The story of sushi goes back to prehistoric Southeast Asia.

壽司的起源可以追溯到史前的東南亞地區。

There, fish was preserved by packing it with salt and cooked rice, resulting in a vinegary, fermented fish and a gloopy rice⏤the rice part was truly disgusting and usually discarded.

在那裡，魚類被用鹽巴和煮熟的飯打包保存，最後變成了一種充滿醋味、發酵過的魚，還有黏呼呼的米飯——米飯的部分因為真的很噁心，通常會被直接丟棄。

In Japan, where the technique remained in use as it died out elsewhere, it was called "nare-sushi", "nare" meaning "aged".

而在日本，這種技術被保存了下來，並被稱作熟成壽司 (なれ寿司)，其中「なれ」是熟成的意思。

This was the definition of sushi for several centuries.

這就是幾世紀以來壽司的定義。

But by the 15th century, especially in coastal areas where fish was more plentiful all year round, people were leaving it for less time and daring to eat the rice, which, eaten early, was pleasantly tangy.

但到了十五世紀，特別是在那些終年都有豐富漁獲的沿岸地區，人們開始不會把魚放置那麼久才吃，並且也開始吃了放在魚上面的熟飯，而這些飯在還新鮮時吃起來有著奇妙的強烈味道。

Two hundred years later, with Japanese demand for the taste of sushi booming, an even quicker version was invented, which involved simply adding vinegar to the rice to flavor it.

又過了兩百年，隨著日本人對壽司的需求逐漸提升，耗時更少的版本被發明了出來了，而其中包括單純把醋加進白飯裡來調味。

Finally, in the 1820s in what is now Tokyo, raw fish⏤as fresh as possible⏤was added to the rice, now no longer aged at all, and modern sushi was born.

最後在 1820 年代，在今天東京所在的位置，盡可能保持新鮮、完全沒有經過熟成的生魚被放在飯上，而現代壽司就此誕生。

The Japanese called it "haya-sushi", "haya" meaning "fast".

日本人將它稱為速壽司，其中的速 (はや) 便是快速的意思。

Japan was a very closed country until 1854, so it wasn't until the late Victorian period that Westerners, particularly Americans, started spending time in Japan and encountered sushi.

日本直到 1854 年開國為止都是個極為封閉的國家，因此直到維多利亞時代時，特別是美國的西方人才開始在日本定居，並接觸到了壽司。

It required an incredible level of skill; getting it wrong wasn't just annoying, but potentially risky.

而製作壽司需要極為精湛的技術。

One rare delicacy, pufferfish, which today is tightly regulated, is highly poisonous if badly prepared.

因為如果搞砸了可不只是會讓惹惱客人而已，還有可能會造成危險——在今天被高度管制的其中一種珍饈：河豚，若是沒有處理完善的話具有高度的毒性。

It wasn't until the 1970s that sushi, both as a luxury treat and as a cheap street food, started to be seen outside Japan.

直到 1970 年代，壽司才開始同時作為一種奢侈的美食與便宜的街頭小吃出現在日本以外的地方。

It first emerged in California, which had a large Japanese population, and followed the Japanese across the world.

它最早出現在日裔人口眾多的加州，並跟隨著日本人的腳步走遍了全世界。

Californians, initially aghast at the idea of eating raw fish, grew to love it.

加州人一開始對吃生魚的想法感到震驚，卻漸漸喜歡上了它。

But, to encourage them, Japanese sushi chefs came up with the Californian roll, which originally contained cooked crab.

但是為了鼓勵他們嘗試看看，日本的壽司師傅們發明了加州卷，其中最原始的版本中包了煮熟的螃蟹。

Other Westernized recipes followed, including the decidedly 1980s Philadelphia roll, with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

其他的西方化做法也隨之而來，包括了 1980 年代時發明，包著煙燻鮭魚與奶油起司的經典費城卷。

Most Western countries don't allow fresh raw fish to be used because of the danger from parasites; fish must be frozen, which kills the parasites, before use.

大多數西方國家不允許使用新鮮的生魚片，因為怕其中含有寄生蟲。魚料在使用前必須先冷凍以殺死潛藏在內的寄生蟲。

As sushi spread, the deeply ingrained Western fear of raw fish meant that more and more versions came into use which relied on ingredients such as cooked prawns, smoked fish, or egg.

隨著壽司的傳播，由於西方人對生魚根深蒂固的恐懼，讓許多不同版本的壽司使用了包括熟蝦、煙燻魚肉或雞蛋等其他食材，

And where the often complex side sauces were replaced with simple soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi.

而通常較為複雜的醬料，則是以簡單的醬油、生薑和芥末取代。

The ultimate Westernization is probably the Asian-Latin fusion, which is the sushi burrito invented in 2011.

其中最終極的西化結果，可能是在 2011 年時被發明出來，亞洲與拉丁元素融合在一起的壽司捲餅。

The first sushi restaurant in the UK opened in London in 1994 in the city, the heart of business land.

英國第一家壽司店於 1994 年在倫敦這座商業中心城市開張。

Today, sushi is booming, marketed as being healthy, convenient, and, still, just a little bit exotic.

如今，壽司的發展方興未艾，標榜著健康、方便，而且還帶有點異國情調。

The conveyor belt concept used in many restaurants adds a certain level of novelty, as do the chopsticks, although, according to many Japanese, sushi is best eaten with the fingers.

眾多餐廳採用的旋轉壽司輸送帶概念增加了一些的新意，而筷子也是——雖然根據很多日本人的說法， 壽司還是用手吃最好。

Today, there are many types of sushi.

如今，壽司的種類很多。

At its best, it is often still very expensive and very beautiful, and its devotees can be positively fanatical.

頂尖的壽司依然昂貴且美麗，並吸引了許多狂熱分子。

A Japanese apprenticeship lasts at least five years for a sushi chef, and both Japan and the UK have sushi restaurants which have been awarded three Michelin stars.

日本壽司廚師的學徒期至少為 5 年，而在日本和英國都有榮獲米其林三星評等的壽司店。

Not bad for a food which started as a way to stop fish from rotting.

以本來是為了要防止魚類腐爛的料理方法來說，真是不錯的結果。