By Tony Fliven

There are several different kinds of food that fall under the all-encompassing category of what we as Americans refer to as ’sushi’. The most commonly known variety, that of makizushi is a long roll consisting of rice, nori and fillings that has been cut into 6-8 pieces. Nigiri usually consists of just a piece of raw fish over a chunk of rice. Sashimi is just a piece of raw fish.

Makizushi is normally divided in two varieties. Futomaki, or ‘fat sushi’ consists of a layer of nori on the outside, then sticky rice, then at least two different fillings in the middle. Hosomaki, or ‘thin maki’ usually is consisted of just one ingredient in the middle, usually a piece of raw fish, although vegetables and fruits may be used. If the nori is rolled up inside the roll instead of showing on the outside, it is called uramaki, or inside-out maki. This was first done because Americans did not like seeing the green nori on the outside of the roll.

Some of the most common varieties of maki rolls have sprung up especially to appeal and satisfy Western palates and cuisine. These are not technically considered to be authentic Japanese sushi, but they are very popular and can be very tasty.

The most common and ‘westernized’ recipe for maki rolls is the California roll. The California roll is usually made inside out and holds imitation crab, cucumber and avocado. The outside of the roll is sometimes covered with tobiko, or flying fish roe. The California roll is popular because it is seen as a ‘no-risk’ sushi, because it doesn’t have any raw fish. It came about from a Japanese sushi chef in Los Angeles in the 1970s who realized that the oily texture of avacodo was a perfect stand-in for raw tuna, which the original recipe called for. The California Roll is credited with spreading sushi’s popularity in the United States.

A common variant of the California roll is the Boston roll. In the Boston roll, the imitation crab meat is replaced with poached shrimp. The cucumber, avocado, rice and nori remain the same. Often, spicy sauce is added to a Boston roll, either in the roll on on the top.

A spicy shrimp roll is another variation on traditional sushi certain to appeal more to Westernized palates. It uses poached shrimp, like the Boston roll, but the shrimp is diced instead of whole. The spicy sauce is required now, and the avacado is replaced with sliced scallions. The spicy shrimp roll is usually made as an outside thick roll, but can also be rolled as a hand roll or a ship roll. It is on occasion topped with thinly sliced myoga.

Tuna roll is one of the simplest kinds of maki sushi to prepare. In Japanese, it is referred to as tekkimaki. It only consists of sushi rice, nori, and sashimi-grade tuna (raw tuna). The tuna roll is traditionally rolled up outside thick or thin, depending on preference.

Dynamite rolls are a different take on a traditional tuna roll. In sushi fusion, dynamite refers to something spicy. Dynamite rolls are tuna rolls with spicy mayonnaise drizzled over them. The mayonnaise is then burned with a chef’s torch.

The spicy tuna roll is a little less basic than the regular tuna roll. It is made with tuna trimmings prepared into spicy tuna mix instead of slices of tuna. Spicy tuna is made with tuna trimmings, scallions, chili oil, and some Japanese mayonnaise. The chopped tuna may also have cream added to it to make the consistency silkier. It is then combined with cucumber bits to make a traditional spicy tuna roll. It is usually rolled as an outside thick roll.

The Tijuana roll is served as an outside thin roll. It consists of thinly sliced yellow tail tuna and sliced jalapeno peppers. It doesn’t need any wasabi because the jalapeno is already spicy.

The spider roll is an especially weird looking sushi roll made with tempura-fried soft-shell crab rolled by itself. It is usually rolled as an outside thick roll with the legs sticking out.

The Michigan roll is a variation of the traditional spicy tuna roll that has smelt roe spicy sauce and avocado to balance the spiciness of the tuna. It is usually rolled as an outside thick roll.

Aside from maki rolls, another common kind of sushi is nigiri sushi. Nigiri sushi doesn’t always have nori, like the maki rolls do, and usually just consists of a piece of raw fish over a ball of sushi rice. Different sauces or seasonings may be used, but it is essentially just some kind of raw fish and sushi rice.

Tony Fliven is a blogger and internet marketer from Atlanta, GA. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and blogging about his efforts, especially dealing with how to make sushi.

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Best Sushi Recipe – What to Prepare and How to Do It
By Ciara Jones

Do you want to have a try of your own cooked sushi in the convenience of your home? Try this. Sushi is the most famous Japanese food in the world and a favorite of the natives itself, too. They also prepare this kind of food when there is something special. So, what is a sushi? What are they things needed to make it?

Sushi is a vinegar rice, with many different ingredients including rice. It is artfully designed and with variations in its cooking style. The different types in making a sushi is Nigirizushi, Makizushi, Oshizushi, Inarizushi, Chirashizushi, Narezushi. There are many kinds of sushi but let us try to learn Makizushi. So, the materials needed are: Fukin (kitchen cloth), Hangiri (rice barrel), Hocho (kitchen knives), Makisu (bamboo rolling mat), Ryoribashi (cooking chopsticks), Shamoji (wooden rice paddle), Makiyakinabe (rectangular omelette pan).

