Old School Sushi

[smallworld]

I've just been introduced to a whole new kind of sushi and am looking for more info. First here's the story.

My husband and I went out for sushi last night, at a local place we picked at random. It was our first time going out for 'real' sushi together (although we eat at kaitenzushi or take-out sushi all the time) so we were a bit nervous and made sure we hit the ATM first.

It was a great meal, but totally not what we expected. Somehow the place we chose turned out to be one of the few places still serving traditional Edo-style sushi. (Not to be confused with Edo-mae-zushi, which is just another name for nigiri-zushi!)

Now, I know about shime-saba. It's saba (mackerel) marinated in vinegar (and kombu?), and it's my all-time favourite sushi topping. What I didn't know was that other fish could be served this way, and that in fact this used to be the norm before one Hanaya Yohei revolutionized the sushi world by introducing raw fish as a sushi topping.

So the place we went to specializes in this old-fashioned type of sushi. Much of the fish is served as shime-zushi or kombu-jime-zushi (I don't know what the difference is-obviously kombu-jime uses kombu but I thought shime-zushi did too).

Both types were far less sour and strong than the shime-saba that I'm used to, in fact 'sappari' (light, refreshing) is the best way to describe it. Even my husband, who hates sour things and always avoids shime-saba, could eat it. The fish served in this style included aji, iwashi, maguro, kohada, kamasu and tai; and they were all fantastic.

Other neta (toppings) were served as aburi (lightly seared), 'steak' (we didn't order this but I'm assuming that it means grilled slightly rare), yaki (grilled), and ni (braised). There were of course raw neta, but these were in the minority!

The sushi itself was mostly nigiri, and made just the way I like it: A smallish finger of shari (sushi rice), easy on the seasonings. Perfectly molded- not too loose yet not all smushed, so that it wouldn't fall apart yet each grain of rice could be individually tasted. Topped with perfectly sized neta, curved and molded to fit the shari; it didn't hang off the ends, it didn't fall off the shari when handled. Just the right amought of wasabi. Perfect.

My favourites were a kind of gunkan-maki topped with simmered maguro and daikon-oroshi; hon-maguro, which was served raw; and shime-kamasu (sea pike).

There was also an extensive menu of non-sushi items, most of which we ignored as we gorged ourselves on the excellent sushi. We ended our meal by sharing a cup of soup- of the 15 types available we chose 'Asakusa-jiru'. This was a sui-mono thick with black nori, with a few morsels of maguro. It was so good we vowed to eat less sushi next time so we can try more soups and other items.

The sushi chef was friendly, talkative and very proud to serve his old school sushi. He is a true shokunin and considers his style of sushi a dying art.

We were the only customers so we were treated to history lessons, eating tips, and a few rants (apparently all kaiten-zushi shopes add MSG to their sushi rice; he finds no art in the preparation of regular sushi and dismisses it as 'sashimi-zushi').

Here is a partial menu (in Japanese) for anyone interested.

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g526500/menu1.htm

It's in Nerima ward, near the Oizumi Junction/Interchanges of the Kanetsu and Tokyo Gaikan Expressways. A bit too out of the way for most people here, unfortunately- you'd either have to drive or take a taxi from the nearest station (we're lucky enough to live just a 30-minute bike-ride away). You can find the address and a map at the site above.

And finally, the reason for this post- can anyone tell me more about this kind of sushi? I can't find out much about it, and I'm not even sure what it's called. Would like to know more about its history and other places to try it. Why isn't this style more popular? Especially overseas- with many people still reluctant to try sushi because they're afraid to eat raw fish, wouldn't introducing more cooked/marinated toppings be a good thing?

[helenjp]

What a fascinating experience!

I've read that sushi's ancestor is something like the Tohoku salt-pickled (fermented) layers of rice and salmon (darn it, can't recall the name), and that Edo cooks started adding vinegar to the rice to approximate the flavor and create a quickly-prepared, milder flavored snack. The "pickle" roots may explain why sushi has always been a snack.

