In "Historically yours", Olivier Poels explores the origins of sushi, a very popular dish in France and yet little known.
He reveals to us that this Japanese specialty finds its source in China.
And that the sushi eaten at home has little to do with real sushi.
It has become one of the most popular dishes in France: sushi. In "Historically Yours", Olivier Poels returns on Tuesday to the true origins, probably Chinese and not Japanese, of this dish, of which we taste in France a version very adapted to the art of Japanese sushi.
For the past twenty years, there has been a sushi vendor on every street corner in major cities in France.
But we must recognize that what we are sold in these chains is very far from the true art of Japanese sushi.
It's a bit like considering the SNCF sandwich to be great French gastronomy.
Sushi is obviously a Japanese product.
Although, historians believe that initially the idea of preserving fish in rice (which is the original idea of sushi) was Chinese.
Sushi becomes Japanese quite quickly, however.
From the 7th century, in order not to spoil, the Japanese adopted this preservation technique and also began to eat rice.
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But real sushi as we know it was born in the 19th century.
We owe it to a chef called Hanaya Yohei who was based in Edo, in what is now Tokyo Bay.
He had the idea of stuffing small fermented rice balls (a rice to which we have added vinegar) with ultra fresh fish.
These little dumplings were first sold in the streets, in what today we might call food trucks.
And then, Hanaya Yohei will open its first restaurants.
And that's really where the idea of modern sushi was born.
Maintain immaculate flesh
With us, we are very far from this culture.
Because sushi is an absolute art in Japan.
It takes ten years today to make a sushi master.
It begins with several years of observation.
The apprentice is given the wrong tasks.
He does the housework, then, little by little, he will be able to touch the rice, then start cooking the rice.
Then comes the cutting of the fish, which is the most subtle and complicated thing.
Sushi fish that must be killed using a certain technique, ikejime.
It may seem a little barbaric, since it consists of inserting a small iron rod directly into the spine of the fish.
This allows it to be killed while keeping the flesh completely immaculate.
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We thus find in real sushi extraordinarily rare, expensive and precious fish.
In Japan, the most expensive tuna in the world are sold to end up as sushi or sashimi.
So it would almost be an insult to all these sushi masters to give a recipe.
We must, if we can, eat them one day made by masters.
It all comes down to texture and temperature.
There are a few sushi masters in France.
But we must recognize that it is very expensive.