Glossary

Aburaáge

Fried tofu pouches prepared by cooking in sweet cooking sake, soy sauce, and water. Can be found at most Japanese supermarkets, such as Mitsuwa or Marukai. I use aburaáge in Inari-Zushi and Fried Rice Inari.

Avocado

An egg-shaped fruit about the size of a fist, with dark bumpy skin. The edible center is bright green, and it has a hard inedible pit about 3 cm in diameter. Can be found at your typical grocery store. This is used in many rolls, such as the California Roll, Crunchy Shrimp Roll, and the Stoplight Roll.

Betty Crocker Seasoned Skillets

These are the potatoes used in the Dinner Roll.

Chinese Sausage

These are the sausages that we used in the Fried Rice Inari. This can be found in Chinese or Asian supermarkets. If you can’t find this, it can be replaced with regular sausage – still delicious, but the flavor will be a little different.

Chirashi Sushi

A bed of sumeshi covered in sushi fillings

Daikon

Japanese radishes. Can be found at most Japanese supermarkets, such as Mitsuwa or Marukai.

Eel sauce

1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice wine), 1/2 cup shoyu (soy sauce), 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 cup dashi (optional) – put all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Simmer about 10-20 minutes. Let cool (the sauce will thicken as it cools), and drizzle over your sushi or put in a bottle and refrigerate for up to a month.

Gari

Thinly sliced pickled gingerroot. Eaten between pieces of sushi to cleanse the palate. Has a slightly spicy but not overpowering taste. Can be found at certain grocery stores (I have seen it at Ralphs before), and Japanese supermakets

Ginger

The root which gari is made from.

Green Onion

A vegetable with green stalks that have white bulbs at the end. The green stalks are the part that is usually eaten. Can be found at your typical grocery store. I have used green onion in a few rolls, including the Crunchy Shrimp Roll, Philadelphia Roll, and the Phuson Maki.

Hangiri

A large wooden bowl with a flat bottom, used to hold and cool sumeshi once it has been cooked.

Hashi

This is the Japanese name for chopsticks

Imitation Crab

Fish that has been flavored and colored to look and taste like crab, much cheaper than real crab, usually used in California Rolls. Imitation crab can be bought at most grocery stores. Try imitation crab in the California Roll.

Inari-Zushi

Sumeshi in a bean curd pouch. A very mild type of sushi, ideal for children who will not eat the more exotic types of sushi. The recipe can be found here.

Itamae

The Japanese name for the sushi chef.

Kani Kamaboko

The Japanese word for imitation crab.

Kappa

Cucumber, when used in a sushi roll. I have used cucumber in several rolls, including the Unagi Roll.

Kiwi Fruit

A small round fruit with a fuzzy brown skin and a bright green center, with small black edible seeds. Can be found at your typical grocery store. I used kiwi fruit for the New Zealand Roll.

Maki Sushi

Rolled sushi, often with a layer of nori on the outside, surrounding a layer of sumeshi around various fillings of your choice. The layers of nori and sumeshi can be switched. A well known type of maki sushi is the California roll. See my maki sushi link for a list of the maki sushi that I have made thus far.

Mini Sausages

These are the mini sausages used in the Dinner Roll.

Nigiri Sushi

A hand shaped ball of sumeshi topped with a slice of fish, eel, shrimp, tamago, etc. See my nigiri link for the list of the nigiri sushi that I have made.

Nori

Dried seaweed, used on the outside of most maki and temaki sushi. The nori pictured was bought at a Japanese supermarket, but most grocery stores will have some type of nori. Make sure to buy the big sheets, and not the smaller 1 inch wide ones – those are for snacking 🙂 Almost all maki sushi is made using nori.

Onigri

Balls made with plain steamed rice with various stuffings, possibly wrapped in nori.

Onion

Onions are a somewhat sweet, round vegetable with many layers. When you are cutting onions, make sure to have a well-ventilated cutting area and don’t wipe your eyes with your hands… otherwise the fumes from the onion will make your eyes sting and water like crazy. I used onion in the Fried Rice Inari.

Oyster Sauce

An oyster flavored sauce that can be used in stir fry and marinades. This was used in Spam Musubi.

Red Bell Pepper

A red vegetable, about the size of a coffee mug with a waxy skin. This was used in the Firecracker Roll.

Rice Mold

A plastic mold used to press rice into small rectangles for nigiri sushi.

Rice Vinegar

A clear yellowish liquid made from rice, often used in making the sushi vinegar for sumeshi. Can be bought at most grocery stores.

Spam

A canned processed pork meat, used in Spam Musubi.

Shoyu

The Japanese name for soy sauce. A dark salty liquid often eaten with Asian food. Can be bought at most grocery stores.

Smoked Salmon

Salmon that has been preserved by smoking it, does not need to be cooked before eaten. I have used this in several of my maki rolls, including the Philadelphia Roll.

Sushi

Sumeshi with various other ingredients, including fish, crab, and assorted vegetables, among other things.

Sumeshi

Literally, vinegar rice. This is the rice that has been mixed with a combination of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to be used in sushi. The recipe can be found here.

Tamago

Sweet egg omlette. See recipe here.

Tekka

Tuna, especially in a roll

Temaki Sushi

Hand rolled sushi, usually cone shaped

Tempura Shrimp

Shrimp that has been coated with a batter and then fried. Can be bought frozen at most grocery stores. My favorite use of tempura shrimp is in the Crunchy Shrimp Roll. I also now have a recipe for making tempura shrimp.

Unagi

Eel. Usually teriyaki flavored and can be bought frozen. I use unagi in the Unagi Roll.

Wasabi

Japanese horseradish, light green in color with a spicy taste. To be used in moderation (depending on your preferences) and eaten with sushi. Often mixed with shoyu to create a sort of sauce for your sushi. Real wasabi is extremely difficult to find outside of Japan. Wasabi paste can usually be found at most grocery markets in the Asian aisle, wasabi powder can be found at Japanese supermarkets.