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East Asia Program, Cornell University
http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/eastasia/ Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu
Elementary and Secondary Lesson Plan: Traditional Japanese Food
[Sushi]
Objective: Students understand the history of sushi, variety of sushi and how they are
enjoyed in Japan. They also learn why sushi became popular all over the world and the
similarities and differences between the customs of sushi in Japan and in the U.S. They
students deepen their understanding through research and cooking projects.
Materials used in this lesson: Realia or pictures of sushi, resources for research about
sushi, materials and ingredients for cooking project
NYS Social Studies Standards 2 (World History) and 3 (Geography)
World History - use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning
points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a
variety of perspectives.
1
2
Geography - use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which
we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people,
Sushi in USA
Ask your students:
• Have you ever eaten sushi?
• What kind of sushi did you eat?
• Where did you eat it?
• How did you like it?
• What kind of sushi do you know?
• In what occasions do you eat sushi?
• Have you ever made sushi? How did it go?
• What image do you have of sushi?
History of Sushi in Japan
Introduce the history of sushi in Japan to your students:
• The earliest reference to sushi appeared in Yôrô Ritsuryô
(one iteration of several governing rules) completed in
718 AD
• In the book Engishiki completed in 927 AD, sushi is listed
as one of the tributes to the government. The type of
sushi eaten in this period is called honnare; it is made of
fish stored in fermented rice for months. (The fermented
rice was discarded and fish was the only part eaten.)
• During the Muromachi period (1336-1573), namanare
was the most popular type of sushi. For this type of
sushi, fish are stored for shorter period of time than
honnare and eaten with rice while it’s still partly raw. In
some regions in Japan, people still eat this type of sushi
as their local cuisine.
East Asia Program, Cornell University
http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/eastasia/ Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu
•In the 1600s, people started using vinegar for sushi and stopped using rice for
fermentation. This new type of sushi was called haya-zushi (haya = fast, quick).
•The first reference to nigiri-zushi appeared in Haifû Yanagidaru (a collection of
senryû, Japanese short poetries) in 1829. Since then, nigiri-zushi has been the
most popular type of sushi in Japan.
Ask your students:
• Why do you think this evolution of sushi (honnare → namanare →
haya-zushi → nigiri-zushi) occurred? Why do you think nigiri-zushi
became popular over time?
• Can you think of any food in American culture that underwent the
similar evolutionary process as sushi in Japan?
3
?
Types of Sushi in Japan
Introduce the different types of sushi that are popular in Japan these days. All types of
sushi contain sushi rice, which is rice mixed with sushi vinegar (vinegar with salt and
sugar).
Nigiri-zushi (hand-formed sushi):
• Nigiri-zushi consists of sushi rice hand-formed in a rectangular, a
topping and a little bit of wasabi (Japanese horseradish paste) in
between.
• Popular toppings of nigiri-zushi are tuna, yellowtail, conger eel, sea
bream, squid, octopus, shrimp, sea urchin, salmon roe and sweet
egg
• Gunkan-maki (warship roll) is a special type of nigiri-zushi. Gunkanmaki consists of sushi rice hand-formed in a rectangular, a strip of
nori (dried seaweed) wrapped around sushi rice, and a soft, loose,
or fine-chopped topping such as sea urchin and salmon roe.
Maki-zushi (rolled sushi):
• Makisu (a bamboo mat) is used to make maki-zushi
• Nori (dried seaweed), sushi rice and ingredients such as cucumber,
sweet egg, gourd strip, crab sticks and tuna are placed on makisu
and rolled to form a cylindrical piece
• A variety of maki-zushi are sold in supermarkets and department
stores as well as at take-out sushi shops
Inari-zushi:
• Inari-zushi is a pouch of friend tofu cooked in the soy sauce-based
sauce filled with sushi rice
• Inari is a name of one of the Shinto gods. The messengers of the
god Inari are foxes whose favorite food is fried tofu. This is how
inari-zushi got its name.
East Asia Program, Cornell University
http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/eastasia/ Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu
Chirashi-zushi (scattered sushi):
• There are two types of chirashi-zushi eaten in different geographic
regions. One type is various seafood and vegetables are placed on
the top of sushi rice. The other kind is seafood and vegetables are
cut in small pieces and mixed with sushi rice.
• Chirashi-zushi is a popular dish for Doll Festival on March 3. It’s also
made for other celebrations such as enrollment in school and
graduation .
