Terms

If you are taking that first big step to trying sushi for the first time, here is a brief glossary of terms to make you more informed and aware of what is going on!

• Sashimi - slices or slabs of raw seafood
• Nori - toasted seaweed sheets
• Wasabi - Japanese horseradish mustard, which has a "putty" texture and is green in color - very hot!
• Maki - rolled sushi; which includes sashimi, rice, and nori among other ingredients
• Nigri - this is the most common form of sushi. This consists pieces of sashimi on a bed of rice, usually held together with a strip of nori
• Inarizushi (Inari) - bean curd rolls...usually stuffed with rice
• Oshiwaku - a wooden sushi press
• Gari or Shoga - sliced ginger, a condiment commonly used to cleanse the palette between orders (not for my taste, personally)
• Kappa - cucumber; frequently used in a California Roll (along with avocado and crab meat) or solo in its own roll
• Maguro - tuna
• Toro - fatty tuna belly
• Shiro Maguro - albacore
• Hamachi - yellowtail (a family favorite)
• Saba - mackerel
• Sake - salmon
• Tai - porgy, red snapper
• Hirame - halibut
• Suzuki - sea bass
• Unagi - freshwater eel
• Anago - sea eel
• Tako - octopus
• Ika - squid
• Kani - crab
• Awabi - abalone
• Mirugai - geoduck clam
• Torigai - Japanese cockle
• Aoyagi - Japanese red clam
• Akagai - pepitona clam
• Kobashira - small scallops
• Kaibashira - large scallops
• Ebi - cooked prawn
• Ikura - salmon Roe
• Uni - sea Urchin Roe
• Tobiko - flying Fish Roe
• Tamago - hen's egg omelet