The Japanese are known for their sushi worldwide. Nowadays, sushi is a typical Japanese dish that can be found all over the world. You don’t have to travel to Japan anymore to eat the best sushi in the world. However, the idea of putting raw salmon on vinegar rice for a “sake nigiri” didnt originate in Japan. The Japanese couldnt even imagine eating raw salmon before the 1990s. Are Japanese people still willing to eat raw salmon with vinegar rice? A look into the history of this famous Japanese dishreveals some surprising facts.
El salmón es sin duda uno de los ingredientes más icónicos en la cocina japonesa moderna, especialmente en el sushi Sin embargo, esto no siempre fue así De hecho, la popularidad del salmón en Japón es un fenómeno relativamente reciente.
Aunque hoy en día el salmón noruego de piscifactoría es omnipresente en los restaurantes de sushi en Japón, originalmente el salmón no formaba parte de la tradición culinaria japonesa. Examinaremos brevemente la historia de cómo este pez foráneo se convirtió en un elemento básico de la cocina japonesa.
El Salmón no es Nativo de Japón
El salmón que conocemos hoy no se encuentra naturalmente en las aguas de Japón. De hecho, antes de la década de 1980, el consumo de salmón crudo se consideraba insalubre e inseguro en Japón.
Esto se debe a que el salmón del Pacífico contiene un alto número de parásitos lo que lo hace inadecuado para comerse crudo en sushi o sashimi. En cambio tradicionalmente el salmón siempre se cocinaba o se asaba en Japón.
Due to the fact that the local wild salmon was thought to be of lower quality, it was often served with cheap meals and was known as “pescado de la gente pobre.”
El Asceno del Salmón Noruego
When the salmon from the Noruego Piscifactoría was introduced to the Japanese market in the 1980s, things changed a lot. Thanks to the innovative techniques used in Norwegian aquaculture, this salmon was able to grow without parasites and with a lot of fat.
Inicialmente, los consumidores japoneses desconfiaban del sabor y la textura del nuevo salmón importado. Pero gracias a agresivas campañas de marketing y el apoyo de marcas de alimentos congelados como Nichirei, su aceptación fue creciendo rápidamente.
Rapidamente, el salmón noruego, que era relativamente barato, inundó los restaurantes de sushi económicos y se tornó más popular entre los niños japoneses. Para 1991, las importaciones de salmón noruego a Japón se habían triplicado.
¿Salmón o Trucha en Japón?
Aunque normalmente se le considera un salmón en Occidente, en Japón el pez es visto técnicamente como una trucha.
Esto se debe a que el salmón del Pacífico o “sake” es el salmónido de agua dulce más común que se encuentra en el archipiélago japonés. Por lo tanto, se le clasifica localmente como una variedad de trucha.
De hecho, el nombre japonés para el salmón del Atlántico importado es “sake noruega”, literalmente “trucha de Noruega”. Esta distinción resalta que originalmente se le veía como un pez foráneo.
La Reinvención del Salmón en la Cocina Japonesa
Hoy en día, el salmón ocupa un lugar destacado en la cocina japonesa moderna, especialmente en la alta cocina. Se le aprecia por su sabor suave, textura sedosa y beneficios para la salud.
Los chefs de sushi de alta gama ahora consideran un placer trabajar con salmón de la más alta calidad. Se han desarrollado nuevas técnicas para resaltar su sabor, como el ligero ahumado.
El salmón también se ha reinventado en platos de fusión como el salmón teriyaki, sushi de salmón frito y otros. Los japoneses modernos lo consumen de muchas formas más allá del sushi.
Producción Sostenible de Salmón
Dada la enorme demanda de salmón en Japón, recientemente han surgido preocupaciones sobre la sostenibilidad de las piscifactorías noruegas.
Algunos ambientalistas sugieren que el rápido crecimiento de la acuicultura del salmón está dañando los frágiles ecosistemas marinos noruegos.
Las granjas de salmón a veces propagan enfermedades y parásitos a las poblaciones de salmón silvestre. Además producen grandes cantidades de desechos orgánicos.
Se espera que a medida que crezca la conciencia de los consumidores japoneses sobre la sostenibilidad, la industria del salmón noruego adopte prácticas más ecológicas.
Una Historia de Éxito Culinario
En resumen, la incorporación del salmón a la cocina japonesa moderna es una historia de éxito culinario resultado de la innovación, marketing inteligente y la evolución de los gustos de los consumidores.
