Oshi-Sushi (pressed sushi), Maki-Sushi (rolled sushi) and Chirashi-sushi (scattered sushi). According to eatsushi.com, the differences aren’t in preparation or form, but in ingredients and the serving.

Fairmont’s Amy Pellegrin said she really enjoys sushi.

“It’s so different than any other kind of food,” Pellegrin said.

She first tried it on her 30th birthday, while visiting a good friend in Boston.

“On my birthday, I always try to do something I’ve never done before,” Pellegrin said. “That was one of the things I tried.”

Pellegrin and her friend visited a nice restaurant and enjoyed several different types of sushi.

“It was really good,” she said. “It’s worth the experience, whether you like it or not.”

These days, people are dining out for sushi or making it themselves at home.

Right here in Marion County, Shop n Save has sushi supplies on hand. Gary Zmonick works in the seafood department at the White Hall Shop n Save. He said they recently began selling different sushi supplies to offer customers something different.

“We hadn’t tried it for awhile,” Zmonick said.

Those supplies are selling fast, he said.

E-mail Katie Wilson at kwilson@timeswv.com.

        

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