Rice, Noodle, Fish (7 page)

(Matt Goulding)

YAKIMONO

grilled

YAKISOBA

Wheat noodles mixed with meat and vegetables and fried on a griddle.

OKONOMIYAKI

Cabbage pancake laced with meat or seafood and topped with a flurry of condiments.

YAKINIKU

Thin slices of meat cooked over a charcoal grill or on a griddle.

YAKITORI

Skewers of chicken and vegetables grilled over a charcoal fire (see more in On a Stick in chapter 6).

(Matt Goulding)

SUSHI

raw

SASHIMI

Raw slices of fish, seafood, chicken, or beef.

TATAKI

Torched tuna (and other fish), blackened on the outside, raw in the center.

NIGIRIZUSHI

Single pieces of raw fish pressed over seasoned rice (see more in In the Raw in this chapter).

MAKIZUSHI

Rolled sushi of rice and fish or vegetables, wrapped in dried seaweed (nori).

(Matt Goulding)

GOHAN

rice

ONIGIRI

Pressed rice triangle wrapped in seaweed, often filled with fish or vegetables.

DON

Rice bowls topped with various types of raw or cooked fish and meat.

MOCHI

A soft, sticky rice cake often filled with sweetened beans.

CHAZUKE

Soup made with steamed rice and tea, a classic comfort food.

 

The most famous and revered of Japan's culinary pillars, sushi comes with a set of rules and rituals that confound most outsiders. In a country where table manners matter, it's easy to look like a jackass when eating raw fish. Here's how to do it right. (Hand and sushi modeling by the great Takashi Saito, one of Tokyo's top sushi
shokunin,
photographed by Sander Jackson Siswojo.)

(Sander Jackson Siswojo)

(Sander Jackson Siswojo)

Eat sashimi with chopsticks, but high-end nigiri is delicate, and all but the finest motor skills will test the sushi's integrity. Hands serve as more elegant and perfectly acceptable tools at a sushi bar, as long as they're clean.

It's the star of this show, and soaking it in soy sauce would compromise a technique that takes most sushi masters years to perfect. Instead, roll the nigiri over and gently dip the edge of the fish in soy sauce without saturating the rice.

True sushi masters serve their pieces how they want them eaten—already seasoned with wasabi and soy. Keep it clean: no ginger (it's there to clean the palate between pieces), no wasabi in your soy sauce, and eat the nigiri in one bite. Always one bite.

Great sushi isn't a social outing; it's a communion between you and the chef behind the counter. Part of that means eating nigiri as soon as it's made, at the peak of its deliciousness. Holster your smartphone and save the long conversations for the bar afterward.

(Sander Jackson Siswojo)

赤身
AKAMI (lean tuna)

(Sander Jackson Siswojo)

鯵
AJI (jack mackerel)

(Sander Jackson Siswojo)

中とろ
CHUTORO (medium fatty tuna)