There are thousands of different types of sushi available for us to choose from today due to its widespread popularity across the globe.
From traditional Japanese sushi to ‘new wave’ western style varieties, there is something out there now to suit every palate.
In traditional Japanese sushi, much of the differentiation comes from the preparation. Below are some examples:
- Chirashizushi, or ‘scattered sushi’ is a popular Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with sashimi and other ingredients. Often a celebratory dish, there is no set formula for ingredients and so you have free reign in picking complementary colours and textures.
Chirashizushi varies regionally throughout Japan and is popular due to its ease of preparation and taste. - Inarizushi or ‘brown bag sushi’ is another popular dish consisting of a pouch of seasoned, fried tofu filled with rice. In some regions of Japan, sometimes tofu is substituted for pouches of thin omelette.
- Makizushi or ‘rolled sushi’ is probably the most familiar type amongst Western consumers. Cylindrical in form, makizushi is generally rolled in a layer of nori, but occasionally this is substituted with omelette, soy paper or cucumber. Some common types of makizushi include:
- Futomaki – Thick/large/fat rolls usually containing 2-3 fillings
- Hosomaki – Thin rolls usually containing just one filling
- Tekkamaki – Type of Hosomaki filled with raw tuna
- Negitoromaki – Type of Hosomaki filled with scallion and chopped tuna
- Temaki – Large cone-shaped piece of nori filled with ingredients. This type of sushi must be eaten upon production as nori quickly absorbs moisture and loses its bite
- Uramaki – Also known as ‘inside-out’ rolls, uramaki is a medium sized cylindrical piece of sushi containing two or more fillings. It’s called an inside-out roll due to the fact that the rice is on the outside with nori and other ingredients on the inside.
- Narezushi is a traditional kind of fermented sushi in which fish is gutted, skinned and stuffed with salt. It is then left in a wooden barrel for six months, weighed down with a tsukemonoishi or pickling stone while water gradually seeps out. Once Narezushi has fermented, it can be eaten for a further six months.
- Nigirizushi or ‘hand-formed sushi’ is an oblong mound of rice formed with the hands and pressed into a ‘box’.
It is generally mixed with wasabi and then covered with a topping such as salmon or tuna. Two variations of nigirizushi include:- Gunkanmaki – Rice filled with soft or loose ingredients such as sea urchin or oysters and wrapped in nori. It is sometimes also known as a ‘warship roll’
- Termarizushi – Is a kind of ball-shaped nigirizushi which is rolled between the hands.
- Osizushi is a speciality from the Kansai region of Japan and is otherwise known as ‘pressed sushi’.
With Oshizushi, ingredients are placed in a block shaped mould known as an oshibako and topped with rice. It is then pressed, pushed out and cut into square peices.
As well as these traditional types, there are also many Western varieties of sushi originating in North America and Europe but rarely available in Japan. Among these are the Alaska roll, the California roll, Philadelphia and the spider roll, all of which take Japanese techniques and ingredients whilst adding a western twist.
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