How To Speak Fluent Sushi

Have you been to a Sushi restaurant, looked at the menu and became overwhelmed?  Do you need to see the pictures of everything your order so you know what you are going to be brave enough to eat for dinner?   Do you need to drink multiple cups of Sake to prepare yourself for what you just ordered?  If so you are so not alone.

Sushi all the rage is attracting newcomers on a daily basis.  I tell my friends "you acquire a taste for it and then you crave it!"  Like a fine wine, you try it all and decide what works for you, not what someone thinks you will like.   No two taste buds are alike now are they?

Here is some help I found while reading the paper a while ago, I saved the article and think it would be helpful to share with you beginning sushi lovers.

Speak Sushi Fluently:

Sushi: Sweetened, pickled rice and anything made with it

Shari: Sushi rice, also called sushi meshi

Sashimi: Raw fish fillets without rice

Makizushi (or maki): Sushi rolled in seaweed

Nigiri: Fish, shellfish or fish eggs (called roe) over rice balls

Nori: Thin sheets of dried seaweed

Gari: Pickled ginger

Wasabi: Hot, green Japanese horseradish (not related to American horseradish)

Miso: Soybean paste

Edamame: Green Soybeans

Suimono: Clear broth

Sunomono: Seaweed and cucumber salad

Dalkon: White radish

Ocha: Green Tea

Hashi: Chopsticks

Shoyu: Japanese soy sauce

Chirasi: Sushi rice in a bowl topped with other ingredients

Sake: Salmon (spelled the same way as the alcoholic beverage)

Ebi: Shrimp

Toro: Fatty tuna belly

Maguro: Tuna

Unagi: Freshwater eel

Ikura: Salmon roe

Tobiko: Flying fish roe

Tako: Cooked octopus

Tamago: Omelet

I hope this helps you the next time you wander out the your local Sushi bar!  If have any additional info to share please feel free to leave it in my comments :)

Happy Spring!