Deck 1.2: Sushi Ingredients

Question 1

What are the typical ingredients in imitation wasabi?

Answer 1

mustard, European horesradish and food coloring

Question 2

What is the Japaense name for this sushi condiment?

Answer 2

wasabi

Question 3

What is the natural color of gari?

Answer 3

a faint blush color: deep pink gari has been dyed with another substance such as beet juice

Question 4

What is the 1st stage of the preparation of rice vinegar?

Answer 4

steamed rice,water and koji and mixed with yeast to create sake

Question 5

When is (wet-)-rice agriculture thought to have come to Japan?

Answer 5

in the 3rd century BCE (Before Common Era)

Question 6

Where did the expression shari (used by Japanese chefs to refer to rice) originate?

Answer 6

It refers to sacred bone fragments of the historical Buddha, thought to resemble rice.

Question 7

Which seaweed is used to make nori?

Answer 7

laver

Question 8

What is the 2nd stage of fermentatioin in the creation of rice vinegar?

Answer 8

bacteria, seed vinegar and water are added to the sake mixture to produce more vinegar

Question 9

What are the shape and texture of the rice used to make sushi?

Answer 9

short-grained with a slightly sticky texture when cooked

Question 10

What is the Japanese name for this condiment served with sushi?

Answer 10

gari (or picked ginger)

Question 11

What percentage of the wasabi consumed at sushi bars, etc. around the world is true wasabi?

Answer 11

in some estimates, only 5%

Question 12

What is the sushi chef’s term for sushi rice?

Answer 12

shari

Question 13

How is soy sauce made? (Step 2)

Answer 13

Step 2: The mixture from Step 1 is blended with salt-water brine, then left for several months to form a fermented mash.

Question 14

How is true wasabi prepared?

Answer 14

By rubbing the root against a grater made of sharkskin.

Question 15

When did significant numbers of Japanese begin eating rice?

Answer 15

in the Edo Period (1603-1868)

Question 16

What is laver seaweed called in Japan after it is dried and pressed into sheets?

Answer 16

nori

Question 17

How quickly does wasabi lose its heat?

Answer 17

10 to 15 minutes

Question 18

What is the name (in Japanese) of Japan’s most popular variety of rice?

Answer 18

uruchimai

Question 19

In the past, why was nori sometimes a rare commodity?

Answer 19

because it could not be grown; it did not appear to have any seeds

Question 20

The creation of rice vinegar involves 2 stages of what process?

Answer 20

fermentation

Question 21

Who discovered the reproduction process of nori/when?

Answer 21

Britsh scientist Kathleen Drew-Baker/ in 1949

Question 22

How is soy sauce made? (Step 3)

Answer 22

Step 3: The mixture from Step 2 is pressed, clarified and then heated to create soy sauce.

Question 23

How is soy sauce made? (Step 1)

Answer 23

Step 1: Steamed soy beans and roasted wheat are blended with koji fungus; after several days, the mixture will be covered with mold.

Question 24

How is gari prepared?

Answer 24

by pickling thinly-sliced young ginger in a brine made of rice vinegar, sugar and salt

Question 25

How does the Japanese nori industry now cultivate laver?

Answer 25

nori famers sprinkle the algae on oyster shells