Sensational Sushi
A New Zealand beginner's guide
Wendy Gallagher - 18/01/02

Eat here or takeaway

When did New Zealand go mad about sushi? It seems that every shopping mall and many suburbs I've visited around Christchurch now sell takeaway sushi. I noticed this with some surprise after returning home from a year in the United States. My work colleagues and I have even ditched Friday night drinks in favour of Friday lunchtime sushi. So what exactly is this sushi, how did it become so popular and what makes it so good?

A brief history
Although sushi may seem relatively new to New Zealand, it dates back over a thousand years beginning in Southeast Asia and moving on to Japan in the eighth century. It was originally used as a method to preserve fish, where the flesh was pressed between layers of rice flavoured with vinegar and left for a few weeks to ferment. Not until a few centuries later when a Japanese chef decided to omit the fermentation process was sushi, as we know it today, born.

Once known as the merchant capital, Osaka was the place where rice vendors developed sushi by mixing seasoned rice with other ingredients into a visually pleasing and tasty package. Although sushi 'syndrome' may have begun in Osaka, Tokyo produced the popular style of today called nigirizushi.

Sushi, having the advantage of being available as a fast food and being better for you than a burger, became popular in the west when the health craze hit the eighties. Since then the sushi business has boomed.

Popular styles, nigirizushi and makizushi
Nigirizushi, the most traditional and artful form of sushi, is formed by hand by pressing rice into an oblong and placing a strip of fish on top.

A lunchbox variety

Here in the west the most common fish found on this type of sushi is salmon (sake), but in Japan many different types are used. Some of these include fish roe, crab, octopus, squid, eel, abalone (commonly known here as paua), and scallops.

Maki means rolled. Makizushi is the stuff rolled in seaweed (nori) and is the kind you get most often at takeaway outlets. Consisting of thin strips of fish and vegetables rolled in rice and dried seaweed, it is then sliced to form finger-food size pieces.

What makes it sushi?
To some kiwis, I imagine, the mere mention of sushi brings distasteful thoughts of raw fish to mind and a sudden desire to flee to the nearest fish and chip shop. But sushi does not necessarily contain raw fish. The raw fish kind is called sashimi. New Zealand fish such as trevally, snapper and hoki are exported for the sashimi market to the United States. Sushi comes in many flavours and can include grilled, barbecued or deep fried fish and other meat like chicken, beef and pork. Vegetarian sushi is also popular.

Flavour sachet for rice

The rice, too, is not just any old rice. Short grain rice is used and then flavoured with rice vinegar and a small amount of sugar, or you can buy flavour sachets containing powder to use instead.

To enjoy a genuine sushi experience it must come accompanied with soy sauce (shoyu), wasabi, and sliced ginger (gari or shoga).

Japanese soy sauce is similar to Chinese soy but is not as salty.

Wasabi

Wasabi is the green stuff you get on the side of your sushi order. Imitation wasabi is sometimes used which is made up from a powder containing ground horseradish and mustard powder. Real wasabi usually comes as a paste and is produced from the rhizome of the wasabi vegetable. Wasabi is a complex plant to grow and needs specific conditions for success. New Zealand is one of the few countries outside Japan where Wasabi is grown. If you haven't tasted it before then my advice is to use sparingly as it is quite hot.

Sliced ginger is the thin pink coloured condiment with your sushi. Purchased already pickled and sliced, it is used to cleanse the palette (refreshing the taste buds) in between sushi bites.

Disposable chopsticks, an environmental concern

The vital thing that comes with your sushi takeaway pack is the chopsticks (wari bashi). And once you get the knack of using them, I think they are the easiest and best way to eat sushi. They are more polite than fingers and far more practical than a fork. However, a big downside to the worldwide use of disposable chopsticks is the effect on the environment in relation to the deforestation of hardwood trees and consequent erosion.

In China concerned citizens have developed a kind of 'chopstick activism'. Some colleges have stopped using them in their school cafeteria and now use spoons. People are encouraged to carry their own personal set, which can be washed and reused, and carry pouches are made and marketed for carrying your personal set around in. Japan is also aware of the problem and now encourages the use of re-usable chopsticks.

What makes the best sushi?

Nori

After many Fridays of lunchtime sushi, my workmates and I have decided we know what it takes to make good takeaway sushi. There are three important things to get right. Firstly, the seaweed (nori) must not be chewy. Secondly, the chopsticks provided are easiest to use if they have flat sides rather than round ones. This point is especially important if you are a chopstick novice - sushi cannot be enjoyed if you can't eat it. Lastly, a satisfying sushi experience can only be obtained if the takeaway box comes with plenty of soy sauce. If there isn't enough to go around all your pieces, you are left feeling cheated and disappointed.

Of all the various takeaway places we have tried around Christchurch, there are two that we return to repeatedly. One is Shinsengumi - The Sushi Revolution. They are based in Wairakei Rd and offer a delivery service. The sushi tastes great, the prices are good and the staff friendly. They also have a customer card, which after receiving seven stamps gives you a free "Lunch Special". The other place is St Pierres's in the mall at South City. There is a wide variety of flavours and plenty of combination boxes to choose from. The prices are excellent and the food delicious. Another bonus is the helpful staff. They will grab whatever flavour you request. This can be a daunting task as the sushi boxes are displayed at the front of the counter and at lunchtime there is usually a crowd, making it difficult to see where everything is.

St Pierres' at South City

Sushi Etiquette
Considering that the classic method of training a sushi chef takes about seven years, it is not surprising that an eating etiquette exists. Here are some sushi manners to keep in mind.

• Do not offer food to someone using chopsticks but instead pass the plate.
• Use the reverse ends of the chopsticks to take food from a shared plate.
• After taking a bite from a piece of food, do not place the remaining piece back on the plate. Once picked up, all of the food should be eaten.
• If you are eating at a sushi bar, you should place your chopsticks in front of you, parallel to the edge of the bar. Do not place them directly on the bar.
• Leaving food after the meal is thought to be rude, leaving rice is particularly rude.
• The soy sauce is there to complement the filling in the sushi, not the rice. Dip sushi into soy sauce rice side-up. Dipping the rice into the sauce may cause it to fall apart.