Phil Chang's List: Asian Culture

When most people hear the word, “Sushi”, they immediately think of raw fish. In truth, dishes made with raw fish are called “Sashimi”. What defines Sushi is any dish made with vinegar rice, which may or may not include raw fish. Most often, Sushi will consist of various types of shellfish such as crab or lobster, or cooked fish along with other fresh ingredients wrapped tightly inside the sticky vinegar rice.

Although in today’s society you will find Sushi served most often in a Japanese restaurant, it actually dates back to 7th Century China. As a way of preserving fish, the Chinese people started making Sushi but without modern day refrigerators, they used the natural process of fermentation. To complete the Sushi-making process, only rice and salt were needed. The result was delicious fish, causing Sushi to grow in popularity.

In the 1800s, Sushi was made using a process that involved pressing fish in between layers of salt and leaving it for months to ferment. This process is known as narezushi, or “edomaezushi”, which is still used in some restaurants in Japan. The name narezushi was originally called “Edomae” and shortened to Edo. This name translates to “in front of Edo” which is a reference to fish caught in front of Edo city and used for the making of Sushi. Unlike the Sushi eaten today, Edo was formed in a ball of rice with a slice of the fish. When it came time to eat narezushi, the rice ball was thrown out and only the fish eaten. Today, narezushi is very difficult to find outside of Japan in that it has a unique taste not usually appreciated by Westerners.

As time passed and many of the Japanese and Chinese cultures crossed, Sushi became a popular food choice in both countries. Throughout the cities, you would find food stands where various types of Sushi were sold. In fact, during intermission at the various theaters, Sushi was sold as a snack much like the popcorn sold in today’s theaters. Since Sushi was easy and quick to make, it became a staple for most households in the 19t

Chopsticks are an important part of Asian culture. Their popularity and widespread use across Asia have a long and rich history. They come in all shapes and forms, from golden chopsticks engraved with calligraphy to disposable bamboo wari-bashi. Regardless of the form they take, chopsticks have evolved into an important icon of Asian culture and an important part of history.

It is believed the first chopsticks were developed over 5000 years ago in China. Early Asian man would retrieve his food from the fire using sticks or branches broken from trees. Later, as the population grew and resources became scarce, people would cut food into smaller pieces to save fuel because the smaller portions cooked faster. This eliminated the need for knives, and chopsticks became the utensil of choice.

The onset of Confucianism is believed to have further cemented the use of chopsticks as the primary Asian eating utensil. Confucius taught, “The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table.” Confucius’ disdain for the presence of knives at the kitchen table, coupled with the popularity of his teachings no doubt contributed to the expanding use of chopsticks among the population.

By 500 A.D., chopsticks had spread from China to other countries such as Korea, Vietnam and Japan. While initially only used for religious ceremonies in Japan, chopsticks quickly gained popularity there as well, and their use became as widespread as the rest of Asia in no time.

Chopsticks come in many different forms. Bamboo tends to be the most popular material to make them from. There is lots of it in Asia, it is easy to split and it is especially resistant to heat. Other popular materials were wood and bone, and chopsticks made of precious metals were not uncommon among the wealthy. It was believed that silver chopsticks would turn black upon contact with poisoned food, although this has since been disproved.

Chinese chopsticks are called Kuai-Zi, which means “quic