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The Art of Japanese Cuisine: What is Sushi?
Cooked shrimp rolled up with rice counts as sushi. A plate of sliced raw fish with no rice doesn’t. What makes the…
Recipes
Guides in Recipes
How to Make Sushi Bake at Home
Sushi bake recipes can’t agree on the oven. Across more than a dozen ranking versions, settings run from 320F to 450F and…
What Is a Hand Roll Sushi? The Cone of Flavor
Temaki is what Japanese cooks call it, and the idea is simple: one sheet of nori, a handful of seasoned rice, some…
What Does Sushi Taste Like to a First-Timer?
Sushi tastes mild and savory, with a clean finish and a faint sweet-and-sour tang from the vinegared rice. The topping decides the…
What Is Inari Sushi? Sweet Meets Savory
Inari sushi is a pouch of fried tofu (aburaage), simmered until it turns sweet and salty and then filled with vinegared rice.…
What Is Sashimi Sushi and Is It Really Sushi?
Sashimi doesn’t come with rice. It’s thin slices of raw fish or seafood, served without vinegared rice, so the cut and the…
What Is Sushi Made Of? Ingredients Unwrapped
Sushi is a Japanese dish, and most people picture raw fish when they hear the word. What every piece actually shares is…
What Is Unagi Sushi? Eel on the Menu
Raw eel blood is toxic, which is why unagi sushi never comes uncooked. What sits on the rice is a charcoal-grilled fillet…
What Is Kani Sushi? Real vs. Imitation Crab
Order kani sushi and what arrives is cooked imitation crab, either on top of the rice or rolled up inside it. Kani…
What Is Escolar Sushi? Know Before You Bite
Japan has banned escolar as food since 1981, yet sushi counters elsewhere keep serving it, often as “white tuna” or butterfish. It…
Why Is Sushi So Good? Science Meets Flavor
Much of sushi’s savory taste comes from one chemical pairing. Fish supplies inosinate, nori and soy sauce supply glutamate, and together they…
Is Sushi Kosher? It Depends on This
The fish is the part people check, and it’s the easy part. A kosher sushi plate also needs certified ingredients, and the…
What Is Toro Sushi and Why Is It So Prized?
Toro runs a bit over a quarter fat by weight. Japanese food composition tables list 27 to 28 percent fat for it,…
How Much Sushi Is Too Much?
The number of rolls on your plate matters less than which fish is in them. For a healthy adult, the weekly cap…
What Is Maki Sushi? A Rolled Classic Explained
Maki is what you get when seasoned rice and a filling are wrapped in nori and the roll is sliced into bite-size…
What Is Sushi Grade Salmon, Really?
No US agency has defined “sushi-grade.” The FDA and USDA both leave the term alone, so it works as a seller-assigned label…
What Is Masago in Sushi? Tiny Eggs, Big Flavor
Masago is the salt-cured roe of capelin, a smelt-family fish, and most people know it as the orange coating on inside-out rolls.…
Why Is Sushi So Expensive? Behind the Price
Most of a sushi bill is the fish. Raw fish is graded and priced by quality, and bluefin tuna sits at the…
Is Sushi an Aphrodisiac or Just Delicious?
Sushi has a reputation as a romantic food, but no published research shows that eating it raises sexual desire. The reputation comes…
What Is Nigiri Sushi? A Simple Guide
Order nigiri at a sushi bar and you get a pair of small pieces, each one a slice of fish (or egg,…
Does Sushi Have Parasites? What You Should Know
Raw fish can carry live Anisakis roundworm larvae and Diphyllobothrium tapeworms. That much is well documented, and the usual answer is freezing…
What to Eat with Sushi: Perfect Pairings
Sushi is cold and fairly mild, so the sides that suit it bring something it doesn’t have: heat, crunch, acidity or vegetables.…
What Is Ebi in Sushi? Shrimp 101
Order ebi at most sushi counters and you get boiled shrimp, butterflied and laid over a mound of vinegared rice. That’s the…
What Is Tamago in Sushi? The Sweet Egg Surprise
Tamago is the one piece at a sushi counter that isn’t seafood. It’s a sweetened omelette built up in layers and set…
Can Kids Eat Sushi? A Parent’s Guide
Kids can eat sushi, but only some of it. Vegetable and egg rolls suit toddlers who eat solid food, and so do…
What Is Gobo in Sushi? Rooted in Tradition
Order a vegetable maki at a sushi bar and the orange stick in the middle is usually gobo. It’s pickled burdock root,…
How to Reheat Sushi Without Ruining It
Lay a damp paper towel over the sushi and microwave it in bursts of 10 to 20 seconds at 50% power. Stop…
Is Sushi Healthy? A Nutritionist Breaks It Down
Most of what makes sushi healthy is the fish. If fish and vegetables carry the roll and the rice, batter and sauce…
Must-Try Types of Sushi Rolls Explained
The main types of sushi rolls split by where the rice sits and by whether the roll gets sliced at all. Hosomaki,…
What Is Omakase Sushi? Trust the Chef
With omakase sushi, the chef picks every course. You sit at the counter, the itamae makes each piece in front of you,…