It might seem like common sense to associate Japan with the origins of sushi, because after all, Japan made sushi as we know it now.

But what is little known is that the practices from which sushi originated first began in Southeast Asia – not Japan. For quite some time before Japan caught on, folks in hot, humid Southeast Asia had used fermented rice as a way of preserving fish. The method was simple: boiled rice would be left out to ferment, fermentation caused the creation of lactic acid bacilli, and then the boiled rice would be packed in with fresh fish. When combined with salt, the acid in the rice would create a chemical reaction that slowed the growth of bacteria. And voila! Pickled fish for long journeys, stockpiling, and the like.

The reason the Japanese are credited with the creation of sushi, then, is because the Southeast Asians did not eat the rice in which they packed the fish. The Japanese did. From there, sushi was born... but not as you know it.

Initially, the fish was pickled nearly to decomposition. It was hardly the fresh sushi that you eat now. The rice was fermented, stinky, and notably different from the half-baked version we eat now. In many ways, sushi went through numerous transformations throughout the years as technology improved and ways to keep food from spoiling were invented.

Between the 9th and 14th centuries, sushi was consumed primarily by royalty, and its nori (seaweed) wrapper was added to keep the hands of royalty clean. The process of creating sushi was still highly inefficient at this time, and it took a year before the sushi was in its ediible, fermented state. One of the oldest (although this is debatable) forms of sushi is known as funa sushi, a kind of nare sushi. Nare sushi is sushi that is compressed by a weight, because compression speeds up the fermentation process. The creation of nare sushi sped up the fermentation process (relatively speaking, of course). In the 15th century, royalty no longer had to wait a year to sink their teeth in. They’d only have to wait... a few months.

The 15th century was a tumultuous time for Japan, and it underwent many changes. But in the name of sushi, the most important part was shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who managed to unite Japan and bring extensive growth to the formerly almost non-existent city of Edo. Edo was built almost overnight and soon became one of the biggest cities (Edo is now Tokyo).

In 1824, sushi was finally made available to the public, courtesy of a man named Hanaya Yohei. Yohei opened Japan’s first sushi stall in Edo. But Yohei’s vision of sushi was different from the month-old fermented fish and rice combination that was commonplace. He envisioned fresh fish as a topping for fermented rice. What he envisioned is now known as nigiri zushi. In the 1600’s, a physician discovered that mixing rice vinegar with sugar resulted in a rice fermentation that was near instant. Taking this methodology, Yohei managed to create a sushi stand that offered the fresh, finger food-type sushi we eat now.

With refrigeration and transport becoming more widespread and advanced, sushi soon made its way from individual cities of Japan to the whole of Japan. Much like King Kong, it is now on the verge of taking over the world!

Sushi Monsters unite!!!