Until I read your description, it never occurred to me that sushi might have other old roots, but when I lived in Osaka, the old people seemed to feel that oshi-zushi (sushi rice pressed into long bar-shaped molds, with vinegared fish such as saba or salmon on top, and sometimes sandwiched between preserved oak leaves or other leaves, and sometimes thin layers of suki-konbu) was the Real Article, and would always have it for formal family occasions.

I have a book on Edo-period cooking...must drag it out and take a closer look...

Thanks for your interesting record of the old school sushi you ate. You'll have to go back and find out more, purely for academic purposes of course....

[helenjp]

Started me thinking about the relationship between Kansai sushi and Kanto/northern types...and here somebody's done all the hard work for me! Enjoy...

History of sushi in English

I suppose that when fish was cheap and easy to obtain, grains were the luxury ingredient...now the reverse is true, and so we have larger portions of rice topped with small amounts of fish, instead of whole salted fish preserved with a grain stuffing. And I can't help thinking that grains like millet, which don't disintegrate so easily, may have suggested fish roe and fertility, and that may be why sushi has always been such an auspicious food??

[Hiroyuki]

Somehow the place we chose turned out to be one of the few places still serving traditional Edo-style sushi. (Not to be confused with Edo-mae-zushi, which is just another name for nigiri-zushi!)

First, one clarification: That particular sushi shop is an edo-ame-zushi shop, a traditional, authentic edo-mae-zushi shop. The shop also calls its sushi ryoh-ri zushi (料理寿司).

料理 = cooking

寿司 = sushi

I think I'll submit another post (or maybe not), but first, supper is ready and I'm hungry.

[Hiroyuki]

I'm not even sure what it's called. Would like to know more about its history and other places to try it. Why isn't this style more popular? Especially overseas- with many people still reluctant to try sushi because they're afraid to eat raw fish, wouldn't introducing more cooked/marinated toppings be a good thing?

As I implied in my preceding post, it is called edo-mae-zushi.

Before the advent of freezing and refrigeration technology, all seafood had to be dressed or precooked in some way or other before being served. Such dressing and precooking is referred to collectively as "shigoto" (仕事) ("work" in English). Such shigoto is time-consuming and can be done only by a skillful sushi chef.

On the other hand, customers now crave for more raw seafood and at the lowest price possible.

I guess you understand why it's not popular now.

Information on traditional edomae-zushi shops:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/wine/aji/aj03080401.htm#4

(Japanese only)

A book on edomae-zushi:

http://www.president.co.jp/book/1753-7.html

(Japanese)

A school teaching edomae-zushi:

http://academy.sushi.ne.jp/tsushin/#

(You can see a movie showing how to make edomae-zushi (only briefly, though): Scroll down just a little and click スタート (meaning "Start"), and in the window that appears, select from FTTH 光ケーブル (optic cable), ADSL/CATV, and ISDN/普通電話 (regular telephone), and the movie starts.

[Hiroyuki]

What I didn't know was that other fish could be served this way, and that in fact this used to be the norm before one Hanaya Yohei revolutionized the sushi world by introducing raw fish as a sushi topping.

I guess you know that "by introducing raw fish..." should be replaced by "by introducing dressed or precooked fish...".

[smallworld]

Thank you Helen and Hiroyuki! I definitely will be going back for more 'research'. Hopefully when katsuo is in season.

QUOTE (smallworld @ Jun 1 2004, 12:41 AM)

What I didn't know was that other fish could be served this way, and that in fact this used to be the norm before one Hanaya Yohei revolutionized the sushi world by introducing raw fish as a sushi topping.

I guess you know that "by introducing raw fish..." should be replaced by "by introducing dressed or precooked fish...".

I certainly did NOT know that! There is very little info available online in English, and when Hanaya Yohei is mentioned he is usually credited with inventing nigiri sushi with raw toppings, apparently keeping his fish cold on ice. From what I could gether, the sushi that was popular before him was called 'haya-zushi', allthough I haven't had any luck figuring out what it consisted of.

So I really appreciate your info!

First, one clarification: That particular sushi shop is an edo-ame-zushi shop, a traditional, authentic edo-mae-zushi shop.

Again, I didn't know this. I thought Edo-mae-zushi was simply a term that could be used interchangable with nigiri-zushi.

