Get Wasabi Secrets
Alright, let's get wasabi this out of the way up front: sushi is raw fish. Westerners are generally brought up to believe that all meat should be cooked before you decide to eat it. Sushi is just one exception; steak tartar is yet another, however I could never bring myself to eat raw beef. Sushi, alternatively, is quite delicious when properly prepared.
Although the Itamae, or sushi chef, really does no cooking, making sushi is considered an art form. Traditionally, a budding sushi chef would have to train for ten or maybe more years before being considered an Itamae, although the rise in sushi demand has outstripped the supply of sushi chefs, therefore more chefs are increasingly being hired with less than a decade experience.
Sushi comes in four main varieties:
The very first is called "Nigiri sushi", nigiri means "grab". For nigiri, the Itamae hand presses balls of rice topped with raw fish, and finishes with a bit of wasabi.
The other is called "Sashimi", but it's technically not sushi because the "sushi" refers to the rice and sashimi is sliced raw fish with virtually no rice.
The third is "Maki Sushi" which is sushi rolled with bamboo mats. They can be traditionally rolled with seaweed as the outside layer, but if you order a California roll you will get it with rice on the outside layer.
The very last is called "Temaki", it really is basically a hand rolled version of Maki, shaped sort of like an ice cream cone.
Regardless of what kind of sushi you order, all of them have some number of these common ingredients or garnishes:
The word "sushi" will not refer to the raw fish, it really refers to the rice, called "sticky rice". Sushi is short grained rice to which sugar and vinegar is added, giving it a distinct sweet/tart flavor.
Wasabi is a green paste made from Japanese horseradish and is extremely hot! Use it sparingly or you definitely will be hitting the sake a bit too hard within an attempt to put out the fire.
To refresh your palette between bites, there is Gari, or thin slices of pickled ginger. This can be used as a garnish.
The sheets of seaweed used to roll the rice are called Nori.
Soya sauce is sometimes served as a dipping sauce in addition to wasabi.
Sushi may be a simple as a single ingredient or as complex as the Itamae's imagination allows. Cucumbers (Kappa) avocadoes, tuna (tekka or maguro) or salmon are all popular ingredients. Different kinds of sushi are already developed to please the American palette.
California rolls, that are made with avocado, crab and cucumber are popular and also a good option for the sushi newbie. Philadelphia rolls, which are made with smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber are a delicious choice in the event that you are not quite ready to go raw just yet.
So be brave, give sushi a try! Begin with the greater Americanized California or Philadelphia rolls, or have your Itamae suggest a local favorite. Either way you can not go wrong, sushi is a delicious and healthy alternative to traditional Western meals. Enjoy!
