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Today, we're ditching the chopsticks
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and digging into how America ruined sushi. In the late 1800s, a wildly popular book was published
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about former President Ulysses S. Grant's trip around the world, including a reference
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to dining on sashimi during his time in Japan. Just a few years later, the Oxford Dictionary
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mentioned sushi for the first time with a brief statement on Japanese culture
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In 1906, the first American sushi restaurant opened in Little Tokyo in the city of Los Angeles
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serving a rising clientele of recently immigrated Japanese citizens, the restaurant originally flourished
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As curious American diners descended on the rare sushi joints, it became a semi-popular dish
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for adventurous foodie parties. But this early fascination was swiftly cut short
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by the Gentleman's Agreement of 1907, a prejudiced act which restricted Japanese immigration
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Further complicated by the grim history of Japanese internment during World War II
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sushi became practically non-existent in the US. New restaurants opened at Little Tokyo, LA
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during the 1950s. when the term sushi bar was first popularized. A sushi chef named Ichiro Mashita
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unable to acquire fresh tuna belly for his toro rolls, instead chose to add slabs of fatty avocado to his sushi
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Noticing that his American diners did not appreciate the texture of seaweed wrapped in maki rolls
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the chef flipped the script by rolling the rice outside. The former LA exclusive became the California roll of today
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Chef Mashita West Coast fresh sushi hybrid took off like a rocket Often regarded as an extra healthy option in a world of fatty fried goodies sushi is still seen as a sort of superfood Although there is certainly truth to these claims they come with one major caveat
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Not all sushi is created equally, especially in America. When it comes to making, selling, and even eating sushi
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Americans get just about everything wrong. While the inside-out appeal of Uramaki was invented by a Japanese chef
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The American-born rolls are wildly unpopular in sushi's homeland. In America, most sushi establishments come saddled with a massive hibachi grill
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But while it appears to American steakhouse sensibilities, this merger of sushi and beef isn't just frowned upon in Japan
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It's literally sacrilegious. The people of ancient Japan turned to fish in lieu of red meat as a tenet of Buddhism
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By combining steakhouses with sushi spots, America unwittingly created a potentially unsanitary faux pas
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Most Americans think of sushi as food best served on chopsticks, but in Japan, sushi of almost every variety is eaten by hand
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While sushi consumption can certainly lead to a healthier lifestyle in Japan, the ingredients and preparation methods of American rolls don't result in tighter abs
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From fatty additions like cream cheese and heavy mayos, to deep-fried prawns and sugary sauces, stateside sushi is downright heavy
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American sushi has undoubtedly had an impact on the cuisine's popularity around the globe
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Now embraced just about everywhere, sushi has become a food for people from all walks of life
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It's almost become an American staple, even if we're still trying to eat it with chopsticks