• Chirashi-zushi is a type of sushi that is most commonly made at
home
4
Sushi Business in Japan
Explain how sushi are sold in Japan:
•Sushi (especially maki-zushi and inari-zushi) is sold in a small package at a
supermarket and department store
•There are sushi stores which sell take-out sushi
•The most popular type of sushi restaurant is kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi).
Kaiten-zushi is a sushi restaurant where the plates with
sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt that winds
through the restaurant. Customers simply pick the sushi
moving along the conveyor belt. They pay the bill based
on the number and type of plates of the consumed
sushi. This type of restaurant is usually more
reasonable than traditional sushi restaurants.
•Traditional sushi restaurants mainly offer nigiri-zushi.
Customers sit either at a counter or table. Fresh seafood is
kept in a glass refrigerated case on the counter, and a sushi
chef makes sushi behind the counter after receiving an
order. This type of restaurant is usually more expensive.
Traditionally, this type of restaurants don’t list the price
of each sushi, and the customers don’t know how much
they spent until they receive a bill!
It is said that in order to be a sushi chef, you have to
spend at least 10 years (!!) for training. Skilled sushi
chefs are knowledgeable about how to choose the best
fish at a market, how to slice each type of fish in different
seasons and so on.
East Asia Program, Cornell University
http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/eastasia/ Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu
5 Research Project: Sushi in Various Cultures
Assign a research project about sushi in various cultures. Examples of research topics
are:
(A) History of sushi in the U.S.
•How did sushi become popular in America? What is its historical
background?
•Why do you think sushi became popular (not other Japanese
dishes)?
•What are similarities between sushi in Japan and in America?
(types of sushi, sushi business, images of sushi, etc)
•What are differences between them?
(B) Sushi in other cultures
•In what other cultures is sushi popular?
•What is the history of sushi in the culture you selected?
•What type of sushi is popular?
•Is sushi made at home? Or do people go out to eat sushi? What type of restaurants
offer sushi?
•What are similarities with sushi culture in Japan?
•What are differences?
(C) A day of a sushi chef in Japan
•What is the first job of a day for a sushi chef?
•What does he do before the restaurant is open?
•What does he do while the restaurant is open?
•What does he do after the restaurant is closed?
•What surprised you? What impressed you?
•What do you think important characteristics of a
sushi chef are?
•Would you be interested in becoming a sushi chef? Why/Why not?
East Asia Program, Cornell University
http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/eastasia/ Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu
6
Cooking Project: Maki-zushi making
Make maki-zushi with your students!
(Recipe from http://www.makemysushi.com)
Things you need:
• Makisu (a bamboo mat)
• Nori (dried seaweed sheet)
• Sushi rice (Japanese rice + sushi vinegar)
• Fillings (fish and/or vegetables)
Steps:
1. Feel the nori sheet from both sides. You will find one side to be smooth and the
other rough. The nori should lay on the rolling mat with the rough side facing
upwards.
2. Get your hands wet, and grab a handful of sushi rice. Gently put the rice in the
middle of the nori sheet, and start spreading it equally on the nori, creating a layer of
rice covering almost the entire sheet except the upper margin of about 2cm that
should be kep uncovered. Be careful not to compress the rice, but merely spread it
over the nori.
Tip: It’s important to keep your hands wet while working with sushi rice because it’s
sticky. When you work with the nori, you should keep your hands as dry as you can.
3. Place a slice of fish on the edge of the nori along with pre-cut slices of vegetables
such as cucumber, green onion, green beans and asparagus.
4. Using the closer edge of the rolling mat, close on the filling with the nori making a
rectangular shaped hill and tighten it from above.
5. Move forward; continue rolling in the rectangular hill steps, keeping in tight with
every move until you reach the end of the nori. Put pressure on the roll from all three
sides at all time, especially on stops to allow it to roll tightly.
6. Use a wet, sharp knife to cut the roll into small pieces. (6 to 8 pieces per roll)
Discuss the experience with your students:
• What surprised you? What was difficult? What did you learn?
• What is important to make maki-zushi well?
• What fillings do you want to try next time?
?
Want to give feedback?
Need additional resources?
Contact East Asia Program at Cornell University for additional resources
and possibility of volunteering in your classroom.
Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-6222
East Asia Program, Cornell University
http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/eastasia/ Email: eap-outreach@cornell.edu