Little Tokyo's Ron Takahashi... 



slicing the fish... 



SUSHI VOCABULARY 



• sashimi — slices of raw fish 



• sushi — vinegared rice topped 

 with fish or other topping 



• nigirizushi — hand-sculpted 

 fingers of rice topped with fish, roe, 

 egg, etc. 



• oshizushi — rice pressed into a 

 mold, topped with marinated fish, 

 unmolded and cut into bite-sized 

 pieces 



• makizushi — rice and toppings 

 rolled log-style in seaweed and cut 

 into pieces 



• uramaki — makizushi rolled with 

 the rice instead of the seaweed on 

 the outside 



• temakizushi — rice and toppings 

 rolled by hand into a cone of 

 seaweed 



• chirashizushi — known as "scat- 

 tered sushi," a variety of toppings 

 served over or mixed into rice 



shari — rice with seasoned vinegar 



su — rice vinegar 



sushi su — seasoned rice vinegar 



tane — topping and filling ingredi- 

 ents for all styles of sushi 



nori — seaweed 



wasahi — Japanese horseradish 



gari — pickled ginger 



shoyu — soy sauce 



sushi tsu — a person knowledge- 

 able about sushi 



itamae — the sushi chef 



hashi — Japanese chopsticks 



Kanpai — "to your health" □ 



The result is today's diversity of 

 sushi styles and ingredients. The 

 toppings, called tane, range from fish to 

 egg omelet, vegetables to roe. The fish 

 perched atop the rice can be uncooked, 

 boiled, broiled, steamed, grilled, pickled, 

 fried or dried. And there's even the 

 seemingly contradictory vegetarian sushi: 

 strips of vegetables rolled in seaweed and 

 served with the same flair as the tradi- 

 tional type. 



HOW DOES A 

 SUSHI CHEF LEARN 

 HIS TRADE? 



Little Tokyo in Cary is a typical 

 American sushi restaurant, with the bar 

 tucked in back of the dining room. In 

 Japan, the sushi bars are generally 

 sheltered from the cooked food smells of 

 the main dining area and set off in a room 

 to themselves. 



Decorated with mirrors, Little 

 Tokyo is smaller than it first appears, but 



8 WINTER 1998 



