Salmon

Salmon is used in many dishes and these dishes are widely famous around the world for their health benefits and low fat content. It has high protein, high in vitamin D, and high omega-3 fatty acids content. If you did not know, salmon is a collective name given to various species of ray finned fish. Salmon fish is abundant in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans where they thrive and populate during the seasons.

How Did Salmon Get So Popular?

Salmon is one of the most popular ingredients in sushi today, but this is a very recent development. You might be a little shocked to discover this, but salmon sushi is not a traditional Japanese delicacy. In fact, the use of salmon in sushi was influenced by Norwegians. Before the late 80s, Japan did not import a single fish. The consumption of fish in Japan was so high that the country had over exploited its stock. Hence, it faced a crisis by the mid-90s, which was when Norway stepped in and started exporting fish to Japan. The Japanese were actually against the raw consumption of salmon because salmon comes with a lot of parasitic worms. However, eventually they found ways around it such as coating it with wasabi or flash freezing it, which eventually lead to the accepted of using salmon in sushi dishes. This trend spread early to China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In recent decades, farmed salmon is produced at over 3 times more than wild salmon!

Types of Salmon Sushi

Salmon is a key ingredient in sushi. Different types of sushi are made with the fish and some of them are:

• Alaska roll: Alaska sushi rolls are almost like California sushi rolls. However, instead of crabs the Alaska sushi rolls dictate the use of salmon in it. Sometimes, the fish is wrapped around the roll of rice
• Baked salmon roll: This roll is made up of cream cheese and avocado with baked salmon on top of the roll
• Boston roll: The Boston sushi roll has a mixture of 2 different kinds of fish. It includes crab and salmon. It even has scallions to bring in that extra punch
• Rainbow roll: The rainbow sushi rolls are like treats for the eyes. They come with different types of sashimi and one of them is salmon. A Californian sushi roll is topped with different pieces of fish like salmon, tuna, yellow tail, snapper, and so on. The name of this sushi describes its vibrant colors
• Seattle roll: This is probably the best western sushi creation. Seattle rolls are made up of salmon, avocado, and cream cheese with the option of dipping it in tempura and frying it to create a crispy exterior
• Salmon nigiri: A popular choice to eating salmon is eating it with rice on the bottom
• Salmon sashimi: Probably the best way to eat a salmon is to eat it raw with nothing else. These thickly cut slices will have a fishy, but yummy taste
• Spicy salmon gunkanmaki: Another popular choice is to chop up the salmon into small bits, mix it with spicy mayo, and put it as a topping in a gunkanmaki

This is not an exhaustive list; there are a lot more sushi rolls which use salmon as its core protein ingredient. With the popularity of sushi at an all-time high, you will find new, signature rolls that are created in every sushi restaurant!