Mar 062015
You’re sitting at a local sushi restaurant, and as a sushi novice, you don’t know what to order. Nigiri, Sashimi, Maki…what does it all mean? Sure we can all act like we know, but in all reality, sushi is complicated and comes in lots of forms. Thankfully RA Sushi is here to the rescue with a guide to deciphering the menu.
Sushi 101: Facts, Tips and Deciphering Terms
- Sashimi? Raw fish sliced into thin pieces.
- Nigiri? A specific type of sushi comprising of a slice of raw fish over pressed rice. Nigiri is best when eaten upside down and placing the fish on your tongue.
- Maki is sushi rolled up using a bamboo mat, typically with seaweed.
- Fun fact: January 4, 2011 marks the date the highest price was paid for a Bluefin tuna. The Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo sold a 754lb fish for $396,000 ($526/lb). Um what? Nuts.
- Sushi Rolls aren’t just rolled with seaweed, you can also find them rolled with soy paper, cucumber, or egg.
- The correct way to eat sushi is with your hands. Chopsticks were traditionally only used when eating Sashimi. Leaving extra soy sauce in your bowl is considered bad form and mixing soy sauce with wasabi could offend the chef. Whoops, etiquette noted for my next trip to RA Sushi.
- Most Japanese sushi chefs train for five to 10 years, with at least two of those years devoted solely to learning how to properly prepare the rice. Impressive.
- And if you want to get really technical, the word sushi refers only to the rice and not the fish.
Well, there you have it, a little sushi education from RA Sushi. Enjoy, hope you learned something new!
