【Reading】しろしゃり

【English Name】White Shari (White Vinegar Sushi Rice)

Shiro-shari is a sushi term for vinegared rice prepared with rice vinegar (white vinegar), used in contrast to aka-shari (red-vinegar rice), which uses red vinegar (akazu). In Edomae sushi, red vinegar was originally mainstream and the rice was generally finished without sugar. However, after the postwar yellow-rice (oubenmai) incident, colored rice came to be shunned, and a shift toward white vinegar advanced. Today, shiro-shari is the standard at most sushi restaurants. Because white vinegar has a milder flavor than red vinegar, a blend supplementing the flavor with sugar became established, often producing a finish with a faint sweetness. In recent years, a growing number of restaurants are reviving traditional aka-shari, and some sushi establishments let customers compare it side by side with shiro-shari.