what is sushi? what is sashimi? - 1863 grill &...

What is Sushi?(soo-shee)A Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, seafood, vegetables and sometimes tropical fruits. Ingredients and forms of sushi presentation vary widely, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is vinegared rice. Sushi translates to mean “it’s sour.” It is often thought to be made only with raw fish, but many common varieties of sushi use multiple cooked ingredients.

What is Sashimi?(sah-shee-mee)

A Japanese dish of bite-sized pieces of raw fish eaten with soy sauce and wasabi paste.

Common seafoods used in sashimi include tuna, salmon, sea bream, mackerel, yellowtail,

squid or octopus, shrimp, scallops, and clams.

TYPES OF SUSHI

Maki (mah-kee)The most common rolled type of sushi is maki. Usually a cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a woven bamboo mat, called a makisu. Maki-zushi is the form of sushi with which Westerners are most familiar. It is wrapped in nori, a sheet of dried seaweed, thatencloses the rice and fillings. There are other forms of rolled sushi that are all in the maki family and are described below.

Uramaki - Inside-out rolls. Rice on the outside, the nori within.Futomaki - Large rollsHosomaki - Thin rollsTemaki - Hand rolls. A large cone-shaped piece, with the nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end.

TYPES OF SUSHI

Nigiri (nee-ghee-ree)Small hand-formed pieces of sushi nominally similar to rolled or pressed sushi, but made without using a makisu or oshibako. Assembling nigiri-zushi is surprisingly difficult to do well. The simplest form is a small block of sushi rice with a speck of wasabi and a thin slice of a topping draped over it, possibly tied up with a thin band of nori.

TYPES OF SUSHI

Oshi (oh-shee)A block-shaped piece formed using a wooden mold, called an oshibako. The chef lines the bottom of the oshibako with the topping, covers it with sushi rice, and presses the lid of the mold down to create a compact, rectangular block. The block is removed from the mold and cut into bite-sized pieces.

TYPES OF SUSHI

Gunkan (goon-kahn)There is another form of sushi called Gunkan. Gunkan means boat and this sushi gets the name from the way the main ingredient is held in place on top of the sushi rice in a boat shape. A clump of rice is hand-wrapped in a strip of nori, but instead of a filling in the center, it has an ingredient, such as fish eggs, piled on top.The three main types of sushi served as Gunkan are Tobiko, Ikura, and Uni.

TYPES OF SUSHI

Chirashi (chee-ra-shee) and Donburri (dohn-boo-ree)Fish and other items served on top of a bowl of vinegared sushi rice. Chirashi means to scatter. Chirashi is very versatile. There are almost no limits to what ingredients can go into chirashi. Donburri is like Chirashi but with just one kind of fish. For example, Unagi-Donburri would be Just Unagi (freshwater eel) served over a bowl of sushi rice.

SUSHI INGREDIENTS

Sushi RiceMaking great sushi starts with making great rice. Sometimes called Pearl rice, Glutinous rice or Japanese rice. Without well-cooked and well-dressed grains of rice, the best-laid sushi plans can turn into a disaster.It is essential that you use the correct variety of rice when making sushi to ensure that perfect consistency and adhesive quality so integral to good sushi. There are about 40,000 varieties of rice in the world, sushi rice is quite unique in its ability to bind together and form the backbone to various types of sushi. Sushi rice is a white, short-grain variety, which means the grains are very small and almost round. Short-grained rice contains a high percentage of starch when compared to other varieties, and this is why the grains are so sticky. While most rice loses its excess starch with a quick rinse under cold water, sushi rice will always remain sticky. Don’t worry, this is what you want!

There are regional variations in sushi rice, and of course individual chefs have their individual methods. Most of the variations are in the rice vinegar dressing, which is made up of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. The Tokyo version of the dressing commonly uses more salt; in Osaka, the dressing has more sugar.

SUSHI INGREDIENTS

Nori (noh-ree)The green wrappers used in sushi making are called nori. It is an edible seaweed traditionally cultivated in the harbors of Japan. Historically, the plant was scraped from dock pilings, rolled out into sheets, and dried in the sun in a process similar to making paper. Nori is toasted before being used in the food.Today, the commercial product is farmed, produced, toasted, and packaged. High quality nori is thick, smooth, shiny, and has no holes through it.

SUSHI INGREDIENTS & TERMS

Aemono – (ah-eh-moh-noh) -Vegetables (sometimes meats) mixed with a dressing or sauce.

