Encyclopedia
In Japanese cuisine, sushi (most commonly 寿司, but also 鮨 or 鮓) is a food made of vinegared rice combined with various toppings or fillings.
In Japan the word sushi refers to a broad range of foods prepared with sumeshi (酢飯) or sushi meshi (寿司飯), vinegared rice. Sushi toppings or fillings can include seafood, meat, vegetables, mushrooms or egg, Sushi toppings may be raw, cooked, or marinated. In the Western world, sushi is often misunderstood to mean clumps of rice topped with raw fish (nigiri), or even simply raw seafood, which is properly called sashimi.
There are various types of sushi. Sushi served rolled in nori (seaweed), is called maki (rolls). Sushi made with toppings laid onto hand-formed clumps of rice is called nigiri; sushi made with toppings stuffed into a small pouch of tofu is called inari; and sushi made with toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice are called chirashi-zushi, or "scattered sushi."
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:
Nigiri-zushi (hand-formed sushi). 握り寿司. Arguably the most typical form of sushi at restaurants, it consists of 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 (neta) draped over it, possibly tied up with a thin band of nori. Assembling nigirizushi is surprisingly difficult to do well. It is sometimes called Edomaezushi, which reflects its origins in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in the 18th century. It is often served two to an order.
Gunkan-maki (battleship roll). 軍艦巻き. An oval, hand-formed clump of sushi rice (similar to that of nigiri-zushi) is wrapped around its perimeter with a strip of nori, to form a vessel that is filled with some ingredient, for example, roe, natto, or less conventionally, macaroni salad.
Makizushi (rolled sushi). 巻き寿司. A cylindrical piece, formed with the help of a bamboo mat, called a makisu. Makizushi is generally wrapped in nori, a sheet of dried seaweed that encloses the rice and fillings. In an American invention, the roll is wrapped so that the rice is on the outside, which presumably makes the maki more acceptable to people unfamiliar with nori. California roll, another American invention, is always prepared this way. In another variation, the nori is substituted with a paper thin fried egg wrapper. Makizushi is usually cut into six or eight pieces, which constitute an order. The Korean gimbap is makizushi.
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. During the Setsubun festival, it is traditional in Kansai to eat the uncut futomaki in its cylindrical form.
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, but that doesn't preclude California rolls from having multiple fillings.
Kappamaki, filled with cucumber, is named after the Japanese legendary water imp, the kappa.
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.
Inari-zushi (stuffed sushi). 稲荷寿司. A pouch of fried tofu filled usually with just sushi rice. It is named after the Shinto god Inari, whose messenger, the fox, is believed to have a fondness for fried tofu. The pouch is normally fashioned from deep-fried tofu (油揚げ or abura age). Regional variations include pouches made of 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.