Ingredients:

• Sushi rice – short grained rice to be combined with rice vinegar, sugar, salt and sometimes, sake or kombu
• Nori – black seaweed
• Tuna fish and seafoods
• Mixtures and fillers – Pickled daikon radishi, pickled vegetables (tsukemono), fermented soybeans (natto) in natto maki, avocado, cucumber in kappa maki, asparagus, yam, pickled ume (umeboshi), gourd, burdock, and sweet corn with mayonnaise.
• Flavoring – Wasabi or soy sauce

Steps on how to make a Makizushi:

1. Place the Makisu on your preparation table.

2. Put a Nori on top of the Makisu.

3. Put some rice on top of the Nori and spread the rice evenly.

5. Leave a space on the top and bottom of the Nori, probably an inch.

6. Put some toppings, you could choose anything you like as long as the seafood would be compatible to each other and also put Wasabi on it.

7. Slowly, lift the Makisu and see to it that the Nori should be steady so that it will not be damaged. Make sure both of the sides are with the same size or should be even.

8. Roll the Makisu upward.

9. Place both index fingers on the sides of Makisu and shape the makizushi into a square.

10. Cut the makizushi twice with a very sharp knife.

11. Put them together and cut them into pieces.

12. Finished!

If you cannot find the things that are needed before making a sushi, you can find other means for that. Be resourceful because this recipe would bring you to the Oriental and feel like you are in Japan. Experience the adventure in making your own dish with the feel of the Oriental.

Do you need some great fish recipes to prepare a nice dinner for your family? Then check out my website at http://www.weloveseafood.com. You can find tons of free fish recipes there.

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Vegetarian Sushi Recipe (Also Vegan) – Ingredients And Directions On How To Make The Perfect Sushi
By Heather Nauta

This vegetarian sushi recipe is more of a tutorial to get you started. Once you get through a few practice sessions, sushi makes an incredibly easy vegan dish for a snack, dinner or addition to your next pot luck.

Sea vegetables are packed with minerals, and the nori sheets used in making sushi are a tasty way to get his highly nutritious food into your diet.

This recipe will serve 4 people as a main dish.

Vegetarian Sushi Recipe Ingredients

• 1 cup short grain brown rice
• 1-2 Tbsp brown rice or apple cider vinegar
• 4 sheets of nori
• 1 carrot, julienned
• Section of zucchini, julienned
• 1 mushroom, sliced
• 1 Tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 green onion, sliced lengthwise

Vegetarian Sushi Equipment

You’ll find things much easier if you get a sushi rolling mat, although it isn’t necessary. There are kits with a lot of fancy stuff that are expensive, but you can find a rolling mat individually for a few dollars. There should be some in a grocery store or a Chinese food store.

Vegetarian Sushi Recipe Directions

1. Before you start, cook the rice by bringing 2 cups of lightly salted water to a boil, adding the rice and then turning it down to simmer for 45 minutes. In place of white sushi rice, the short grain brown rice is sticky enough but has more nutrients than white. Long grain brown rice will not work. Stir in a tablespoon or two of vinegar, so that the rice sticks to itself, and let it cool.
2. The mushrooms need to be started ahead of time as well. Place the slices in a container with a lid that seals, then add a pinch of sea salt and about a tablespoon of tamari, seal the container and shake. Leave the mushrooms for about an hour, and they will become soft. The excess tamari needs to be squeezed off the mushrooms, since it will seep through your sushi roll and make things too moist.
3. Lay a nori sheet out on the rolling mat, with the grooves in the nori parallel to the direction you’re facing.
4. Spread rice onto the nori sheet, leaving a gap on the back edge to seal the roll. Lay a small amount of vegetables in a row on the edge of the sheet closest to you, perpendicular to the direction you are facing. Roll the sheet around that row of vegetables. You’ll need to press tightly backwards (to you), and slightly down onto the roll. Don’t squish it, but the roll should be tight. Take the rolling mat out a bit so that you don’t roll it into the sushi, and continue rolling tightly until you get to the end of the nori, where the gap was left to seal the roll closed.
5. Letting the sushi roll sit a few minutes allows the nori to soften from the moisture in the rice. Once it’s ready, cut the roll into slices and you now have created the perfect vegetarian sushi recipe. The common accompaniments are a dipping bowl of tamari, pickled ginger and wasabi.

To watch a free video of me making this vegetarian sushi recipe, so I can show you the exact techniques that will make the perfect sushi, go to http://www.healthyveganrecipes.net/video/simple-sushi

Heather Nauta is a registered holistic nutritionist who teaches you how to live a healthy vegan/vegetarian lifestyle, including how to get proper nutrition, enough protein, vitamin b12 and other minerals, and how to make an amazing variety of simple, fast healthy recipes that taste incredible for you and your family.

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This dish serves as a great accompaniment to most Japanese meals. Sunomono translates into English roughly as vinegared food. The following recipe is both light and refreshing. It is particularly good to eat in the hot summer months.