Agari – (ah-gah-ree) – A Japanese sushi-bar term for green tea.

Agemono – (ah-geh-moh-noh) – Fried foods — either deep-fat fried or pan-fried.

Ahi – (aaa-hee) – Yellowfin Tuna.

Aji – (ah-jee) – Horse mackerel, Jack Mackerel (less fishy tasting than Spanish mackerel). Purportedly this is not actually a mackerel, but member of the Jack family. It is small – about 6” in length and they fillet it and serve marinated in vinegar.

Aji-no-moto – (ah-jee-no-moh-toh) – Monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Aka miso – (ah-ka-mee-soh) – Red soy bean paste.

Akami – (ah-kah-me) – the leaner flesh of tuna from the sides of the fish. If you ask for ‘maguro’ at a restaurant you will get this cut.


Ama Ebi – (ah-mah-eh-bee) – Sweet Shrimp, Red Prawns. Always served raw on nigirizushi. Sometimes served with the deep-fried shells of the shrimp. Eat the shells like you would crayfish.

Anago – (ah-nah-goh) – Salt water eel (a type of conger eel) pre-cooked (boiled) and then grilled before serving, less rich than unagi (fresh water eel).

Ankimo – (ahn-kee-moh) – Monkfish liver, usually served cold after being steamed or poached in sake.

Anko – (ahn-koh)- Monkfish.

Aoyagi – (ah-oh-yah-gee) – Round clam. Also called Hen Clam.

Awabi – (ah-wah-bee) – Abalone.

Ayu – (ah-yoo) – Sweetfish. A small member of the trout family indigenous to Japan, usually grilled.


Buri – (boo-ree) – Yellowtail. Hamachi refers to the young yellowtail and Buri are the older ones.

Buri Toro – (boo-ree toh-roh) – Fatty Yellowtail. The belly strip of the yellowtail. Incredibly rich with a nice buttery flavour.

Butaniku – (boo-ta-nee-koo) – Pork. Buta means pig.

Chutoro – (choo-toh-roh) – The belly area of the tuna along the side of the fish between the Akami and the Otoro. Often preferred because it is fatty but not as fatty as Otoro.

Daikon – (Dah-ee-kohn) – giant white radish, usually served grated as garnish for sashimi.

Ebi – (eh-bee) – Shrimp. Not the same as Sweet Shrimp, as Ebi is cooked, while Ami Ebi is served in raw form.

Edamame – (eh-dah-mah-meh) – Young green soybeans served steamed and salted and usually still in the pod.


Fugu – (foo-goo) – Fugu is puffer fish which is a delicacy, though its innards and blood contain extremely poisonous tetrodotoxin. In Japan only licensed fugu chefs are al-lowed to prepare fugu or puffer fish.

Gari – (gah-ree) – Pickled ginger (the pink or off-white stuff) that comes along with Sushi.

Gohan – (goh-hahn) – Plain boiled rice.

Goma – (goh-mah) – Sesame seeds.

Gyoza – (gi-yoh-zah) – A filled wanton dumpling that has been either fried or boiled.

Ha-Gatsuo – (ha gat-soo-oh) – Skipjack tuna. This meat is similar to bonito but is a lighter, pinker product.

Hamachi – (hah-mah-chee) – Young Yellowtail tuna, or amberjack.


Hamaguri – (hah-mah-goo-ree) – Hard shell Clam. Includes American littlenecks and cherrystones.

Hashi – (hah-shee) – Chopsticks. Also called O-Hashi.

Hijiki – (hee-jee-kee) – Black seaweed in tiny threads.

Hikari-mono – (hee-kah-ree-mo-no) – A comprehensive term for all the shiny fish. However usually refers to the shiny oily fish, such as Aji, Iwashi, Sanma, Kohada.

Hirame – (hee-rah-meh) – Generally speaking this name is used for many types of flat fish, specifically fluke or summer flounder. The name for winter flounder is really “karei” (kah-ray), but often restaurants do not discriminate between fluke or summer flounder when one asks for hirame. Some restaurants call halibut “hirame,” however the actual Japanese word for halibut is “ohyo” (oh-yoh).

Hotate-Gai – (hoh-tah-teh-gah-ee) – Scallops.


Ika – (ee-kah) – Squid. As sushi or sashimi the body is eaten raw and the tentacles are usually served parboiled then grilled or toasted.

