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is Healthier Than Sandwiches

Everyone knows the Japanese love their fresh fish, especially sushi. Sushi, moreover, is one of the healthiest types of cuisine and a diet, which includes a lot of raw, or fresh fish can apparently help protect smokers against lung cancer. Japanese research reveals that lung cancer rates are much lower in Japan than UK, even though smoking rates are as high or even higher in Japan. The difference has been largely attribute to the diet of the Japanese which is exceedingly rich in raw fish in Sushi cookery. Scientists at the Cancer Research Hospital in Aichi, Japan, found than men and women who consumed “large” amounts of fresh fish were significantly less likely to develop lung cancer. Eating a lot of fresh fish can prove to be a useful way to lower the risk of lung cancer.

Well sushi, a much misunderstood foodstuff, is based on sushi rice: this is rice which has been carefully prepared with slightly sweetened vinegar. The rice and its toppings such as salmon, salmon roe, sea urchin, mackerel, sea eel, tuna and prawn, are wrapped in seaweed and served with the likes of soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi. The latter is a very hot horseradish style mustard.

Among the major types of sushi are:

¨ Nigin :a block of sushi rice with a raw fish topping.
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¨ Maki :a roll of sushi rice with a filling wrapped in seaweed
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¨ California Roll : a roll of sushi rice with a filling, all wrapped in seaweed
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¨ Futomoki Bar : a large California Roll which is around the size and weight of a sandwich .

Where can you find this very healthy designer “food”?. You can buy packs of sushi in supermarkets like Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda. The prices are only a bit higher than sandwiches. A vegetarian sushi tray at Tesco is around Stg 2.99, the fish one costs Stg. 3.99. Asda have even launched a new type of sushi with a very distinctive British appeal: just like the Japanese original, British sushi is wrapped in seaweed and served with soy sauce but the fillings are very, very different. Shoppers in London have been able to try out egg and bacon sushi, sausage sushi and “Wimbledon sushi”-this is made with strawberries and cream.

Not only can you buy sushi in the sandwich department of many supermarkets, some of the supermarket groups are developing in-store sushi bars, as well as juice bars and outlets of Starbucks coffee.

Another place where you can partake of sushi is Yo! Sushi. They are located at No. 52 Poland Street, Soho and there are also located at Selfridge’s Food Hill and at Harvey Nichols. Here the sushi trundles along different coloured plates on a conveyor belt. Each of the different colour plates depict the cost of each dish – a green colour might cost a Stg 1 pounds, a red plate Stg 2 pounds and a pink plate Stg 3 pounds.

So should you sometimes opt for sushi instead of sandwiches? Well the advantages of sushi are several folds:

@ It is very healthy. You may lower your risk of lung cancer and consuming the fish oils in raw fish may help reduce your cholesterol levels.

@ It is very trendy. Sushi is very much regarded as a up-market “designer style” food and you can boast at panties, how much you enjoy sushi.
@ It looks so, so, appetising and aesthetically is very pleasing.
@ Sushi tastes very fresh.

Of course there are some disadvantages as well,

@ A tray of fish (or even vegetarian sushi) is likely to be more expensive than sandwiches.
@ The small portion’s of sushi, whilst they are aesthetically very appealing, are not really very filling.
@ Sushi is best eaten with chopsticks and unless you are a British Chinese, you may not be too skilled in chopsticks usage.
@ Not everyone is fond of raw fish or seaweed, it could be considered a rather specialised taste.
@ Whilst sushi is widely available in supermarkets in affluent areas it is not so commonly available in outlets in poorer districts.

Well there you have it! A round-up review of a much misunderstood food sushi! The final verdict? Sushi makes for an alternative rather more exotic, snack than a sandwich but may not be to everyone’s taste or culinary likes.

Thanks for reading!