So is traditional Edo-mae-zushi still popular these days? Why have I never seen it before?

On the other hand, customers now crave for more raw seafood and at the lowest price possible.

I guess you understand why it's not popular now.

It actually wasn't all that expensive. I mean, of course it was way more than our typical meal out, but compared to other sushi restaurants (I mean real sushi) it was very reasonable.

[Hiroyuki]

1.  apparently keeping his fish cold on ice.

2.  I thought Edo-mae-zushi was simply a term that could be used interchangable with nigiri-zushi.

3.  So is traditional Edo-mae-zushi still popular these days? Why have I never seen it before?

4.  It actually wasn't all that expensive.

1. According to one website, the refrigerator using ice came into existence around the 30th year of Meiji (1897).

It's supper time again. Sorry!

Edited June 2, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[Hiroyuki]

1. apparently keeping his fish cold on ice.

In the Edo period, ice wasn't commercially available. In the summer, only the shogun could have ice brought to him all the way from Mount Fuji.

2. I thought Edo-mae-zushi was simply a term that could be used interchangable with nigiri-zushi.

You are quite right. To differentiate nigiri-zushi, which was an invention in Edo, from oshi-zushi in Osaka, people used the term Edo-mae-zushi interchangeably with nigiri-zushi.

Edo-mae (literally, in front of Edo), refers to Edo Bay (present Tokyo Bay), located in front of Edo. Thus, Edo-mae-zushi was sushi made with seafood caught from Edo Bay.

3. So is traditional Edo-mae-zushi still popular these days? Why have I never seen it before?

Many sushi shops claim that they are Edo-mae-zushi shops, but there is certainly no consensus on how Edo-mae-zushi should be among these shops. How much "shigoto" (work) and what kind of shigoto goes into each neta (topping) before being served varies greatly from one shop to another. You happened to choose a shop that is a traditional, authentic Edo-mae-zushi shop (according to the shop's website), and they call their sushi ryoh-ri zushi 料理寿司 (literally, cooked zushi), apparently to distinguish theirs from what most Japanese now expect from the term "Edo-mae-zushi".

You stated in another thread that you first came to Japan in 1996, and you also stated in this thread that "It was our first time going out for 'real'sushi together". No wonder you have not exposed to traditional Edo-mae-zushi.

4. It actually wasn't all that expensive.

I saw the menu of the sushi shop you mentioned. Each item is about twice as high as that in a regular kaiten-zushi shop, or higher. That's going to be a huge difference for a family of four or five (4,000 to 5,000 yen vs. 8,000 to 10,000 yen?).

Edited June 3, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[smallworld]

1. apparently keeping his fish cold on ice.

In the Edo period, ice wasn't commercially available. In the summer, only the shogun could have ice brought to him all the way from Mount Fuji.

This can't be true.

Couldn't it be that it was the ice from Mt Fuji that was reserved for the Shogun? I've read before about Edo-era ice vendors who would cut ice blocks from frozen lakes in the winter, store them in warehouses (packed with straw for insulation), then sell them in the summer. In fact I'm certain I've seen an ice vendor depicted in a ukiyo-e!

You stated in another thread that you first came to Japan in 1996, and you also stated in this thread that "It was our first time going out for 'real'sushi together".  No wonder you have not exposed to traditional Edo-mae-zushi.

Not quite, detective Hiroyuki! This was just our first time out for good sushi together.

I have been out for 'real' sushi before, just not with my husband. He didn't like sushi when we met and it took years to convert him. In fact, even though he loves sushi now he was a bit reluctant to go, since he can't eat wasabi. He's actually had a sushi chef yell at him for requesting his sushi 'sabi-nuki' (my husband has also been to real sushi, dragged there by former bosses, friends etc.), which was a bit traumatic.

Anyway, everytime I've eaten in a high-class sushi restaurant the emphasis has been on super-fresh raw fish. I've seriously never heard of traditional Edo-mae sushi before.

4.  It actually wasn't all that expensive.

I saw the menu of the sushi shop you mentioned.  Each item is about twice as high as that in a regular kaiten-zushi shop, or higher.  That's going to be a huge difference for a family of four or five (4,000 to 5,000 yen vs. 8,000 to 10,000 yen?).