Ikura – (ee-koo-rah) – Salmon roe. (FYI, Ikura means ‘How much?’ in Japanese)

Itamae - (ita-meh-ee) - Cook or Chef.

Kamaboko – (kah-mah-boh-ko) – Imitation crab meat (also called surimi) usually made from pollack. Generally used in California rolls and other maki, it’s not the same thing as “soft shell crab.”

Kani – (kah-nee) – Crab meat. The real stuff. Always served cooked, much better if cooked fresh but usually cooked and then frozen.

Kanpachi – (kahn-pa-chi) – Greater Amberjack. This is similar to hamachi, but this is actually a different fish (and is not Yellowtail or the Japanese Amberjack).

Karasu Garei – (kah-rah-soo gah-ray) – Literally translated this means “cow flounder” and is the term for Atlantic halibut.


Kazunoko – (kah-zoo-noh-koh) – herring roe, usually served marinated in sake, broth, and soy sauce, sometimes served raw, kazunoko konbu.

Kuro goma – (koo-roh-goh-mah) – Black sesame seeds.

Maguro – (mah-goo-roh) – Tuna, which is sold as different cuts for the consumer, listed below in order of increasing fattiness:

Akami (ah-kah-me) – the leaner flesh from the sides of the fish. If you ask for ‘maguro’ at a restaurant you will get this cut.Chu toro (choo-toh-roh) – The belly area of the tuna along the side of the fish between the Akami and the Otoro. Often preferred because it is fatty but not as fatty as Otoro.O toro (oh-toh-roh) – The fattiest portion of the tuna, found on the underside of the fish.Toro (toh-roh) is the generic term for the fatty part of the tuna (either chutoro or otoro) versus the ‘akami’ portion of the cut.

Makisu – (mah-kee-soo) – Mat made of bamboo strips to create make-zushi.


Masago – (mah-sah-goh) – capelin (smelt) roe, very similar to tobiko but slightly more orange in colour, not as common as tobiko in North America (though often caught here).

Miso – (mee-soh) – Soy bean paste.

Moyashi – (moh-yah-shee) – Bean sprouts.

Negi – (neh-gee) – Green Onion. Scallion. Round onion is called Tama-negi.

Neta – (neh-tah) – The piece of fish that is placed on top of the sushi rice for nigiri.

Ohyo – (oh-hyoh) – Pacific halibut, sometimes incorrectly labeled “dohyo.” Atlantic hali-but is called Karasu Garei.

Ono – (oh-noh) Wahoo. As much fun to catch as to eat, ono (Hawaiian for ‘delicious’) has a very white flesh with a delicate consistency, similar to a white hamachi (yellowtail).

Ponzu – (pohn-zoo) – Sauce made with soy sauce, dashi and Japanese citron, such as Yuzu or Sudachi.


Saba – (sah-bah) – mackerel, almost always served after being salted and marinated for a period ranging from a couple of hours to a few days, so really cooked. In this form it is called Shime-Saba (shee-meh-sah-bah). Raw mackerel (nama-saba) is sometimes served but it must be extremely fresh as it goes off quickly.

Sake – (sah-keh) – Rice wine. Pronounced ‘sah-keh’ not “sah-key.” Served both hot and cold depending on the brand type. Some people love it, some people hate it.

Sake – (sah-keh) – Salmon. To avoid confusion, some people say Sha-ke.

Sansho – (sahn-shoh) – Japanese pepper. A must with most Unagi dishes.

Shari – (shah-ree) – Sushi Meshi (sushi rice). A sushi bar term.

Shiromi – (shee-roh-mee) – This is the general term for any white fish, and if one asks for shiromi the itamae will serve whatever white fish may be in season at the time.

Shitake – (shee-tah-keh) – A type of Japanese mushroom, usually available dried.


Shoyu – (shoh-yoo) – Japanese soy sauce.

Soba – (soh-bah) – Buckwheat noodles.

Somen – (soh-mehn) – White, threadlike wheat noodles.

Su – (soo) – Rice vinegar.

Tako – (tah-koh) – Octopus, cooked.

Tarabagani – (tah-rah-bah-gah-ni) – King Crab (the real thing, as opposed to kanikama, which is the fake crab leg made from surimi).

Tempura – (tem-poo-rah) – Seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and deep fried.

Tobiko – (toh-bee-koh) – flying-fish roe, red and crunchy,

Tofu – (toh-foo) – Soybean curd. Tori – (toh-ree) – Chicken.


