 Sushi & Sashimi cont.
Ordering from the Sushi Menu
Sushi can be enjoyed in any sequence since you select it from the display case in front of your eyes. However, some claim that the classical order for eating sushi is in a six-step cycle beginning with red, then white and finally blue: maguro (tuna), white-meat fish (such as hirame flounder), ika (squid,) blue-meat fish (such as saba [mackerel]), cooked fish (such as sea eel [anago]), and one's personal favorite—from soft uni (sea-urchin roe) to firm ebi (prawn) or crunchy awabi (abalone.)
Standard Sushi Dishes Standard sushi dishes found at most sushi restaurants are as follows:
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Nigiri-zushi
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Another word for sushi is nigiri-zushi, so-called for the method of "squeezing" the rice balls into oblong bite-sized balls. Typically, a setto (set) consists of seven rice "fingers" convered with maguro (tuna,) tai (sea bream,) ika (cuttlefish,) akagai (ark-shell,) tako (octopus,) ebi (prawn) and tamago, or layer-fried omlette.
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Chirashi-zushi
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Literally "scattered" sushi, consisting of a selection of raw fish arranged attractively atop rice served in a lacquered container.
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Tekka-don
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Slices of red tuna (maguro) on rice in a lacquered container.
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Gomoku-zushi
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Mixed sushi, literally "five-items" sushi
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Maki-zushi
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A la carte service of narrow strips of seafood, crisp vegetables (yasai), natto (fermented soybeans) or tsukemono (pickles,) are rolled with rice inside a sheet of crunchy, toasted nori (seaweed.)
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Kappa-maki
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A type of maki-zushi consisting of rice and cucumbers rolled in dried nori (seaweed.)
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Inari-zushi
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A filling combination of vinegared rice and chopped vegetables stuffed into a pouch of fried tofu bean curd called abura-age, which legend has it is a favorite of foxes and women, who are patronized by the Shinto god, Inari. The abura-age bags are often tied with a kampyo gourd sliver.
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