Sushi is a fantastic Japanese food with over a thousand years of history and tradition. It has become perhaps the most visible example of Japanese cuisine in other countries.

Sushi actually began as a way of preserving fish. The raw, cleaned fish was pressed between rice and salt by a heavy stone for a few weeks. After a few weeks, the stone was removed and replaced with a light cover.  A few months after that, the fermented fish and rice were considered ready to eat. Not until the 18th century did a chef named Yohei decide to serve sushi in its present form and forget about the fermentation process altogether. The use of vinegar rice, however, probably harks back to the feremented taste of early sushi.

In Osaka there is still an elaborate tradition of sushi pressed with rice in wooden boxes. This type of sushi is called hako-zushi.

The sushi most commonly known among Westerners comes from Edo, the old name for Tokyo, and consists of hand-rolled sushi specifically called nigiri sushi.

Japanese have a deep-rooted fondness of nature and this is often carried over to the arrangement of food. The pieces are arranged to enhance their natural beauty. Often nature and the outdoors are captured by using a plate resembling a fish in motion, a quiet river nook, or a deep pool. The fish itself evokes an image of the creature swimming through underwater weeds and roots

Some rules to remember:

(sushi etiquette)

• Never pass food to someone using chopsticks.  This act parallels passing cremated bones of a deceased relative at a Japanese funeral.  If you must share food, pass them the plate so that they can pick from it instead.
• If you take food from a shared plate (such as in the above situation), use the reverse ends of your chopsticks rather than the ends which go in your mouth.
• Never bite into a piece of food and then replace the other half on your plate. Once you have picked something up you should eat all of it.
• When not using your chopsticks, you should place them in front of you, parallel to the edge of the sushi bar, with the narrow ends in the provided hashi oki; never place them directly on the bar.
• Never leave rice after a meal. Leaving any kind of food is considered rude, but leaving rice is especially so.
• Never smoke in a sushi bar, it obscures the delicate flavours of the fish for everyone else. Ashtrays will likely be provided in many sushi bars (especially in Europe and America) but to use them is dismissive of the efforts of the chef.
• Never expect the chef to handle money, another employee will settle the bill for you. People who handle the food never touch the money.
• Do not ask for knives. This would imply that the food is so tough it can't be properly eaten without them.
• Don't make wasabi soup with your soy sauce! Sushi Chef's cringe at this spectacle that Americans often make. Wasabi paralyzes your palette and will hide the subtle flavors that fish has when eaten raw.

Most westerners eat sushi by dipping it rice-side-down into the soy, and let the soy soak up into the rice. Then they wonder why the sushi disintegrates on its way from the soy to their mouth, leaving little black flecks of soy-stained rice all over the bar and their clothing. Japanese people rarely have this problem, because they know that the purpose of the soy is not to flavour the rice, but the fish. As such, the sushi should be dipped rice-side-up in the soy and then carried to the mouth.

Sushi -Vocabulary

Vinegared rice is the heart of all sushi. Despite what Americans think, sushi does not mean "fish" in Japanese but rather signifies any vinegared rice dish. The fish is sashimi. Wrap the two together in portions and sell it as sushi, and the name still refers to the rice, not the fish. Sushi is indeed the term for the special rice but it is modified, in Japanese, to zushi when coupled with modifiers that describe the different styles of this most popular dish.

Types of Sushi

There are many numerous types of sushi.  Here, I will try to help you sort through them all.

SASHIMI

Sashimi is fresh, raw, chilled, sliced, and elegantly arranged. Ideally, sashimi is best when fresh, but most fish freeze well and are served after thawing.

Sashimi may be garnished with raw vegetables, leaves of knot grass, parsley, lettuce, shredded daikon, and sometimes seaweed or cucumber. Sashimi is odorless and very delicate. When sliced thick it is served with soy sauce, when sliced thin served with ponzu, a citrus flavored sauce. Wasabi, red pepper, and green onions may be served to mix with sauces as well.

The beauty of the sashimi is that it lacks both the fishy smell and taste that would be its undoing.

MAKI SUSHI

Maki sushi contains strips of fish or vegetables rolled in rice and wrapped in crisp, thin sheets of dried seaweed. There are many combinations that even the most timid can enjoy- smoked salmon, fresh crab, or shrimp. The adventurous can sample delicacies like octopus, raw clams, sea urchin, or salted fish roe.

NIGIRI SUSHI

Nigiri sushi is a slice of fish (cooked or uncooked) pressed by hand onto a pad of rice. Fish roe is also served as nigiri sushi in a style called gunkan, meaning "boat". Nigiri sushi contains a hint of horseradish and is meant to be dipped in soy sauce. They are always served in pairs.