Toro – (toh-roh) – Fatty Tuna. There are several different types of tuna you can order in a sushi restaurant. It comes in many different grades.

Udon – (oo-dohn) – Wide noodles made from wheat.

Unagi – (oo-nah-gee) – Eel (Freshwater) – grilled, and brushed with a teriyaki-like sauce, richer than salt water eel.

Uni – (oo-nee) – Sea Urchin. If you like it, you’ve just developed an expensive habit. The most expensive (start saving now) is red in color, the least is yellow, luckily they taste the same. Lobsters eat sea urchin as a mainstay of their diet.

Usukuchi shoyu – (oo-soo-koo-chee-shoh-yoo) – Light Japanese soy sauce.

Wasabi – (wah-sah-bee) – Japanese ‘Horseradish.’ Best done in extremely small doses. The actual rhizome is not related to American Horseradish except by name, but

unfortunately, the ‘wasabi’ most often served is not real wasabi, but powdered and reconstituted American Horseradish with food coloring. Real wasabi is difficult to find in most restaurants, but is sometimes available upon request.

SUSHI ETIQUETTE

• Do not rub your chopsticks together. When not in use they should be placed parallel to yourself on the holder (if there is one) or on the soy sauce dish. They should also be placed there when finished with your meal. Never place them directly on the table.

• Order one sushi roll at a time. It is polite to order one sushi roll at a time. but definitely no more than three at a time.

• Sushi has a right order. Begin with sashimi, then move on to nigiri and maki, followed by any elaborate sushi rolls, temaki, tempura or tempura sushi, then dessert. The milder flavors come first, so they are not overpowered by the bold flavors. Miso soup is traditionally enjoyed at the very end of the dining experience.

• Sushi can be eaten with hands. Traditionally, nigiri and maki sushi of all kinds are eaten with the hands. It is customary for sushi bars to provide diners with a warm, moist towel that they can use to wipe their hands before eating. However, nowadays most Japanese people eat all sushi with chopsticks. Still, there is nothing wrong with eating

maki rolls and nigiri with the hands, so do whatever is comfortable for you. Temaki in particular is still always eaten with the hands because it is too heavy and awkward to eat with chopsticks.

SUSHI ETIQUETTE

• Hold sushi rice-side up. Nigiri and oshi sushi should always be held with the rice-side up. Be sure to maintain this position when dipping it in soy sauce and eating it. This is because the soy sauce can cause the rice to lose its cohesion and break apart, and rice could fall in the sauce or on the counter if it does not have the topping under it as a support.

• Cleanse your palette with ginger. The pickled ginger is not meant to be eaten in the same bite as the sushi. Eating the ginger between switching to a new piece of sushi is considered a respectful way to clear the palette and prepare for new flavors.

• Do not dip elaborate sushi. If the sushi has a teriyaki glaze or a sauce on top, do not dip it in the soy sauce, as this will go against the itamae’s intended flavor profile.

• Eat sushi in one bite. Traditionally, each piece of sushi should be eaten in one bite. It is considered rude to take a bite and then return a half-eaten piece to the plate. If you can’t eat the piece in one bite, hold it with your chopsticks until you are ready to finish.

SUSHI ETIQUETTE

• Be careful with the wasabi. Mixing wasabi in with the soy sauce may offend the itamae by implying that the sushi is flavorless. Instead, dab a small, controlled amount onto each piece of sushi, signifying that you respect the sushi and do not need to overpower it with wasabi. If you are eating nigiri, the itamae may have added wasabi between the fish and the rice. Try a piece first, and if there is already wasabi on it, do not insult the sushi chef by adding more.

• Do not pick up a piece of food from another person’s plate with the end of the chopsticks you put in your mouth. When moving food like this use the end you hold, which is considered the polite way.

• Never pass food to another person using chopsticks as this is too close symbolically to the passing of a deceased relative’s bones at a traditional Japanese funeral. Pass a plate instead allowing an individual to take food themselves.

• Never stick your chopsticks in your rice and leave them sticking up. This resemblesincense sticks and again brings to mind the symbolism of the Japanese funeral and prayers to one’s ancestors.

SOURCES

http://www.aboutsushi.net/

http://sushifan.com/

http://www.sushifaq.com/ http://sushinow.com/

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/how-to-eat-sushi-properly/c27588.aspx

what is sushi? what is sashimi? - 1863 grill &...

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