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A Food for Everyone
     Sushi has become an international food that almost everyone enjoys. Sushi lovers come in all sizes and ages. A few become fanatics(read as gourmet) about sushi and can actually tell you when the best time of the year for a particular fish is to be used as sushi. Most of us seem to be relegated to use the plastic cue cards that sit on the sushi bar or table to help us with making our selections. Memorizing the proper Japanese name, for your next sushi safari, allows you to be part of this continually growing phenomenon. The purpose of this article is to help spread a little knowledge and history about sushi.

A Short History
     The romantic version of how sushi began starts with an elderly Japanese couple who left some vinegared rice in a bird nest near their home. Later in the day they returned to find a fish laying in the nest. They took the fish home and ate it for their meal. The wonderfully delicate flavor of the naturally fermented rice was transferred onto the fish. The fish was eaten and the rice thrown away.
     Thus began one of the oldest Japanese methods of preserving fish. Cleaned, raw fish were placed between layers of salt and rice. Heavy stones were then placed on top. A few weeks later, the stones were replaced with a lighter weight. A few months later the fermented or "cured" fish and rice were ready to eat. Later, Yohei, a Japanese chef of the 1800s, developed what became our modern day style of sushi.

Sushi styles
     Three of the most popular sushi styles found in the U.S. are chirashi-sushi, nigiri-sushi, and maki-sushi.

Chirashi-sushi
     With chirashi-sushi (scattered sushi), cooked and uncooked seafood and vegetables are placed on top of a bowl of loosely packed sushi rice. Some people consider this more of a sashimi style food. Sashimi is a slightly larger cut of raw fish, without the rice.

Nigiri-sushi
     Nigiri-sushi was first made, exclusively in Edo(ancient Tokyo). Edo is pronounced "Way-dough". This was mainly due to Tokyo Bay's abundance of fish and shellfish. Nigiri-suzhi is prepared with the seafood resting atop a small pad or bed of seasoned rice. This is the most common form of sushi that the world is familiar with. A variation is "Gunkan" or battleship nigiri. This is created by wrapping seaweed around a bed of rice, thereby making a "cup" to hold fish roe, uni, or other small sushi ingredients.

Maki-sushi
     Maki-sushi(rolled sushi)is made by placing a thin sheet of nori(seaweed) on a counter top. Spread a layer of seasoned sushi rice atop the nori. At one end of the nori (the long end) place thin strips of seafood or vegetables along the edge of the nori. Begin to roll the nori. Once done, slice the completed roll into six or eight pieces. There is the simple explanation of how maki-suzhi is made. There is more technique involved to complete the maki in traditional style which you can start to learn by reading one of the many books available on "how-to-make sushi". California maki and Tekka maki (tuna roll) are two examples of maki-sushi.

Soy Sauce
     Soy Sauce or shoyu ("shoi-you") is used to lightly flavor the sushi by pouring a small amount into a dipping dish or bowl. Mix with wasabe to your own taste. This is a slightly salty fermented Japanese condiment. You may find Japanese soy sauce tastes quite different than Chinese soy sauce and is much better for sushi.

     The popularity of soy sauce is not a new interest. Soy sauce was brought from the Far East, by Dutch merchant ships to the dining tables of European nobility in the sixteenth century.

Wasabe
     Don't let anyone fool you into believing that this small green mound on one of your sushi plates is Japanese guacamole. It's not. Mix a pinch of wasabe in the soy sauce dish. Dip your sushi into this wonderfully refreshing sauce. But don't let your rice get soggy or it will fall apart.
     Wasabe is a knobby Japanese horseradish. When eaten with sushi, the wasabe can give your sinuses a pungent and nose-tingling feeling. To make wasabe, add water to wasabe powder and mix into a paste. This begins to expose the wasabe paste to the air or oxygen. This exposure is a process of volatilization, which causes the sinus zing. Powdered or pasted wasabe is easily found. Fresh wasabe root is very hard to find and very expensive.
     In Japan, wasabe is considered to be a healthy food. Strong in vitamin C and is an antibacterial, similar to ultraviolet light.
     In the Chugoku district of the main island of Honshu, Japan, there is a whole valley that grows nothing but wasabe. Upon driving into the valley, the smell of wasabe becomes quite noticeable. When stopping at the gift shops (similar to the garlic and fruit stands in Gilroy, California and other agricultural areas) all the food products are related to wasabe. Wasabe chips, wasabe wine, wasabe sake, snack foods, etc. T-shirts and hats. All with a wasabe theme. You've seen this before on vacation... right?

Gari
     Pickled ginger is meant to be eaten between sushi courses to refresh your palate. A piece at a time. Pickled ginger has become highly popular with Americans. For a different taste, try placing a piece of ginger on top of your sushi before biting into it.

     The Sozo Japanese Restaurant, located in Pleasanton at 2835 Hopyard Rd. near Gene's Fine Foods, has been open for 2 years. The restaurant offers quality food and service at a resonable price. Quality is controlled fron the viewpoint of customer satisfaction.
     Sozo Sushi offers casual family-oriented dining and take-out. The sushi chef/owner/manager is Nami Manderscheid who brings a fresh style with her sushi presentations.
     When entering Sozo Sushi, you are greeted by a hearty "Ira-Shai!" or "Welcome!". When your meal is done and you are ready to leave, the friendly staff will thank you and wish you well.

Entering a sushi bar
     Upon crossing the front threshold of a sushi bar, you should be greeted by the sushi person and their assistants, with a hearty, "Ira-shai, Ira-shai, Ira-shai!"
     Once seated at the sushi counter, the waitress will ask you if you would like something to drink. Usually beru(beer), plum wine, or ocha(tea). Subsequent orders can be placed through the sushi chef in front of you.

The chef
     The sushi chef is there to help guide you and to help make sushi experience more enjoyable. The chef may have a few special nigiri's and maki's for you to try. All sushi chef's are receptive to innovation from the customer. If you wish to experiment and create your own specialty, the sushi chef will happily follow your instructions in this new adventure. Ask for a Baja Maki, if you like things spicy.