Starting today, you’ll be able to find new kinds of “Sushi” Decor Pikmin near sushi restaurants! With all of these tasty new toppings, it’s turning into a real sushi party!
All right, ready for sushi trivia round two? (Round one can be found here.)
1. Gunkan-maki sushi was invented on the spot for a customer!
Gunkan-maki is a kind of sushi roll often made with salmon roe or sea urchin that’s wrapped horizontally instead of vertically. If you think that seems strange, you wouldn’t be alone—so did the Japanese chef who reluctantly invented it back in 1941! Or so the story goes. Supposedly, a regular customer of a sushi restaurant in Ginza asked for sushi with salmon roe on top. Some people say it wasn’t salmon roe, but sea urchin from Hokkaido that he actually brought in himself! Whichever the case, the chef couldn’t see how to use it as a topping without it spilling over onto the plate. That is, until a spark of inspiration led him to wrap the sushi from the side to hold the toppings in place. This experiment ended up creating one of the most popular types of sushi, which is still eaten to this day! (Here’s a little bonus trivia for you: “gunkan-maki” is Japanese for “battleship roll,” in reference to the cruiser-like appearance of the sushi!)
2. Where did the name for “negitoro” sushi come from?
Are you familiar with negitoro sushi? It’s a popular kind of sushi featuring a delicious harmony of green onions and tuna. But where does that name come from, anyway? The most straightforward explanation is that it’s a combination of the Japanese words for green onion (negi) and fatty tuna (toro). But that’s not much of a fun fact, is it? Actually, some say the name really comes from the Japanese word “negitoru,” which means to dig out or excavate. That’s because the chefs really have to dig deep to get all that good tuna meat off the bones. It’s pretty interesting how such a seemingly simple name can have a hidden second meaning, don’t you think?
3. Sushi restaurants use bigger teacups?
Sushi is said to have been invented during Japan’s Edo period (1603–1867), after which it quickly grew to become one of the most popular fast-food options of the era. Back then, sushi restaurants weren’t so much “restaurants” as they were food stands. That meant owners had to do everything themselves, from taking orders and preparing food to looking after customers. They were so busy that they couldn’t keep up with all the requests for more tea. This led them to start using much bigger cups to cut down on refills. However, the cups held so much tea that customers started using the extra to rinse off their hands after eating, which led to them using the stands’ hanging curtains to dry their hands. Soon, the dirtiness of a stand’s curtain began to indicate how popular the place was. The dirtier the curtain, the more delicious the sushi!
So, did you learn something new? Now that you’re a certified sushi expert, you should have even more fun tracking down and collecting the new “Sushi” Decor Pikmin Seedlings!
Note: The app must be updated to the latest version (v63) for the new “Sushi” Decor Pikmin to be displayed correctly.
Sources:
https://sushitimes.co/2018/04/26/20180426_1/
https://www.japantuna.net/know/dictionary/?id=1497960845-358964
https://gendai.media/articles/-/53642
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8D%E3%82%AE%E3%83%88%E3%83%AD
https://agatajapan.com/tokyo/dictionary/%E8%BB%8D%E8%89%A6%E5%B7%BB%E3%81%8D/
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