Un pez desconocido y despreciado se transformó en un ingrediente superestrella en pocas décadas. Esto resalta cómo las tradiciones culinarias están en constante movimiento y renovación. ¿Quién sabe qué nuevo ingrediente cautivará el paladar japonés en las próximas décadas?
A bit of sushi history
It is generally believed that the earliest form of sushi was developed in South-East Asia in the 8th century A.D. At that time, refrigeration had not yet been invented. Locals salted their fish, wrapped it in fermented rice and left it for several months until the protein in the fish was broken down into amino acids. After that, they discarded the rice and consumed the fish, which usually remained safe to eat for several months. The Japanese liked to eat their fermented fish with a kind of steamed rice called “namanare”. Namanare grew in popularity during the Muromachi period, from 1336 to 1573. It was during this period that people began to eat raw fish wrapped in rice, and eat it fresh before it loses its flavour. The emphasis shifted from preservation to a new method of combining fish with rice for consumption.
As for today, this typical Japanese dish is available for many people all over the world to try. On the other hand, Western societies were slow to accept the idea of eating vinegar rice with raw fish or other toppings at first. There were several hurdles faced by Japanese immigrants and business owners attempting to introduce sushi to Western societies.
The West’s familiarization with sushi
Sushi had been introduced to the West by the early 1900s. This Japanese dish became more popular in the United States after the end of World War II. Many restaurants began experimenting with new taste combinations and sushi rolls. The idea was to help Americans get used to eating sushi. One of the rolls that became one of the most popular among Americans was the California Roll, which is an inside-out “makizushi” roll that consists of cucumber, crab meat (or imitation crab meat) and avocado, rolled in white rice.
The flavour combination was appealing to American customers. They didn’t have to be afraid of raw fish because the crab meat in the roll was already cooked. Americans were thus gradually getting used of the idea of consuming sushi. Eventually, they were able to try out more traditional sashimi and nigiri dishes. And just like that, sushi restaurants became a national phenomenon in the United States.
This “experimental” approach of familiarizing Americans with the taste of the California Roll first worked very well. The California Roll helped Americans to eventually become fond of Japanese sushi. This was the start of the great success story of sushi as a globalized dish. Sushi has since become a global food scape. Americans first tried this traditional Japanese dish by adding some local ingredients that people already knew. Since then, Americans have added their own local favorites to it as sushi has become a worldwide hit.
People from all over the world are coming together in American culture, which is why the California Roll is so popular. Appadurai (1996) proposed a theory about how globalization can create transnational cultural scapes. These “scapes” bring together cultures around the world; they show up in patterns of cultural and social behavior around the world and create new ways for global and local cultures to interact. Globalization doesn’t always or even often mean Americanization or homogenization. What it means is that global landscapes are being adapted locally (Appadurai, 1996). Appadurais explanation also applies to the spread of sushi to other regions of the world. He says that when different cultures and ideas are brought into new societies, they tend to become part of the local culture in some way. Below we will discuss how Appadurais argument of indigenization and ideology has changed the sushi culture within Japan.
Is Salmon Sushi Japanese food? | Surprising History | Norway
FAQ
Is salmon commonly eaten in Japan?
Can you find salmon in Japan?
Why didn t Japan eat salmon?
Does Japan eat salmon?
In most people’s minds, salmon is heavily associated with Japanese culture as this fish often appears in imagery of sushi and sashimi alike. However, it’s not commonly known that salmon isn’t often eaten in Japan as it is considered quite expensive. This is due to the fact that a large majority of Japan’s salmon is in fact imported from Norway!
Is salmon the next big fish in Japan?
At its inception, Project Japan aimed to export 500 million Norwegian Kroner’s worth of salmon to Japan every year. Approximately $45 million, this made up 1% of Japan’s total imports, and 7% of Norway’s seafood exports. However, while this number had tripled by 1991, it was not easy to persuade Japanese consumers that salmon was the next big fish.
Can you eat Norwegian salmon in Japan?
Norwegian Salmon in Japan: Everything You Need to Know! Norwegian salmon is fatty, tender, and bright orange and can nearly always be found in any sushi restaurant in Japan! As a matter of fact, it’s even more popular than Japan’s native sushi!
How many brands of salmon are there in Japan?
There is said to be more than 50 brands of local salmon in Japan. As Japan’s population ages and shrinks, salmon unique to each region is drawing attention as a possible solution to revitalize rural economies. At conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, the most popular dish is salmon.