The sushi sushi is the epitome of a thousand years

Rice and fish seem to be a natural match. From the 8th to 9th century AD, Japan established a dietary system centered on rice and accompanied by fish and shellfish, and they have been together. For nigiri sushi, both are golden partners. "Iron-fighting rice, flowing fish," fish is responsible for changes, rice is responsible for eternity, this is a stable and reasonable structure.
However, in this "rice + fish" structure, we often give more attention and praise to "fish." The sushi restaurant will recommend seasonal fishery, and guests will be delighted with the fresh taste. The food masters will be like the zoologists to treat the “fish” like treasures, but there are only a few words for “meals”.
Doesn’t “meals” have no self-esteem, can they be used as long as they are? In fact, Japanese Suki sushi people often say "six minutes of rice and four dishes of food". They think that sushi's delicacy is mainly determined by "rice", and sushi rice is also rich in heart drama.
Is sushi sushi really important? Recalling the experience of eating sushi and eating sashimi, you may feel the difference of sushi rice. Because of the stimulation of sushi rice, the taste of fish seems to become more delicious. Because there is sushi rice, each sushi is individual and individual personality, the entire meal process has become fluctuating; because there is sushi rice, The sushi chef has more room to show off his skills, thus achieving the niche of sushi.
So, today we want to talk about sushi rice that has been ignored before.
Sushi rice, also known as vinegar rice, is known in the industry as "shali rice," which indicates its preciousness and importance. Japan has always been a country that greatly admires rice. According to legends in the Japanese countryside, there is more than one god in rice grains, but seven. I do not know if they will be very crowded inside, but at least warm and sacred. Therefore, rice was not simple in Japan. When it was implemented into sushi rice, there was more stress.
So, what exactly is sushi rice used to make sushi? Next, we try to sum up some points from the making of sushi rice.
First, select rice - rice with viscosity and strength sushi rice to be bonded to each other, and then knead with the side dish, so the rice is required to have a higher viscosity. At the same time, the rice grains must also maintain good firmness and plumpness so that they can have a richer mouthfeel at the time of entry, and better contact with saliva to enhance the perception of the fish's umami.
Rice is mainly divided into two major categories, glutinous rice (Lai Mi) and glutinous rice (Peng Lai Mi). The sushi rice should use Penglai rice. Penglaimi is short and sticky and contains a large amount of disordered starch (relative to amylose). It is precisely because of the disorder and disorderly arrangement of starch piles that make this rice very sticky.
Among the Penglai rice, it is necessary to choose small, hard, and fat-rich varieties. Common sushi rice varieties include Koshihikari, Akita Komachi, love at first sight and more. The Koshihikari rice is a familiar variety for many people, because its rice core starch is tighter than other varieties of starch, storage cell wall is thicker, and rich in aromatic fatty acids, so the taste is tight, elastic and fragrant. Some sushi restaurants use different kinds of rice harvested in different periods to match different rice qualities to create a better sushi meal.
In addition, the rice drying method and storage time are also important. For some people, drying is even more important than rice. Because the colloidal structure of rice is relatively loose, the resistance to high temperature is very weak, artificial high-temperature drying may cause discoloration of rice grains, there are broken lines, affect the appearance; also because of the sudden increase of fatty acids in rice grains affect the taste; there are people that hot air forced baking The surface of dried rice will become mushy, and when cooked and vinegar will affect the absorption of vinegar. Anyway, or the natural beauty of rice dried by sunlight, is the best, and it is the highest price, which is the price we are willing to pay for the time. In addition, sushi rice is usually not used for new rice, because the water is relatively high, it is better to let the rice dry a little more for a few months.
Therefore, I haven't eaten this mouthful of sushi rice. In the end, each tiny part of the rice selection process will have a special mark on your taste buds if your taste buds are sensitive enough.
Second, glutinous rice - viscosity, strength, Ying Run degree as a proud celestial person, you most likely will say, how difficult to do a pot of rice? Not rice, water, and fire.
However, sushi circles often say “three years of relics”. It takes at least three years to learn to cook. This is not an exaggeration. Let's take a look at how deep the pit is.
The first is washing rice. Need to use a small amount of water, rely on the friction between rice grains, panning eighty-nine times, until the washing water clear. The process of washing rice can remove too much starch, and it also makes rice grains transparent and transparent.
Then it is soaked. It is conceivable that insufficient soaking will result in the gelatinization of rice grains during rice cooking and the uncooked rice cores; excessive soaking will cause the rice to be boiled and cannot be turned into a type of sushi. So how can we find just the right point? This will take into account factors such as the nature of rice varieties, the freshness of rice, the seasonal differences, the time it takes to unpack and store in the store, etc., and so it is still a process of careful thinking.
