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Sushi refers to the vinegared rice. Rice farmers in Southeast Asia packed fish and cooked rice in jars to preserve the fish. I assume the fermented result was an “acquired” taste.

The Japanese copied this technique but tried fermenting for less and less time. The fish (often carp, which was salted and pressed under a stone) and the fermented rice still had a distinctive sour taste. Sashimi, or raw fish, existed, but was available only to the Japanese aristocracy.

In Edo (modern day Tokyo) during the 19th century, someone pressed fresh fish onto a ball of vinegared rice. Probably because they got tired of waiting for it all to ferment. What we now think of as sushi was soon sold by outdoor vendors from small carts to laborers wanting a fast snack. The equivalent of chaat (Indian vendor food). The Tokyo earthquake of 1923 dispersed the city’s sushi chefs to other parts of the country.

In the mid-1960s Tokyo Kaikan opened one of the first sushi bars in Los Angeles. Ichiro Mashita, unable to find any fresh toro, started substituting creamy avocado for the fatty tuna belly, and eventually invented the California roll. Japanese chefs wanting to make their fortunes (and skip the 10 year apprenticeship required in Japan) descended on Los Angeles, then followed Japanese businessmen to New York. Now, of course, it’s everywhere.

(If you’re interested in finding out more, check out The Zen of Fish, the Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket, by Trevor Corson)

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