Sushi

In Japanese cuisine, sushi (鮨 or 鮓 or, most commonly, 寿司) is a food made of vinegared rice combined with a topping or filling of fish, seafood, vegetables, or egg.

Types of sushi

The common ingredient in all the different kinds of sushi is sushi rice. Variety arises in the choice of the fillings and toppings, the other condiments, and in the manner they are put together. The same ingredients may be assembled in various different ways:

Related Topics:
Kinds of ''sushi'' - Sushi rice

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• Makizushi (rolled sushi). 巻き寿司. A cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a woven bamboo mat, called a makisu. Makizushi is the form of sushi with which many Westerners are most familiar. Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori, a sheet of dried seaweed that encloses the rice and fillings.
• Futomaki (large rolls). 太巻き. A large cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside. Typical futomaki are two or three centimeters thick and four or five centimeters wide. They are often made with two or three fillings, chosen for their complementary taste and color.
• Hosomaki (thin rolls). 細巻き. A small cylindrical piece, with the nori on the outside. Typical hosomaki are about two centimeters thick and two centimeters wide. They are generally made with only one filling, simply because there is not enough room for more than one.
• Temaki (hand rolls). 手巻き. A large cone-shaped piece, with the nori on the outside and the ingredients spilling out the wide end. A typical temaki is about ten centimeters long, and is eaten with the fingers since it is too awkward to pick up with chopsticks.
• Uramaki (inside-out rolls). 裏巻き. A medium-sized cylindrical piece, with two or more fillings. Uramaki differ from other maki because the rice is on the outside and the nori within. The filling is in the center surrounded by a liner of nori, then a layer of rice, and an outer coating of some other ingredient such as roe or toasted sesame seeds.
• Oshizushi (pressed sushi). 押し寿司. A block-shaped piece formed using a wooden mold, 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 mold down to create a compact, rectilinear block. The block is removed from the mold and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Nigirizushi (hand-formed sushi). 握り寿司. Small pieces nominally similar to pressed sushi or rolled sushi, but made without using a makisu or oshibako. Assembling nigirizushi is surprisingly difficult to do well. The simplest form is a small block of sushi rice with a speck of wasabi and a thin slice of a topping draped over it, possibly tied up with a thin band of nori.
• Gunkanzushi (battleship roll). 軍艦寿司. A small, oval-shaped piece, similar in size and appearance to hosomaki. A clump of rice is hand-wrapped in a strip of nori, but instead of a filling in the center, it has some ingredient—such as fish eggs—piled on top.
• Inarizushi (stuffed sushi). 稲荷寿司. A small pouch or pocket filled with sushi rice and other ingredients. The pouch is fashioned from deep-fried tofu (油揚げ or abura age), a thin omelet (帛紗寿司 or fukusazushi), or dried gourd shavings (干瓢 or kanpyo).
• Chirashizushi (scattered sushi). 散らし寿司. A bowl of sushi rice with the other ingredients mixed in. Also referred to as barazushi. ばら寿司.
• Edomae chirashizushi (Edo-style scattered sushi). Uncooked ingredients artfully arranged on top of the rice in the bowl.
• Gomokuzushi (Kansai-style sushi). 五目寿司. Cooked or uncooked ingredients mixed in the body of the rice in the bowl.
• Narezushi (なれ鮨) is an older form of sushi. Skinned and gutted fish are stuffed with salt then placed in a wooden barrel, doused with salt again, and weighed down with a heavy tsukemonoishi (pickling stone). They are salted for ten days to a month, then placed in water for 15 minutes to an hour. They are then placed in another barrel sandwiched and layered with cooled steamed rice and fish. Then this mixture is again partially sealed with otosibuta and a pickling stone. As days pass, water seeps out, which must be removed. Six months later, this "funazushi" can be eaten, and it remains edible for another six months or more.

References

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• {{Book_reference|Author=Barber, Kimiko;Takemura, Hiroki|Title=Sushi: Taste and Technique|Publisher=DK Publishing|Year=2002|ID=ISBN 0-7894-8916-3}}
• {{Book_reference|Author=Kawasumi, Ken|Title=The Encyclopedia of Sushi Rolls|Publisher=Graph-Sha|Year=2001|ID=ISBN 4-88996-076-7}}

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