Yes, it was certainly more than kaiten-zushi, but the two shouldn't even be compared. What I meant was that it was less than any other (non kaiten) sushi shop I've been to. Much less.

[helenjp]

I guess one reason why you haven't heard of "Edo-mae" is that it is the default for good sushi in the Tokyo area, it's so "normal" that not everybody thinks to mention it.

I had much more molded or oshi-zushi when I lived in Kansai, especially in Nara and south from there in the Wakayama peninsula.

As for price...I just never go to good sushi shops in Tokyo. At the prices I can afford to pay for a family meal, they don't taste anywhere near as good as sushi I have eaten in Shikoku or further north, in Iwaki. I'm not sure if it's the holiday mood, or the fact that I grew up eating very fresh fish...or what.

Before we had kids, husband and I used to go to the local sushi shop. The sushi always seemed barely average to me, and to make it worse, the owners and a cluster of regular customers shared a passion for dogs. The loud conversations were never a pleasure to overhear, and after one evening spent listening to arguments over the best way to crack fleas, we never went back...

Now that we have two hungry boys, even a trip to kaiten-zushi bankrupts us. I almost always buy fish or sashimi, and make edo-mae chirashi, or tegone-zushi, or sometimes aji-topped nigiri at home.

And just a word of warning...at the supermarket, I was horrified to notice that the "tuna" in some maki-mono and in the temaki-zushi contained pork and beef gelatin. Yuck! No wonder it looks like petfood roll...

[smallworld]

I guess one reason why you haven't heard of "Edo-mae" is that it is the default for good sushi in the Tokyo area, it's so "normal" that not everybody thinks to mention it.

OK, let me clarify here!

I HAVE heard of Edo-mae-zushi, if you're using it in to mean nigiri-zushi. In fact, nigiri-zushi and maki-zushi are about the only kinds I eat regularly here in Tokyo.

What I haven't heard of is tradtional Edo-mae-zushi using marinated and cooked toppings, just like the sushi of old Edo.

This is becoming increasingly hard to explain!

One of the reasons I started this thread was to find out if this style of sushi has a name. Because I don't think 'Edo-mae-zushi' is a very good name at all, since it has now come to mean something else.

Does that make sense? Or am I just babbling? Anyone??

[Hiroyuki]

According to one site, in the Edo period, in snowy regions where ice could be stored, ice was sold to ordinary people in the summer. For the ordinary people in Edo, far away from snowy regions, however, ice was very unusual (in the summer) and was a luxury that they could hardly have.

http://www.junpyou.or.jp/museum/history.html

(Japanese only)

BUT, like you said, there were ice vendors (koori uri 氷売り in Japanese). Take a look:

http://www.page.sannet.ne.jp/k-jap/koori.htm

But, I can assure you from various sources that ice was not used to keep seefood in cold storage in the Edo period.

>He's actually had a sushi chef yell at him for requesting his sushi 'sabi-nuki'

Were you with him then? Did you yell back at the chef? You know, the arrogance of some sushi chefs really gets me, and this is a topic I want to talk about some day, together with jika 時価 (current market price).

>Yes, it was certainly more than kaiten-zushi, but the two shouldn't even be compared.

Come on, smallworld, they should be compared! And I'm really glad that kaiten-zushi shops have revolutionalized the sushi world.

[helenjp]

I'm probably just confusing the issue, but it looks as if some people think that the type of sushi you are talking about is just a historical form of sushi, which all but disappeared with refrigeration.

"Edo-zushi" refers to the technique - the replacement of salted fish fermented with rice by vinegared rice and fish. "Edo-mae-zushi" refers to the use of fresh, local ingredients. Both terms refer to nigiri-style sushi.

The problem is, some people don't differentiate much between the two terms (except to say that the term Edo-zushi is older), while other people DO differentiate, and say that because Edo-mae refers to locally caught fish, only that term can be used for nigiri topped with raw, unseasoned fish (the normal style for nigiri today).