When rice is cooked, the amount of water must be determined according to the state of rice. In theory, rice and soft water are 1:1, but there are many variables in the specific operation. Sushi restaurants often try to make a pot to adjust the amount of water. The traditional method of risotto is to open fire and simmer rice, and pay attention to the five steps of “stable heating, strong fire cooking, medium steaming, closed fire, and sizzling fire”.
Slowly raise the temperature in the kettle by heating with a steady fire. When you hear a “buzz” in the kettle and turn it into a strong fire, under the effect of high temperature, the rice grains will oscillate in the kettle and stretch to an upright state; The inside of the grain is steamed; then turn off the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes to allow the rice to fully inflate. Finally, the firepower is turned to the maximum and burned for 5-10 seconds. The sugar in the bottom of the kettle produces a slight coke aroma under the effect of high temperature, which increases the flavor of the sushi rice. Some sushi restaurants, such as Ono's store, place heavy objects on top of an iron kimono to increase the pressure and make the texture of the rice firmer and more elastic.
It is difficult to accurately grasp the repeated glutinous rice with such a large fire and a small fire without sufficient insight and experience. It is the hardest to use rice dumplings, followed by gas stoves. Many sushi restaurants use rice cookers for cooking. The personal feeling is that this is just like the manual and automatic transmissions. For the average person, the automatic transmission is better controlled and the play is also stable, but the master still likes the driving experience and infinite pleasure brought by the manual transmission.
In short, the process of glutinous rice is to stimulate the characteristics of rice and bring more polish and flavor to rice. Viscosity, strength, and luster are all finalized at this stage.
Third, seasoning - sour, salty, sweet, fresh and mixed rice can be cooled for about 20 minutes and can be poured into a wooden barrel to stir. Alder is good at absorbing water, and it helps to keep sushi rice in a good condition.
The flavor of sushi rice is also an important indicator of the difference between sushi genres. Sushi vinegar and salt are usually added. The salted vinegar ratio of sushi rice is often the top secret in the store.
The sushi chefs in Tokyo treat sourness very seriously. The sour-flavored sushi vinegar is divided into two types, red and white, and the traditional Edo-style sushi is made of vinegar-brewed red vinegar. The color is dark red and the entrance has a savory aroma. After the “yellow rice change” in Japan in the 1950s, people worried that dark-colored sushi rice was made with poor-quality yellow rice, so it was far from it that sushi restaurants had to switch to sushi vinegar for sushi. And add sugar to balance the taste. Today's sushi restaurants use white vinegar, and there are a few sushi restaurants that use red vinegar.
Some sushi restaurants will cook with kunchun during cooking to increase the freshness of sushi rice. Also added dashi juice fresh.
For sugar, different times have different preferences. When sushi was popular in Tokyo in the 18th and 19th centuries, the taste was sour. But after World War II, people felt that they needed to eat sweetly both physically and psychologically, so sushi began to sweeten. But as the economy recovers, everyone likes less sweet sushi. Therefore, the amount of sugar used seems to be the same as the length of the skirt, and it is a high degree of economic prosperity.
Then, in such additions and subtractions, different sushi restaurants will form their own judgments. Some sushi restaurants feel that sugared sushi rice is more enjoyable to guests, while Ono's sushi rice is not sugared because he feels that It will make taste buds quickly and sat full when they do not fully feel fish.
Therefore, when judging the quality of sushi rice, the standard is multidimensional, and it is largely influenced by the individual's inherent taste preference. But in general, the sour taste of Qingyang is a basic criterion in the balance. If there is a rich layering in the aftertaste, it is more mysterious. If you think that sushi rice is sweet and palatable, you should think more about it. Is it because the store has added too much sugar in order to appease the tongue of the guests? Can the tongue be kept sharp when tasting the side dish?
Four, kneading - temperature, shape and gap Few people have not been deceived by sushi with cold and cold rice, and now there are many sushi restaurants offering cold sushi rice in the country. For many people, starting to love sushi is the moment when sushi rice is found to be warm. Cold fish and cold rice seem to be a political marriage. They are twisted together and spend the rest of their lives. And the flavor of sushi rice that is close to the temperature of “human muscle” (surface) is intensified, which can better stimulate the umami taste of the side dish. A moist sushi entrance immediately felt that his heart had become soft. Therefore, the temperature of the sushi is a very intuitive criterion for judging the quality of the sushi, and whether or not the sushi restaurant can effectively insulate the sushi with bamboo or other facilities is also a small detail to judge the degree of sushi.
The shape of the sushi rice after kneading is generally a trapezoid, but different schools will have different changes. The common grip sushi now is a boat type, with a smooth curve at the top and a slight arch that allows the fish fillets to hang swiftly. Other shapes include box-shaped, fan-shaped, cocoon-shaped (rice bag) and the like. The shape of the sushi we usually see should not be particularly bizarre, but from an aesthetic point of view, those smooth, round sushi rice may be more popular.
Compared to the beautifully decorated side dish, sushi rice has always been obscure, but decided the tone of a sushi.