FOOD STYLES

What is sushi?

In Japanese cuisine, sushi is a food made of vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients including fish (cooked or uncooked) and vegetables. Sushi as an English word has come to refer to a complete dish with rice and toppings; this is the sense used in this article. The original word Japanese: sushi, written in kanji, means "snack" and refers to the rice, but not fish or other toppings. Outside of Japan, sushi is sometimes misunderstood to mean the raw fish by itself, or even any fresh raw-seafood dishes. In Japan, sliced raw fish alone is called sashimi and is distinct from sushi.

Nigiri Sushi is vinegared rice topped with sliced raw fish, omelets and vegetables, or rolled with a variety of fillings in nori seaweed.

Chirashi Sushi is an assortment of sashimi, omelets and vegetables placed on top of a bowl of vinegared rice

Cut roll-Sushi or Hand roll sushi is made by surrounding sushi rice with ingredients.

What is sashimi?

Sashimi is an important element in Japanese cuisine, where it is often served at the beginning of a meal as a palate cleanser and appetizer. It is often compared to sushi, another popular Japanese dish, although the two are actually different. Sashimi is raw fish sliced very thin and served with a variety of garnishes and sauces. Sushi is served with rice, and often appears wrapped in specially treated seaweed known as nori.

Sashimi is always made with saltwater fish, because many freshwater fish species contain parasites which could cause intestinal distress if eaten. In addition, the fish used for sashimi is fresh and of the highest quality, to ensure optimum flavor and healthiness. Many restaurants keep their fish alive in saltwater tanks, ensuring that the fish can be prepared to order. When going out for sashimi, pick a reputable restaurant with an obvious supply of fresh, high quality fish. When preparing sashimi at home, make sure that your fishmonger knows that you intend to eat the fish raw, so that he or she can recommend the most safe and fresh specimens.

Sashimi is often prepared at a bar so that customers can watch the chef. This tradition probably stems from a desire to make sure that the fish being used is fresh and of the highest quality, but it is also very interesting to watch sashimi being prepared. Chefs use a very sharp knife to fillet the fish, removing potentially dangerous bones along with the skin. Then the fish is sliced very fine and beautifully laid out on a platter along with the garnishes and sauces of choice.

Common garnishes for sashimi include pickled vegetables such as ginger, shredded daikon radish, and toasted nori. Sashimi is usually also served with soy sauce and wasabi, and some cooks add ground ginger root to the soy sauce for an extra dimension of flavor. The sashimi and condiments are arranged so that consumers can easily pick up pieces of fish and garnish with chopsticks before dunking them in the sauce.

Seafood used for sashimi commonly includes bluefin tuna, snapper, abalone, bass, fish roe, prawns, mackerel, bonito, shad, octopus, and squid. The fatty part of tuna, known as toro, is particularly prized for sashimi because it has a creamy, melt in your mouth flavor which is simply exquisite. Western consumers often enjoy sashimi made with fish such as tuna and mackerel, although they sometimes have difficulty with the rubbery texture of raw squid and octopus.

Teppanyaki (Hibachi)

Teppanyaki  is a type of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word "teppanyaki" is derived from teppan, which means iron plate, and yaki, which means grilled. In Japan, teppanyaki may refer to any of a number of dishes cooked using a teppan, including okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and monjayaki, frequently with the hot plate located in the center of the diners' table.

The form of teppanyaki most familiar to North Americans consists of steak and other meats, along with vegetable accompaniments. In North America, it is also known by the name of hibachi, and the establishments are often referred to as "Japanese steakhouses." Typical ingredients used for teppanyaki are beef, shrimp, scallops, lobster, chicken and assorted vegetables. Soybean oil is typically used to cook the ingredients. In Japan, many teppanyaki restaurants feature Kobe beef. Side dishes of mung bean sprouts, zucchini, garlic chips or fried rice usually accompany the meal. Some restaurants provide sauces in which to dip the food; usually, in Japan, only soy sauce is offered.

Tempura

Tempura is a classic Japanese dish of deep fried lightly-battered vegetables or seafood.

Tempura is made with seafood (such as prawn and white fish) and vegetables (such as green pepper, egg plant, sweet potato, and    broccoli), which are dipped in a flour and water batter, and deep-fried in vegetable oil. Crisply fried Tempura maintains the flavor and nutrition of the ingredients. Tempura is usually enjoyed with grated Japanese radish and ginger in a Tempura sauce. 
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            How To Use Chopsticks

Think of the chopstick as a pair of prongs, the only difference being that there are two separate parts or sticks. One stick is held in a stationary position and the other is moved.

Step 1 - Position the chopsticks

(1)    Place the first chopstick so that thicker part rests at the base of your thumb and the thinner part rests on the lower side of your middle fingertip.

(2)   Bring your thumb forward so that it traps the stick firmly in place. At least 2 or 3” of the chopstick should extend beyond your fingertip.

(3)   Now position the other chopstick so that it is held against the side of your index finger by the end of your thumb. (As if you were holding a pencil).

(4)   Press the ends of both sticks on the plate, while holding them at a slight angle to the table. Allow them to slide just a little so that the ends line up.

Step 2 - Pivot the top chopstick

(1)   Place a little pressure on the top chopstick. It will pivot on your index finger and thumb.  Remember: the bottom chopstick is stationary. Your thumb will stay fairly stationary, while the index and middle fingers are used to move the top chopstick.

(2)    The tip of the top chopstick will move towards the tip of the bottom chopstick. Encourage this. Hold those tips together firmly enough to grasp a piece of food and lift it off the plate. Place delicately into your waiting mouth. Although there's no need to stoop, you may wish to lean over your plate a bit during your first attempts. It might save you a clean-up.

                Chopstick Manners

Just as putting your elbows on the table while eating is considered impolite in the U.S., the Japanese have etiquette for the use of chopsticks (hashi). Here is a list of "what not to do" and the traditional names for doing such rude things.

• Mayoibashi: Mayoi means "indecisive". It is bad manners to wave your chopsticks around undecided over the food, trying to decide what to take next.
• Utsuribashi: Changing the food you have selected after you have touched the food.
• Saguribashi: Looking for contents in a soup with chopsticks (i.e., “stirring the soup”).
• Sashibashi: Sashi means "inserting". It is bad manners to spear food with the points of the chopsticks as if they were a fork. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables.  If you want to cut something with chopsticks, do so by exerting controlled pressure with your chopsticks, but don't use them like a saw.  To separate a piece of food in two, exert controlled pressure on the chopsticks while moving them apart from each other in order to tear the food. This takes some practice. With larger pieces of food such as tempura, it is also acceptable to pick up the entire piece with your chopsticks, and take a bite.
• Yosebashi: Yose means "drawing near". It is bad manners to pull the dishes towards you using the chopsticks. Always pick the dishes up in the hand.
• Yokobashi: Keeping chopsticks together and using them like a spoon.
• Komibashi: Stuffing foods into one's already full mouth with chopsticks.
• Neburibashi: Licking or sucking the ends of chopsticks.
• Kuwaebashi: Closing your mouth around the end of the chopsticks.
• Yokobashi: Using chopsticks like a spoon by holding them parallel to each other.
• Tatakibashi: Tapping your chopsticks on the side of your bowl to demand attention.

When you are not using your chopsticks, place them on a chopstick rest (hashioki) or on the table or a dish. Don't plant them vertically in your rice as this symbolizes death.