Sushi
When people talk about eating sushi some people envision raw fish; others think of little cylindrical mounds of rice wrapped in seaweed. Don't be intimidated; it's delicious and good for ya. There are six basic types of sushi :
- Nigiri
- This is the most popular sushi in Japan. A piece of seafood such as tuna, yellow tail, shrimp or abalone rests on a hand formed ball of rice and occasionally it is held on with a thin strip of seaweed wrapped around the center. Often times, between the rice and seafood, they will conceal a bit of wasabe.
- Wasabe
- Wasabe is a green paste that is used to kill any germs that might reside on the raw fish. Typically, this is mixed with soy sauce and used as a dip.
- Maki
- This is a small cylindrical seaweed roll. Usually, this contains one
of cucumber, tuna, japanese pickles and other fillings in the center of the
rice.
- Hand Roll
- This is a ice-cream cone shaped roll filled with rice and it is
usually filled with cucumber, tuna, japanese pickles and other fillings in
the center of the rice.
- Futomaki
- This is a big seaweed roll. Usually, a roll of this size will contain
many fillings such as avocado, egg, crab meat, and fish eggs.
- Uramaki
- This is an inside out seaweed roll. The rice is on the outside and
the seaweed and the fillings are on the inside. Typically, this is made
with fillings such as avocado, crabmeat, and cucumber wrapped in seaweed
and then the seaweed bundle is wrapped in a layer of rice.
- Inari
- Sushi rice stuffed in fried soybean curd cooked in a mild sweet soy sauce mix.