The following are some examples of maki  (and temaki) sushi:

	Futomaki is a large fancy roll about two inches thick containing six ingredients including bright pink fish powder, egg, gourd, and other vegetables.
	Oshinko contains a bright yellow pickled daikon that delivers a crunchy, vinegary flavor.
	Tekkamaki and Kappamaki contain, simply, tuna and cucumber consecutively. Tekka is the word for gambling parlors in Japan where the roll originated. Kappa is the word for a mythological goblin that was fond of cucumbers.

Temaki Sushi (hand rolled sushi)
	Salmon Skinhand roll contains hot pieces of smoked salmon and skin, and vegetables. Think of the hand roll as a sort of Japanese taco, and maki as a sort of Japanese burrito.

The follwowing are examples of Nigiri Sushi. 

	Akagi (pepitona clam). This clam is hard to come by and often unavailable. It is sweet and tender with a peach color.
	Ama-ebi (raw shrimp). One of the greatest delicacies in the sushi case, ama ebi, when cleaned, is shiny, almost transparent, and sweet.
	Anago (conger eel). Salt water eel is precooked and then grilled before serving. It is more lean than unagi, and therefore not as rich.
	Aoyagi (red clam). This small clam is plunged into boiling water before served to bring out its brilliant orange color. It is very exquisite to look at and pleasing to eat.
	Awabi (abalone). The abolone is a sea snail and is often displayed in a shell in the sushi case. They may be peach, gray, or even blue in color.
	Ebi (jumbo shrimp). Unlike ama ebi, ebi is cooked. Ebi is familiar to sushi newcomers and therefore easy to try.
	Hamachi (young yellowtail). Not to be confused with yellowfin tuna, hamachi is a species of amberjack. It is rich, smooth, and buttery. The tail and cheek of the fish are considered the most delicious part and often put aside and cooked for special customers.
	Hirame (halibut). Halibut has transparent, and tender. It's flavor is delicate and often accented with ponzu sauce.
	Ika (squid). The body of the squid is usually served. It's flesh is white, shiny, and almost sticky. Either you will love this one or hate it.
	Ikura (salmon roe). Salmon eggs are the most common fish eggs in sushi bars. They are bright red-orange in color and salty to the taste.
	Kani(crab). This is the real crab meat. It is always served cooked, but is sometimes cooked then frozen. Like Ebi, crab is familiar and easy for the beginning sushi eater.
	Katsuo(bonito). Bonito, also called a skipjack tuna, is usually found in bars in the West Coast because it lives in the Pacific and doesn't freeze well. Bonito is seared, has a deep red color and a rich flavor.
	Kazunoko(herring roe). Herring roe is the traditional dish of the Japanese New Year. The eggs are firmly packed together and almost rubbery. They are marinated in sake, broth, and soy sauce giving them their flavor and gold color.
	Maguro(tuna). Tuna is the most popular fish sold to Americans. It is the fish that wins people over to sushi. It has a soft, meaty, clean flavor and tastes best in the winter.
	Mirugai(geoduck or horseneck clam). This large clam is popular on the West coast where it is always fresh. It is slightly crunchy and sweet tasting.
	Saba(mackerel). Mackerel is alwasys served after being salted and marinated for a few days, so in a sense, it is cooked. Mackerel is oily, tender, and distinctive.
	Sake(salmon). Salmon is perhaps the most easy fish to point out in the sushi case (other than octopus). It is never served raw in sushi bars, it is either cured with salt and sugar or smoked.
	Tai(sea bream). Sea Bream is only available in Japan and the fish that Americans associate with Tai is porgy or red snapper. Porgy is closely related to sea bream, while red snapper is only in taste.
	Tako(octopus). Easily recognizable, octopus is boiled and sliced thinly to reveal a burgundy skin over white meat. It is slightly chewy and subtly flavored.
	Tamago(egg omelet). Preparation of tamago is considered the test of a sushi chef's skill. If prepared skillfully, it is an inch thick consisting of paper-thin layers. It is light and sweet in taste. If overcooked it may be chewy and time to go somewhere else.
	Torigai(cockle). Cockle is a black and white fish. It is better fresh, but is usually frozen and chewy as a result.
	Toro(fatty tuna belly). Toro is cut from the tuna's belly and is the most choice part of the fish. It is praised for its high fat content. It is rich, tender, and literally melts in your mouth like butter.
	Unagi(freshwater eel). Unagi is grilled and then brushed with a teriyaki-like sauce. Because it is already seasoned it should not be dipped in soy sauce.
	Uni(sea urchin roe). Consider yourself lucky if you don't like this at first as it can run up the bill to satisfy an uni craving. Sea urchin roe is actually the sexual organs of the fish, the gonads.

VINEGARED RICE Recipe:

2 cups white short-grained rice
2 cups water
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3" square of konbu (optional)