Sushi and Fermented Fish

It will probably come as a surprise to most sushi lovers that originally sushi was not made with fresh raw fish, but with fish that had been fermented for up to half a year. This was partly out of the necessity, in earlier times, to be able to preserve fish in such a way that it could be stored and transported. In all likelihood, sushi originated in several places in Southeast Asia, but the first known mention of it is in a Chinese dictionary dating from the third century BCE. It is thought that it was introduced to Japan about a millennium later.