How to Make Sushi

Fish in itself is a great source of protein and has many health benefits; Sushi is one of those types of fish that can be very beneficial to your health.

They don't call fish brain food for nothing. Though some fish have more fat than others, the best type of fat is called Omega �3 fats. These fats are good fats and they protect the nervous system and provides Vitamin D and proteins.

Sushi has been accredited as one of the main reasons the Japanese population are amongst the healthiest in the world, with an average life expectancy of over 80 years!

With a staple diet of raw fish, seafood, vegetables and rice, the average Japanese diet contains only 30 per cent fat (mostly the healthier polyunsaturated type), compared to 40 per cent in the UK.

Japan has one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world and scientists believe that sushi could play a vital role in that statistic.

Sushi can also lower your overall cholesterol. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that you allow 2 servings of fish a day. The Omega-3 fats also help prevent mental illness and can help in keeping your blood sugar levels at a healthy range. The benefits of Sushi can also include helping with depression, helping boost the immune system and it can help include the fat necessary to your diet.

Scientists even believe that sushi may help to protect smokers against lung cancer. Japan has a smoking population similar to that of the UK, although the rate of lung cancer is only two-thirds as high.

On average, each person in Japan eats around 100 grams of fish each day. It doesn’t always come in the form of sushi, but sushi accounts for a large proportion of this figure.

Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids that are strongly linked to protection of the heart from disease and better circulation. Raw fish also provides a high number of B vitamins that are known to improve energy levels.

Rice is found in many Japanese dishes. It may not look like much but rice has great health properties that provide a good source of energy and protein. Rice is known by naturopaths to relieve digestive disorders and can help to prevent diarrhoea.

Sushi is also great for your heart. Why not eat a food that can improve your overall well being, help improve your mental state and keep your heart healthy. Sushi taste great and is very healthy for you. How can it get better than that? In the past 10 years sushi restaurants have been popping up all over the place so you have no excuse as to why you haven't tried it and improve your health at the same time.

Wasabi is used in Japan for a number of reasons, not simply to add taste. It is thought to cleanse the palate and the recent discovery of a compound called isothiocyanates in the green paste helps to fight tooth decay.
When eaten regularly, scientists believe that wasabi can prevent blood clots and even aid in the prevention of cancer.

Seaweed is another major part of the Japanese diet and sea vegetables of all forms are something the Japanese have been eating for centuries.

Seaweed has a highly concentrated mineral content and it can be found in up to a quarter of Japanese foods to enhance flavour. It is very rich in iodine, which is essential for a healthy thyroid gland, comprising calcium, iron, magnesium and copper.

Ginger is used as a flavour enhancer for sushi and is largely believed to have therapeutic effects. It is regularly prescribed by naturopaths to prevent seasickness and is known to aid digestion.

Many believe that ginger eases gripe and flatulence and can protect against respiratory illnesses and colds. By chewing it, you can sooth toothache.

Soy sauce is used prevelantly in Japanese cooking and is made from fermented soya beans. It is thought that soya can protect against a number of ailments, namely cancer, cardiovascular disease, premenstrual syndrome and even osteoperosis.

Sushi is defined as vinegared rice with a topping or filling. Contrary to popular belief, sushi does not mean raw fish. Sushi doesn't even have to contain fish. There are vegetarian varieties of sushi, sushi with cooked fish, sushi with fish marinated until it is effectively cooked, sushi with fish roe, sushi with egg, etc.

Sushi originated in Southeast asia as a method of preserving fish. Raw, cleaned fish would be pressed with layers of rice and salt. After months of fermenting, the layers would be preserved and ready to eat. Narezushi as it is known, has a distinct and strong flavor which does not resemble what we commonly refer to as sushi today.
In the 18th Century, Hanaya Yohei developed what we commonly refer to as sushi today. At the end of the Edo period in what is now known as Tokyo (then Edo), Yohei pressed fish on small pads of seasoned rice and served it as fast food for the masses.

For simplicity's sake I will only cover the most common forms of sushi here. There are myriad types of sushi, ranging from utilitarian to ornate.

• Nigri-sushi, or hand-formed sushi, is the most commonly known sushi. It consists of a small rectangular or oval shaped pad of pressed rice with a neta, or topping. It may or may not have a bit of wasabi between the rice and topping, and may or may not have a band of nori holding the topping to the rice.
• Maki-sushi, or rolled sushi, is a cylindrical rolled sushi formed by wrapping nori (seaweed) around rice and a filling. A bamboo mat is used to roll the seaweed and rice, making the sushi uniform in shape. Maki sushi may contain one filling, making it hosomaki (thin rolled sushi) or many fillings, making it futomaki (fat rolled sushi).
• Gunkan-maki, or battleship sushi, is a piece of rice with nori wrapped around it making a cup to hold semi-liquid ingredients or ingredients that do not lend themselves well to rolled or hand-pressed sushi.
• Temaki-sushi, or hand-rolled sushi, is a cylindrical sushi made with nori, rice, and fillings, rolled by hand. Similar in style to maki-sushi, but usually containing stronger flavored ingredients. Some people refer to maki-sushi as a Japanese burrito, while temaki-sushi would be a Japanese taco.