Oishii: The History of Sushi
Details
Oishii: The History of Sushi
By: Eric C Rath
Sushi and sashimi are by now a global sensation and have become perhaps the best known of Japanese foods—but they are also the most widely misunderstood.
Oishii: The History of Sushi reveals that sushi began as a fermented food with a sour taste, used as a means to preserve fish.
This book, the first history of sushi in English, traces sushi’s development from China to Japan and then internationally, and from street food to high-class cuisine.
Included are two dozen historical and original recipes that show the diversity of sushi and how to prepare it.
Written by an expert on Japanese food history, Oishii is a must read for understanding sushi’s past, its variety and sustainability, and how it became one of the world’s greatest anonymous cuisines.
Hardcover; 224 pages
ISBN: 978-1789143836
About the Author
Eric C. Rath is professor of premodern Japanese history at the University of Kansas. He is the author of Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan.
Praise for Oishii: The History of Sushi...
By: Eric C Rath
Sushi and sashimi are by now a global sensation and have become perhaps the best known of Japanese foods—but they are also the most widely misunderstood.
Oishii: The History of Sushi reveals that sushi began as a fermented food with a sour taste, used as a means to preserve fish.
This book, the first history of sushi in English, traces sushi’s development from China to Japan and then internationally, and from street food to high-class cuisine.
Included are two dozen historical and original recipes that show the diversity of sushi and how to prepare it.
Written by an expert on Japanese food history, Oishii is a must read for understanding sushi’s past, its variety and sustainability, and how it became one of the world’s greatest anonymous cuisines.
Hardcover; 224 pages
ISBN: 978-1789143836
About the Author
Eric C. Rath is professor of premodern Japanese history at the University of Kansas. He is the author of Food and Fantasy in Early Modern Japan.
Praise for Oishii: The History of Sushi...
"Occupying a modest middle ground between cookbook and essay collection Rath's writing is light, unhampered by the weight of academia. He interjects personal asides, recalling tastes and experiences that add sparkle to his chronology of sushi.
Ultimately, however, it's the lesser-known sushi knowledge that singles out Oishii as a must-own for hungry minds and sushi fanatics alike."
— Japan Times
"Informative, lovingly illustrated. . . . Starting with the medieval period and moving into the contemporary era, this comprehensive and very readable volume is best accompanied with a plate of sushi (and perhaps some sake) nearby. . . .
Oishii means ‘delicious,’ and this describes the book from both a culinary and a visual perspective.
The book is dotted with recipes, from the simple Five Lord’s Soup (‘Finely dice pickled fish and meat on a cutting board. Add water and boil. Use this as the basis for soup stock.’) to minnow sushi—for those with access to minnows, it’s ready to eat in one day—and how to select the right mackerel to avoid dried-out flesh.
Complementing these are more contemporary recipes for home cooks, archival photographs and woodblock prints, and mouthwatering closeups of prepared sushi, making Oishii an enlightening treat for the senses."
— Digestible Bits and Bites
The book is dotted with recipes, from the simple Five Lord’s Soup (‘Finely dice pickled fish and meat on a cutting board. Add water and boil. Use this as the basis for soup stock.’) to minnow sushi—for those with access to minnows, it’s ready to eat in one day—and how to select the right mackerel to avoid dried-out flesh.
Complementing these are more contemporary recipes for home cooks, archival photographs and woodblock prints, and mouthwatering closeups of prepared sushi, making Oishii an enlightening treat for the senses."
— Digestible Bits and Bites