Also, some people think that Edozushi deserves to be recognized as an independent style rather than an obsolete forerunner of Edomae-zushi, because the use of seasoned fish means that it really is finger food - you don't need a plate of shoyu to eat it with. They say that Edozushi refers not only to salt or vinegared fish, but to grilled fish and fish soaked in mirin/shoyu before use.

[Hiroyuki]

Helen, are you sure that the term edo-zushi exists?

I did several google searches on "edo-zushi", considering three possibilies:

江戸ずし

江戸寿司

江戸鮨

but I failed to find any meaingful results.

[smallworld]

But, I can assure you from various sources that ice was not used to keep seefood in cold storage in the Edo period.

Well, I find it hard to imagine that the clever merchants of Edo wouldn't make wide use of ice, which with many lakes out in the country and Edo's own rivers, canals and reserviors, would have been far easier to obtain than you make out.

Anyway, the sources I found that mention ice all quote from the same source: The Sushi Cookbook by Yukiko Moriyama. Here is an exserpt of the book, found on Yasu's Sushi Webpage ( http://www.icubed.com/~yasu/History.htm#Edo ):

In the middle of the 19th century, sushi stalls began emerging all over Edo. They were well patronized and endured until shortly after World War II. Many a proprietor of a splendid modern sushi shop got his start as a sushi stall operator. There were many ordinary sushi shops in the city too, but men with an independent turn of mind but a shortage of capital opted to purchase rights to operate stalls. The going rate for the rights varied according to the location of the stall, the most frequented spots being the most expensive. Since a popular spot enhanced the possibility of doing good business, prospective stall operators vied vigorously with one another to get the best rights.

The stalls had wheels and were hauled into place in the evening. Then the operator hung out his noren curtain to signify he was ready for business. One reason sushi makers did their work sitting down was to keep their feet dry. This continued even after the appearance of high-topped rubber boots in the 1920s.

Since stalls had no pumps of their own, obtaining water was a job in itself. The proprietor had to ask nearby householders for permission to fill several buckets. His initial supply had to last him all evening, so he was naturally careful about the way he used it. The bowl of water he kept for dipping his hands into grew murkier and murkier as the night progressed; it's doubtful that sanitation was up to today's standards.

He kept his wares in a box filled with ice, lifting the bamboo mat covering it to display what he had to offer. On the stall's small counter, he set out one bowl of soy sauce and another of sliced pickled ginger. His sushi rice he cooked at home and brought with him in a wooden container. In winter the container was wrapped with straw so the rice would not get too cold and unappetizing.

The people who stopped by for a snack, for that is what nigiri-zushi was originally, might be returning from the public bathhouse or men out for the evening on business or pleasure. There was nothing very formal about table manners. Diners helped themselves to the ginger and dunked their sushi, sometimes fingers and all, into the bowl of soy sauce. Dirty fingers were no problem. The noren was right there to wipe them on. At the end of the evening, a well-stained noren was a good sign betokening a large number of customers or a small number of very hungry ones.

-- Sushi Cook Book-by Yukiko Moriyama --

>He's actually had a sushi chef yell at him for requesting his sushi 'sabi-nuki'

Were you with him then? Did you yell back at the chef? You know, the arrogance of some sushi chefs really gets me, and this is a topic I want to talk about some day, together with jika 時価 (current market price).

Yup, he's had a Sushi Nazi yell at him, and nope, I wasn't with him (although when he does order sabi-nuki at kaiten-zushi places, the chefs invariably give his orders to ME). I do agree that it was terribly arrogant. But that sushi chef's attitude reflects a major problem in Japan's restaurant industry- a refusal to cater to customers with individual tastes and needs (not to mention those customers with allergies and disabilities).

This Sushi Nazi was a bit traumatic, which is probably one reason he's been so reluctant to go to a 'real' sushi-ya.

>Yes, it was certainly more than kaiten-zushi, but the two shouldn't even be compared.

Come on, smallworld, they should be compared! And I'm really glad that kaiten-zushi shops have revolutionalized the sushi world.

Yes, kaiten-zushi shops have brought sushi back to its roots as an accessible, affordable food, and should be celebrated. I'm with you on that. But there really is no comparison! Even the best kaiten-zushi (and we've found a few good places) doesn't even come close to any of the 'real' sushi I've had in tradional sushi shops. Kaiten-zushi can be good, but rarely fantastic and never perfect.

