Most of us are no strangers to sushi and a lot of us absolutely love it. But how much do we really know about these little bundles of perfection? Here are some fun facts about the history of sushi:

• The original, obsolete meaning of sushi is ‘sour rice’ (because of the addition of vinegar)
• It was originally created to preserve the rice and the fish
• Although now it celebrates freshness proto-sushi came from the same culinary lineage as fish sauce and salted preserves fish
• Sushi started in the Edo period and it wasn’t until the second half to the 18th century that chefs began to abandon the preservation and focus on the fresh.
• By 1830, this ‘new’ form of sushi has caught up to street stalls
• The dispersal of Tokyo-ites following the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 spread the dish across Japan

Types of Sushi:

There are essentially 5 different types of sushi:

1. Maki
2. Uramaki
3. Nigiri
4. Sashimi
5. Temaki

Here in Dubai, sushi is pretty common, and one can easily find some in all price ranges and localities. I won’t get make this a listing of all the sushi places and options, but I what I will do is talk about one of my favourite, go-to, most-frequently ordered sushi platters. It is from Fresh Express Online, I order it about once a month, albeit of varying sizes. When it’s just the two of us, we go for the smallest sizes, but if we’re having friends over, we’re especially thrilled because that means we can go all out and order the 76 pc platter!

What I love about the Fresh Express Online is that they’re a trusted name in the Dubai F&B industry when it comes to seafood. They’ve been around for over 30 years and they know what they’re doing. The salmon and sea bass are organic, the yellowtail kingfish is Japanese, the crab used is Atlantic King Crab, and it’s one of the only home delivery sushi platters that include Japanese Unagi.

If you order their 76 pc platter, there’s no denying that it’ll be a splurge, but here’s what you can expect from it. (as copied from their site):

2 Organic Salmon Sashimi, 12 Blue Fin Torro Sashimi, 12 Organic Sea Bass Sashimi, 6 California Roll, 6 King Crab Mango Roll, 6 Caterpillar Eel Roll, 6 Spicy Yellow Fin Tuna Roll, 6 Prawns Avocado Roll, and 4 Organic Sea Bass Prawn Roll. This platter comes with soy sauce and chopsticks.

Sushi Ingredients:

1. California roll: sushi rice, a nori sheet, orange tobiko, avocado, and mango.
2. King Crab Mango roll: sushi rice, a nori sheet, king crab filling, and mango.
3. Caterpillar eel roll: sushi rice, a nori sheet, prawn filling, mango, avocado, and eel.
4. Spicy Yellow Fin Tuna roll: sushi rice, a nori sheet, spicy tuna filling, and spring onion.
5. Prawn Avocado roll: sushi rice, a nori sheet, prawn filling, and avocado.
6. Organic Sea Bass Prawn roll: sushi rice, a nori sheet, sea bass filling, pickled radish, yuzu juice, seaweed, and prawns.

*This post has been sponsored by Fresh Express Online. 

Since you’re here, you might enjoy this Okonomiyaki recipe too!