Sushi

Probably the best know of the Japanese foods to westerners are Sushi and Sashimi. Over recent years these dishes have become popular if not fashionable in many of the big cities around the world. Many people think Sushi is raw fish, but it isnt (although it can contain it) Sushi is really a range of small rice based finger foods in a variety of shapes and styles. On the other hand Sashimi is usually freshly prepared thin slices of raw fish.

Westerners will be more familiar with sushi being a dried seaweed sheet or ‘Nori’ wrapped in a cylinder shape around some rice and a collection of seafood, meat  or vegetable in the centre.  But sushi is so much more and there is a diverse range of shapes, types, fillings and most of all flavours.  The term Sushi refers to a food prepared with sumeshi or sushi meshi which is vinegared rice.

It is made from cold rice that has a little sugar and vinegar added after cooking combined with a topping or filling of fish, seafood, meats, vegetables, or even egg. The topping may be raw, cooked, or marinated, and may be served scattered in a bowl of rice, rolled in nori seaweed sheet,or laid onto hand-formed clumps of rice.It is even sometimes  stuffed in a small fried tofu pouches. Vinegared rice is really the only common ingredient between the types of sushi.

Some of the more popular Japanese Sushi include-

Nigiri-zushi (hand-formed sushi). Is one of the most typical form of sushi. Nigiri-zushi is an oblong mound of sushi rice which is pressed between the palms of the hands, with a speck of wasabi and a thin slice of a topping, sometimes it is tied up with a thin band of nori .

Makizushi (rolled sushi). this is the what most western people are used to and found in Japanese restaurants and cafes all over the world. It is a long tube of rice and filling roll with a nori seaweed sheet outer. The filling can contain just about everything, although avocadorarely used, not like in the west.

Temaki (hand rolls). Temaki are large a conical shaped piece, with the nori seaweed sheet wraped on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimetres long, and is eaten with the fingers since it ismuch  too awkward to pick up with chopsticks.

Uramaki (inside-out rolls). A medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings. Uramaki The filling is in the center surrounded by a liner of nori, then a layer of sushi rice, and an outer coating of some other ingredient such as roe from a variety of fishe or toasted sesame seeds.

Oshizushi (pressed sushi). This is a rice block that is formed using a wooden mould which is 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 mould down to create a compact, rectilinear block. The block is removed from the mould and cut into bite-sized pieces with the topping facing upwards.

One of the more popular and fun types of restaurants serving sushi is the sushi train restaurant. Here a huge variety of prepared sushi move around on a conveyor belt past the diners seat ontop of different coloured plates. The customers choose the sushi they want as it passes and then at the end of the night the coloured plates all at different prices are added up for and paid to the cashier. Its a great way to experiment with different types of sushi and most of all fun.

Sushi is even considered a breakfast food in Japan and is readily available freshly prepared or even found plastic wrapped in all convenicene stores and most supermarkets. Most sushi range in price from about 100 Yen to 500 Yen depending on the ingredients and style.