Everyone knows what sushi is. Ask anyone what sushi is and you’ll probably get an answer of a description of an image of a small block of rice with fish on top. But there so many kinds of sushi aside from the generic image people have in their minds.

So what exactly is sushi? Sushi is vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients. There is a wide range of ingredients from fish, seafood, vegetables and meat. The most common ingredient present in all sushi is the sushi rice. Sushi rice is made of Japanese rice that has been mixed with vinegar, sugar and salt. The essential quality of sushi rice is its stickiness. It has to be just right. Too sticky and the resulting rice would be gummy. Not sticky enough and the rice would be too dry. Nori is another item that is commonly found in sushi. Nori is dried seaweed. Quality nori is usually shiny and dark green in color. The different kinds in sushi comes from the different fillings, toppings, the condiments used and the way these ingredients are put together.

Nigiri-zushi

The most common kind of sushi. This type consists of an elongated mound of rice that is shaped by the hands, served with a slice of topping and a bit of wasabi. This type is usually served in pairs.

Makizushi

A rolled sushi, also called a maki roll. It is typically a cylindrical sushi, rolled with the aid of a bamboo mat. Makizushi is typically wrapped in nori, with the rice and other ingredients in the center. This makes for an aesthetically pleasing dish when served. A single roll is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which serves as a single order. A larger version of Makizushi is Futomaki. These are usually made with two or three fillings on the inside. The fillings are chosen for their complementary tastes or flavors. A smaller version of Makizushi is Hosomaki, which only has one filling on the inside.

Gunkan-maki

It is also called a warboat roll. A mound of sushi rice is wrapped in a high strip of nori and filled with topping. The topping is usually a fine-chopped or small ingredient such as salmon roe.

Uramaki

A different kind of Makizushi. It is a maki with one or two fillings. It is different in the sense that instead of nori wrapped on the outside, it is rice wrapped around the nori and the filling. This can be made with different fillings but is not very common in Japan.

Temaki

It is also known as a hand roll or a cone roll. Temaki is a large cone shaped nori with the sushi ingredients spilling out of the open end of the cone. It is eaten using the fingers rather than chopsticks because it is too big and awkward to be picked up with chopsticks. It is said that Temaki should be eaten at once for the best taste, since the nori would absorb moisture from the ingredients on the inside and would not be as crisp.

Inari-zushi

This is simply a block of deep-fried tofu filled with sushi rice on the inside. Some variations exist that use an omelette instead of tofu.

As with everything Japanese, there is a correct way of eating sushi. Here are some of the etiquette practiced for the next time you enjoy this tasty Japanese dish.

1. It is deemed acceptable to use either your fingers or chopsticks to eat sushi, though some varieties of sushi are hard to eat with chopsticks, such as . It goes without saying that the hands should be clean when eating sushi.

2. Sushi should be eaten in one bite if possible. Two bites is considered acceptable but never put it back on your plate once you have taken a bite out of it. Incidentally, on conveyor belt sushi restaurants, it is considered impolite to put back a plate of sushi if you change your mind about it.

3. The soy sauce is for flavoring the fish, not the rice.

4. Leave your plate clean. It is impolite to leave food on your plate.

5. Never disassemble your sushi in order to dip the topping in soy sauce. This is considered very rude to the chef and symbolizes a lack of respect for his job and experience.

6. The pickled ginger is considered a palate cleanser in between different types of sushi and should never be eaten with the sushi.

Just remember these the next time you eat sushi, especially in Japan.

Now you know the differences between the sushi you eat. Just remember not too eat too much in one sitting because even though sushi is healthy, there are still risks in eating raw food.

Posted in Food, Japan

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am and is filed under Food, Japan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.