【Reading】すしめし

【English Name】Sushi Rice

Sushi-meshi refers to cooked rice to which a seasoning liquid (awasezu, also called sushi vinegar) combining vinegar, salt, and sugar has been added. Among sushi chefs it is firmly established as the industry term "shari."

Looking at the preparation procedure, first the rice, cooked with a slightly reduced amount of water, is transferred to a wooden tub (sushi-oke). While the rice is still warm, the awasezu is poured over it and quickly mixed in with cutting motions using a rice paddle. Once the vinegar has blended throughout, mixing is stopped, and then a fan is used to drive off the residual heat and excess moisture. Because doing the mixing and cooling simultaneously makes it harder for the vinegar to permeate into the rice grains, performing the two processes separately is the ironclad rule. Also, placing it in the refrigerator makes the rice grains harden and difficult to loosen, so waiting until it cools to room temperature is the usual method.

Tracing the history, in the past red vinegar produced as a by-product of sake brewing was mainstream, and sugar is said not to have been used. However, when the "yellow-discolored rice" problem occurred after the war, colored rice came to be avoided, and white vinegar spread. Sugar came to complement the umami and depth that white vinegar alone cannot provide, leading to the formation of today's flavor.

The vinegar and sugar components have the effect of suppressing the hardening of rice after cooling, also working advantageously in terms of preservability. The golden ratio of the awasezu varies greatly from craftsman to craftsman and household to household, finely adjusted to the type of rice used and the toppings of the day.