A Primer for Sushi Newbies

By Stephen Lambeth

There are many health benefits from eating sushi. Sushi is not always only raw fish, as you will discover, and raw fish is not nearly as dangerous as you might think. Sushi comes in many different cuts and forms, such as nigiri, maki, temaki, and inari.

Brief History of Sushi
Sushi has its very earliest roots, not in Japan as is the popular misconception, but in Southeast Asia. Originally, over 2400 years ago, rice and salt together preserved the fish through fermentation. Rather than being eaten with the fish, the rice had been scrapped before the fish was eaten. Japan introduced eating rice along with the raw fish centuries later. By the late 1900s, healthier eating habits helped to increase the spread of sushi in the US.

Sushi preparation
Sushi chefs can train for years to properly prepare and cut fresh, raw fish for sushi assembly. The best sushi chefs treat sushi preparation almost as a form of meditation, similar to bonsai tree pruning or yoga. A very sharp sushi knife and a bamboo mat are the primary devices used to construct sushi. Sticky rice or sushi rice (short-grained, seasoned rice) must always be on-hand as well as thinly sliced vegetables, soy sauce, and seaweed sheets. You may find the term "zushi" attached to the names of sushi, such as nigir-zushi or maki-zushi. Not to worry, it's all still sushi.

Most Common Sushi Fish
The most common types of fish you will find at a sushi restaurant are salmon, bluefin tuna, shrimp (never raw) red snapper, mackerel (usually smoked or pickled), and white fish. Bluefin tuna has many cuts for different sushi. In the more pedestrian sushi restaurants, the ruby red tuna cut will not always be stated as akami or maguro, though those are the names of the cuts; they're from the leaner sections of the fish. The toro (fatty) cut, also common, is from the belly of the fish. That cut offers a very buttery texture. The most buttery cut of bluefin tuna is either chutoro or otoro. These cuts are from the very underside of the fish. This cut is typically found in the most expensive sushi restaurants and very desirable for the texture and taste. Because there isn't as much of it on the fish (compared to maguro or akami) and it gets sold to the highest bidder, it's very expensive.

Unusual & Exciting Sushi Fish
There are other fish that people tend to shy away from for various reasons. You will find octopus, mackerel, and eel, which are never served raw. Clams, chicken or quail egg (cooked or raw - noted on the menu), squid, and scallops frequently appear as well. Interestingly enough, oysters are almost never on sushi menus.

Uni (sea urchin) is one of the most unpopular seafood for sushi because the taste can be very bitter or very sweet, depending solely on the uni's ocean. Atlantic uni is usually off-putting in taste and consistency. Pacific uni, on the other hand, is fantastic, buttery, smooth, and almost sweet. Always ask your waiter where the uni originated and definitely order it if the waiter says, "Pacific" or "California".

Sushi of Doom
Fugu (puffer fish) is probably the rarest fish to find in a sushi restaurant and not widely offered. Most sushi enthusiasts know that fugu exists and people over in Japan eat it, but will never touch it themselves. Why? Eating fugu could kill you within minutes if prepared poorly. There are specific chefs that go through the rigorous 3 years to train on preparing the meat of the fish; there's even a special knife for its preparation called the fugu hiki. Fugu organs and skin contain a tetrodotoxin for which there is no antidote. Keep in mind that if a restaurant doesn't offer fugu, you will not swallow fugu toxins.

Forms of sushi
Maki and nigiri are probably the most well-known formulations of sushi. Maki is a sushi roll, rolled into a tight tube structure and sliced into inch-thick "coins". Nigiri is the block of sushi rice topped with a beautiful, perfectly cut and sliced piece of fish.

Temaki are the seaweed cones containing vegetables, sushi rice, fish, and, sometimes, a dash of wasabi. These cones are never sliced into maki-sized pieces. Inari are little tofu pockets containing rice and typically ordered as a side dish, not a main item, unless you're vegetarian.

Ordering Sushi for the First Time
During your first visit to a sushi restaurant, the selection and the names of the items on the menu might overwhelm you. Don't panic; you're not the only one (finding other newbies inconspicuously can be fun). Not everyone knows all the terms and most people find their favorites and stick to them - like sticky rice!

Begin your sushi experience with a simple, tasty miso soup (chicken broth mixed with bead curd, tofu cubes, and seaweed) and a small salad while you making your other selections. The tuna is probably the best first nigiri. An easy to eat maki is the California roll or the shrimp roll. These two will help you become accustomed to the textures and the milder flavors. If you like those, try a toro cut of tuna nigiri; it's amazing. Then branch out to other things. At boutique sushi restaurants, you will find specialty rolls that have things like spicy tuna or spicy salmon rolls topped with different sauces and tempura.

Don't forget to pour some soy sauce in the tiny bowl you get with your chopsticks. If you like bolder flavors, mix to taste the wasabi into the soy sauce. Dip the pieces (yes, with your chopsticks!) lightly into the soy sauce mixture and pop a piece into your mouth. The little pile of pink pickled ginger (gari) is meant as a palette cleanser between pieces.

If you've never tried sushi, you're missing out on a delectable and healthy eating experience. For the health and weight conscious, it's highly recommended to acquire a taste for it. Get ready to experience, learn, and appreciate a new way of enjoying fish!