The Preparation Process

The process of becoming a sushi chef

Just like entering any profession, it is not an easy job to begin with. It requires time to help one train to become the best one in the field through experiences. Even though it's not easy, if one has a passion in doing what they believe that will make them happy, they will more than likely will succeed in the profession. That brings to the topic of how to become a master sushi chef. As many people may see sushi being easy to make, and doesn't really require a lot of work, they are wrong. Sushi is a form of art. The displaying of the food is really important when it comes to serving the customers because it can really turn a customer's mood around. Another reason why it may seem easy but it's really not, is the fact that sushi requires a lot of preparation ahead of time, so it reduces the amount of time it come to serving the food

"In Japan, it take years of work to earn the title of sushi chef, but in Los Angeles, not so much" (lamag). The training in Japan may take up to 15 years before one can run the restaurant, as compared to Los Angeles, one will be able to enroll in a 12 week course to becoming a sushi chef. Here's a breakdown of 15 years of training in Japan (lamag):
Year 1: Mopping floors and washing dishes
Year 2: Learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Year 3-4: Promoted to a food prepper and prepare some cooked dishes as well.
Year 5: Ready to prepare the sushi rice
Year 6: Allowed behind the sushi bar, and make sushi rolls for takeout only.
Year 7 to 9: Given permission to interact with customers.
Year 10: Official sushi chef
Year 15: Running the restaurant.

"When it comes to learning sushi making, there is no right or wrong way of learning, you simply do what works best for you and ensure that you’re enjoying yourself, whilst learning in the process." Over the course of training, one will be able to cover all 5 steps of training. These steps are: knowing which fish is which, vegetable prep, sushi rice, making the rolls, and filleting the fish (mychefit).

Since fish is an important part of sushi, knowing how to prepare the fish can really determine how skillful the sushi chef is. The first step to preparing the fish is to find out whether or not the fish is fresh. By following these three steps, one can determine if the fish is fresh:

"Above left: Touch beside a gill lightly. It should be soft.
Above center: The underside of the gills should be reddish in color.
Above right: The eyes should be clear" (web-japan).

Breaking down the fish is a three man job. The first man is on scaling duty, scraping the sides of the fish to remove the rough exterior layer. Sushi chef usually holds the fish by the eye because the fins are often poisonous. The second guy in the disassembly line dives in heads-first. After the head is removed, the blood is dug out with a tool. If you don't remove the blood, the meat will spoil. Removing the organs requires special care, because puncturing something like the gallbladder will cause an explosion of bile from both the fish and the chef. After this major surgery, a third man rinses out the fish before it makes it way to the sushi counter to be skinned and sliced. When the fish is ready, the sushi chef will cut out the fillet and carefully removes most of the skin, leaving a thin layer that adds texture and flavor (Thrillist).

I would personally say filleting the fish would be the hardest part to learn from my own experience because sometimes when filleting the fish in the wrong way may leave a lot of extra meat on the skin or the other way around. That is why I would recommend to take all the advises given, and handled the fish one step at a time. Don't ever jump to conclusion so quick because you may leave out some of the most important skills.  

Websites used:
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/a-look-inside-the-world-of-the-sushi-chef-thrillist-nation
http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia36/en/feature/feature10.html
http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/
http://mychefit.com/2015/10/28/5-steps-for-training-to-be-a-sushi-chef/

Japan
Year 1: Your apprenticeship, AKA mopping floors and washing dishes, begins.
Year 2: You learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Years 3 to 4: You’re promoted to shikomi, or food prepper, where you get to prepare some cooked dishes and staff meals.

Year 5: Now you’re ready for sushi rice. Congrats!
Year 6: You’re allowed behind the sushi bar, where you make only rolls for takeout.
Years 7 to 9: You have permission to speak to customers.
Year 10: A decade in and it’s official. Tada! You’re a full-fledged sushi chef.
Year 15: They let you run the restaurant—finally.
Los Angeles
Enroll in a 12-week sushi-chef course at California Sushi Academy. Tada! Get a job at Geisha House.
- See more at: http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/#sthash.j7ojDquU.dpuf

Japan
Year 1: Your apprenticeship, AKA mopping floors and washing dishes, begins.
Year 2: You learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Years 3 to 4: You’re promoted to shikomi, or food prepper, where you get to prepare some cooked dishes and staff meals.

Year 5: Now you’re ready for sushi rice. Congrats!
Year 6: You’re allowed behind the sushi bar, where you make only rolls for takeout.
Years 7 to 9: You have permission to speak to customers.
Year 10: A decade in and it’s official. Tada! You’re a full-fledged sushi chef.
Year 15: They let you run the restaurant—finally.
Los Angeles
Enroll in a 12-week sushi-chef course at California Sushi Academy. Tada! Get a job at Geisha House.
- See more at: http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/#sthash.j7ojDquU.dpuf

Japan
Year 1: Your apprenticeship, AKA mopping floors and washing dishes, begins.
Year 2: You learn how to fillet small seafood like clams and shad.
Years 3 to 4: You’re promoted to shikomi, or food prepper, where you get to prepare some cooked dishes and staff meals.

