The 7 types of sushi: their ingredients and characteristics

Sushi arrived many years ago in the West and it became one of our favorite dishes due to its flavor, freshness and such a particular format, which stimulates both taste and sight.

Now if you are a foodie addicted to sushi, you may have noticed that not everything in this unique dish is the same and that there are different types of sushi according to their presentation, ingredients and preparation. We explain everything to you so that you can become a sushi expert.

• Related article: "Matcha tea: what is it, benefits and how to prepare this type of green tea”

What is sushi

Sushi is a type of cuisine that we know as Japanese, although its true origins are in ancient China, where the fish was preserved with the mold that they obtained from the fermented rice that they did not eat. It doesn't sound appetizing at all, does it? In any case, it is thanks to the fact that the Japanese adopted it as their own and evolved this dish, that today we have the pleasure of eating different types of sushi and enjoying its special flavor.

You will be surprised to know that when we explain what sushi is, we are not talking about fish as the main ingredient, but actually, it is about a plate of rice that is eaten combined with other ingredients (like fish) that are given specific shapes like rolls that become the sushi pieces we eat.

Sushi, as its name translates, is a vinegar cooked rice dish, as Su translates to vinegar and Shi-Meshi to rice. So, rice is the main thing in this delicious dish and the ingredient from which it gets its unique flavor. This rice is accompanied by raw fish and vegetables They are used as a filling for sushi pieces, so some people are hesitant to try it. Once ready, it is served with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger.

• Related article: "The 8 benefits of ginger for your health and well-being”

Ingredients in sushi have another name

Before starting with the types of sushi there is something you should know first, and these are its ingredients. When you approach a sushi menu you will realize that, although they are ingredients that we know (In addition to the rice that we already told you about), these have different names, due to their Japanese roots.

You will have noticed that a green color foil is used in the different pieces of sushiand. This is a fundamental ingredient for some of the types of sushi and it is actually a seaweed leaf, but in sushi we call it nori. Continuing with fish, usually raw, the most used are salmon, which you find under the name sake; tuna, found under the name of maguro; and the eel, which they call, unagui.

Seafood is also the protagonist in this Japanese dish, where the most popular are prawns or prawns, which take the name of ebi, and the octopus, which takes the name of tako. Continuing with the ingredients from the sea, it is very common that in your pieces you find some red or orange jelly balls. These are fish roe and there are different varieties, but the most used are the masago.

In some cases, and more now in fusion cuisine restaurants, you find pieces of sushi made with other types of meats like chicken or ham. As for vegetables, avocado, cucumber, carrot and asparagus are the protagonists par excellence, essential for vegetarian sushi options.

The 7 types of sushi and their varieties

The secret to identifying the different types of sushi is paying attention to the shape and size of each of the sushi pieces on your plate.

1. Maki

Maki is literally a sushi roll and the first image that comes to mind when you think of sushi. It involves rolling the rice, fish and vegetables on a sheet of nori seaweed, these being the ingredients of the filling and the nori seaweed the edible wrapper. When the roll is ready, it is cut into pieces of approximately 2 cm that remain in the shape of a circle.

Keep in mind that the maki sushi can vary depending on the thickness of the piece; We call the type of sushi that is very thin hosomaki and if, on the contrary, the pieces are very thick, they are called futomaki.

2. Uramaki

If in the makis the nori seaweed is what we see on the outside of the sushi pieces, then in the uramakis it is the other way around, being the rice what we see as the wrapping of the pieces and the nori seaweed is as a filling along with the other ingredients. This type of sushi is called "Ura", which means "opposite side", precisely because we roll it on the opposite side to that of the maki.

3. Nigiri

If you look at a tray that contains the different types of sushi, you will notice that there are some pieces that, instead of having the usual round shape, are rather elongated and without algae. These are the nigiris.

Nigiri is a piece of sushi that does not contain nori seaweed and it doesn't roll either. These are pieces of rice that are kneaded in an elongated shape and covered with raw fish or shellfish. In some restaurants, to change the presentation, they use a very small piece of nori seaweed around the nigiri as a kind of decorative ribbon.

A trick to eat nigiris: when you dip it in the soy sauce, make sure to dip it on the side where the fish is, but never on the side of the rice, as it will fall apart easily.

4. Temaki

The temaki is a type of sushi designed for those who do not want to use the sticks and prefer to eat by hand. At least that is how its name indicates it, since “te” means “by hand”. The temaki are prepared on a sheet of nori seaweed in which the rice and the different ingredients are included, but it is not rolled up like a "burrito" to cutting the pieces, but it is done by giving it the shape of a cone so that you can hold it with your hand while you you eat.

5. Gunkan

The gunkan is a piece of sushi similar to nigiri but that is wrapped in nori seaweed, as if the seaweed were a container bowl or a boat, hence its name, which means "boat". The most popular of the gunkan is the one made with orange salmon roe.

6. Oshizushi

Not many restaurants serve this type of sushi, which differs from the others because it is prepared with a mold that gives it its square shape. In this mold, an important base of rice is put and on it the nori seaweed and the selected ingredients.

7. Sashimi

Sashimi is not actually a type of sushi, but they are part of this type of cuisine. Sashimi consists only of slices of raw fish that we eat alone or dipped in soy sauce. As they do not have rice, we cannot call them sushi, but you must know it because they always accompany these types of dishes.

• Related article: "How to make rice: easy recipe to prepare white and brown rice”