Also, some people think that Edozushi deserves to be recognized as an independent style rather than an obsolete forerunner of Edomae-zushi, because the use of seasoned fish means that it really is finger food - you don't need a plate of shoyu to eat it with. They say that Edozushi refers not only to salt or vinegared fish, but to grilled fish and fish soaked in mirin/shoyu before use.

Helen, thank you! I really agree with this. Edozushi, or whatever it's called, should be recognized as a unique style.

[Hiroyuki]

Anyway, the sources I found that mention ice all quote from the same source:  The Sushi Cookbook by Yukiko Moriyama. Here is an exserpt of the book, found on Yasu's Sushi Webpage ( http://www.icubed.com/~yasu/History.htm#Edo ):

Quite interesting. I think I'll post a follow-up report some day.

One of the greatest things about kaiten-zushi shops is that they don't overcharge you. They offer 明朗会計 meirou kaikei (literally, clear accounting). No jika 時価 (current market price). This is revolutionary in the sushi world.

[helenjp]

Hiroyuki, Edomae-zushi and Edo-zushi are too broad to get anything useful (too often used in shop names or menus). I tried combining them with several other terms as well, like "su" (vinegar), "tsukeru", "tsuke" (for marinated toppings),"Morimoto", "haya-zushi" and so on...can't remember exactly now.

I think the kanji 江戸鮨 may be the favorite with people who think that Edo-zushi is something special...but I also tried all three!

Smallworld, I forget where I read it now, but I was interested to find that sushi was originally more like kaiten-zushi - the sushi cart man made a few types, cut them in half if they were too big (since the original concept was pretty much a whole fish wrapped round/over a hunk of rice) and stuck them on the counter...customers took whichever they fancied. The made-to-order thing came later, possibly as the variety of toppings increased and fresh toppings meant they couldn't be left sitting around very long.

[Hiroyuki]

Unfortunately, I failed to find a single website that clearly states that ice was not used to keep seafood in cold storage at sushi shops in the Edo period. All I came up with are those that imply this, such as the following:

http://www.iiwanet.com/shimin/2001/0009/edomae.html

Title:

江戸前鮨のはなし

生は無かったすしのネタ

Translation: Story of Edo-mae-zushi

Sushi toppings none of which were raw

http://www.nhk.or.jp/tabemono/99/susi/toku.html

This site describes that with Edo-mae-zushi, "shigoto" (work) goes into every neta.

This site

http://www.enoteca.co.jp/club-enoteca/eye/14.html

states that ice was more expensive than fish in the Edo period.

These three are just example; there are a lot more others with similar statements.

Would like to know more about its history and other places to try it.

I can never be so enthusiastic about old-style Edo-mae-zushi as you are (it's something that all Japanese have been through), at least I can help you. Do you need any more information about other places to go?

[smallworld]

I can never be so enthusiastic about old-style Edo-mae-zushi as you are (it's something that all Japanese have been through)

If so, I find it strange that, other than you, nobody knows anything about it or has even heard of it. There seems to be no knowledge of or interest in sushi's history. Or the history of food in Japan in general. I think that's a real shame.

Maybe it's just me, but I've always been fascinated by the history of food. One of my favourite school trips was when we went to an old pioneer house and tried cooking a meal that the pioneers would have eaten. I used to love reading my mom's antique cookbooks, imagining how hard it would have been to prepare and what it would have tasted like. That stuff is just fascinating to me.

So it's only natural that I'd be interested Edo-mae-zushi. How disappointing, then, that the few sources I can find give only the barest information, contradict eachother, and may not even be factual.

[Hiroyuki]

In the Edo period, tuna, I mean, lean tuna (akami), was not served raw at sushi shops. It was soaked in a mixture of soy sauce and sake (tsuke-jiru) and served as zuke ヅケ.

[Catherine Iino]

Big bump. I had some nice shad (alosa sapidissima, according to Wikipedia) in Connecticut last evening, and it occurs to me that it could be cured like shime saba. It's a nice, flavorful, oily fish with lots of bones. Has anyone tried this?