The dictionary definition is "A Japanese dish
consisting of thin slices of
fresh raw fish or seaweed wrapped around a cake of cooked rice"
Sushi took America over by storm during the 1970's, and now there are over 10,000 sushi restaurants in the US, and 20,000 worldwide outside of Japan. From $200 onagi rolls to $1.29 pre-packaged ebi at the local supermarket, sushi has carved out a niche in world cuisine.
Sushi is growing in popularity each year. This can be reflected in the huge rise in tuna prices. Back in 1992 a then world record $83,500 was paid for a 715-lb bluefin tuna (almost $117/lb) in Tokyo, Japan. The tuna was reduced to 2,400 servings of sushi for wealthy diners at $75 per serving. The estimated takings from this one fish were $180,000. But by 2012, that was looking like chump change. On January 3, the owner of the Tokyo-based Sushi-Zanmai restaurant chain paid $736,000 for a 592 lb bluefin, an amazing $6,019/lb. The fish was reduced to about 10,000 servings which were then sold at regular restaurant prices.
Another sushi-related record is for the longest sushi roll. Six hundred members of the Nikopaka Festa Committee made a kappamaki (cucumber roll) that was 3,279 ft. long at Yoshii, Japan, on October 12, 1997.
Where is the best sushi in the world? Japan? Maybe, but during the last boom in the Japanese economy, many wealthy Japanese would fly to Los Angeles strictly for a sushi dinner. When Hideo Nomo, the Los Angeles Dodger pitcher at the time was pitching, they might have taken in a game, too, but the feeling was that being closer to the source of some of the seafood used in making sushi, the quality, at least when made by Japanese chefs, was better. Recently, some of the most expensive tuna has been bought for Hong Kong sushi restaurants, something Kiyoshi Kimura, the president who bought the record -setting tuna mentioned as his reason to buy the fish. He thought the best tuna needed to be kept in Japan and not exported.
If you're new to SUSHI, then the following links will help you better understand this addictive form of food. If you already love SUSHI as much as we do, then these links might just make you rush out to your favorite sushi bar!
