Makizushi, or sushi roll, is made 

 using a bamboo mat. A sheet of seaweed 

 is placed on the mat and covered with 

 rice. Toppings are placed lengthwise near 

 one end, and, using the mat as a guide, 

 the seaweed and rice are rolled over the 

 topping and into a log, which is usually 

 cut into six pieces. 



Part of the cuisine's appeal is the 

 chewy, glossy rice. Making sushi rice is 

 similar to making regular rice, with three 

 exceptions: the process begins with hot 



rather than cold water, the rice is cooked 

 with a little less water than is normally 

 required, and it is quick-cooled while 

 being tossed with a wooden paddle in a 

 shallow wooden tub or bowl. Some chefs, 

 like Takahashi, use rice cookers. 



Shaping the rice requires a deft touch 

 as the grains are not forced into a wad but 

 rather gently pressed together so that they 

 just adhere to one other. For some highly 

 skilled chefs, the goal is to have all the 

 grains of rice run in one direction. 



IS SUSHI GOOD 

 FOR ME? 



Takahashi believes that 

 many people eat sushi 

 because they consider it a 

 healthful food. And even 

 though consuming raw 

 seafood carries some risks 

 (see page 11), the benefits 

 are many. 



"Sushi is virtually fat 

 free, and an entire six pieces 

 from a roll has less than 30 

 calories," says Claudia 

 Plaisted, director of the 

 Medical Nutrition Curricu- 

 lum Initiative in the UNC- 

 Chapel Hill School of Public 

 Health. "It's incredibly high 

 fiber, low fat and rich in 

 minerals. And there's the 

 additional nutritional benefit 

 of those fatty fish oils, 

 especially in the salmon." 



Plaisted points out the 

 low incidence of most 

 chronic diseases in the 

 Japanese people, who eat a 

 diet consisting mainly of fish 

 and rice. They generally 

 have lower rates of many 

 cancers, heart disease and 

 diabetes. But, she says, they 

 have a very high rate of 

 stomach cancer because of 

 the many salted and pickled 

 foods they consume. If you 

 eat sushi frequently, Plaisted 

 recommends that you apply 

 soy sauce sparingly or use 

 the low-sodium kind. 



The only complaint she hears about 

 sushi is that some people who eat too 

 much at one sitting may suffer discom- 

 fort. 



"Seaweed is very high in fiber so 

 that if you don't have a high-fiber diet, 

 you could get gastrointestinal distress," 

 she says. "The signal is not to give up 

 sushi but to eat more fiber in your diet." 



10 WINTER 1998 