Year 5: Now you’re ready for sushi rice. Congrats!
Year 6: You’re allowed behind the sushi bar, where you make only rolls for takeout.
Years 7 to 9: You have permission to speak to customers.
Year 10: A decade in and it’s official. Tada! You’re a full-fledged sushi chef.
Year 15: They let you run the restaurant—finally.
Los Angeles
Enroll in a 12-week sushi-chef course at California Sushi Academy. Tada! Get a job at Geisha House.
- See more at: http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/the-road-to-becoming-a-sushi-chef-japan-vs-la/#sthash.j7ojDquU.dpuf

The Evolution of Sushi

Sushi has been around for many centuries now, but it has been slowly evolving along the way. The evolution of sushi actually surprises me on how it first started out to be, to where it leads to right now. When sushi first started, it was a way to preserve food and make it portable. The trend caught on as rice cultivation spread over the sea and northward from Southeast Asia. Different cultures have their unique additions to the basic recipe and arrangement of what was, for a time, called Funa-zhushi (Sushi Now).

Seventh century-Sushi had made its way to Japan, where seafood has historically been a staple. The Japanese took the concept further and began to eat the rice with the fish. Originally, the dish was prepared in much the same manner (Sushi FAQ).

15^th century-The fermentation techniques became faster. Preservation that used to take six months or more, now only took one month and rancid rice that once was discarded, could now be eaten.  These sushi styles are very different than the one that we are familiar with today. The fermentation sushi techniques were invited to preserve the fish. Currently in Japan, there is a similar style of this fermented sushi that still exists, and it’s known as Nare-zushi. Nare-zushi is basically fish that has been fermented by wrapping it in fermenting sour rice so it gives off an acquired taste (On The Gas).

17^th century-Matsumoto Yoshiichi (a medical doctor) discovered a style of sushi that was termed as haya-zushi. This style is simply adding rice vinegar to the cooked rice and shortened the fermentation time down to about 24 hours. By adding rice vinegar, it gives the fish more tender and flavor of the rice (On The Gas).

18^th century-“Sushi we know today as Nigiri sushi came to be. Hanaya Tohei found the ‘Eddoko’ (people of Edo-Tokyo) were looking for something they could eat ‘on the go’ or as a quick meal and it was then that sushi became the world’s first fast food. The rice was salted and vinegared after cooking, and the fish was applied fresh. Sushi was made for the masses and served in outdoor kiosks all over Tokyo”
(On The Gas).

19^th century-Hanaya Yohei discovery of Nigiri sushi conceived a major change in the production and presentation of his sushi. No longer wrapping the fish in rice, he placed a piece of fresh fish on top of an oblong shaped piece of seasoned rice. At that time, sushi was served from sushi stalls on the street and was meant to be a snack or quick bite to eat on the go. Served from his stall, this was not only the first of the real 'fast food' sushi, but quickly became wildly popular. This style of serving sushi rapidly spread throughout Japan, and aided by the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. After World War Two, the sushi stalls were shut down and moved indoors, to more sanitary conditions. More formal seating was later provided and sushi changed from 'fast food' to a true dining experience. Sushi spread around the globe, and with the advent of the promotion of seafood, this unusual style of serving fish was quickly adopted by the western cultures (Sushi FAQ).

Sushi was first served in the United States in the early 1900s following an influx of Japanese immigration after the Meiji Restoration. The first American sushi restaurants appeared in the early 1960s, most notably in major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and New York City. The California roll was invented in Los Angeles by substituting a slice of avocado for the seasonal toro (fatty tuna) in a traditional maki roll (Wikipedia).

As sushi evolve in different cultures, the preparation and ingredient still remain the same. For example, sushi rice for Americans are a little sweeter to meet the world-famous American sweet tooth. Sushi has changed in the same way that other cuisines are altered in the United States, but changes is not always bad. This evolved sushi has traveled back to Japan for traveling Americans and for the many Japanese who want to experience what has become foreign food. Even though sushi has been around for hundred of years, it is still evolving in many parts of the world today to meet everyone's expectation. Just thinking back to how sushi first started, and where it is now, also sets a high expectation to what future might hold. It started out having to wait several months and preserving the meat, to eating the rice with the fish is just crazy to think. Honestly I like the evolution, and I can't wait to see how sushi is going to be like in the future.

Websites Used:
http://www.sushifaq.com/basic-sushi-experience-information/the-history-of-sushi/
http://onthegas.org/food/the-sushi-evolution-how-sushi-evolved-over-time
http://sushinow.com/history.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sushi