A Brief Sushi Primer

So maybe you’re reading this and you’re an expert on sushi already. Or maybe you know next to nothing about it. Feel free to skip this section if you’re already fairly well versed in sushi. It’s only going to cover a few terms anyway.

Sushi actually refers to the seasoned rice which acts as a base for other ingredients. It’s one of my frustrations with American sushi places. They tend to ignore the rice, and think of it almost as a side dish. If the sushi rice is poor quality, then the sushi is poor quality. If it doesn’t have the properly seasoned rice, it literally is not sushi.

Sashimi is the word used for the sliced ingredient by itself.

Don just means “bowl.” So if you have “something” don, it’s a bowl with something in it.

Now I’m going to go over three ingredients that people tend to abuse when eating sushi in America. And while it’s true that it’s fairly okay to just eat things the way you like them, it’s somewhat an abuse of the food to drown out the flavor of the ingredients. If you want a flavor packed meal, I suggest hwe dup bap, which I’ll cover in the final section of this article.

Gari is the pickled ginger. It’s used as a palate cleanser. It’s not meant to be a topping for the sushi, as it overwhelmed the flavor of the ingredient.

Shoyu or soy sauce is often served alongside sushi and sashimi, but Americans put way too much. It soaks into the rice and you lose any of the original seasoning which defines the sushi rice.

Wasabi is actually a tuber that’s related to horseradish, and the spice that it has is really much more similar to a radish than the cheaper “wasabi” which is little more than Chinese mustard, horseradish, and green food coloring. It too is supposed to be used sparingly.

Chirashi Don

Chirashi don from Fuji, Middletown NY

Here’s a sample chirashi don. If you’ve had sashimi, this kind of dish will look rather familiar. Usually sashimi, if you order a lot, will come in a bowl that has shaved ice underneath. Chirashi don is basically sashimi on top of sushi rice, which of course makes it sushi, not sashimi.

This one has mackerel, tamago (sweet egg omelet), squid, king crab (middle), uni (sea urchin), and honestly I forgot the one on the right. Now that’s a nice snack.

Uni

Since we’re on the topic of atypical foods, I’m sure a lot of people would look at sea urchin and be very confused. I happen to love the stuff. When it’s good, it’s really good. It’s super sweet and yet has a wonderful briny flavor as well. The Japanese aren’t the only ones who eat sea urchin. It’s also consumed in Italy, and makes a great sauce for pasta.

Hwe Dup Bap

Now, as I said, if you want to respect your food, don’t douse your sushi with soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi. It’s offensive to the food. If you want a sushi like meal with more of a punch, I’d definitely go with something else.

Gochujang added to hwe dup bap (CC-BY-SA 3.0)

And chirashi don has a Korean cousin, known as hwe dup bap. While chirashi don is simple and showcases each ingredient, hwe dup bap is usually packed with flavor, being served with a spicy gochujang sauce. The sauce packs a punch, is hot, but also salty, and and has a touch of sweetness too. There’s usually a lot more veggies in the bowl as well. If you’re looking for a hearty meal from your sushi, I’d probably see if you can find a Korean run sushi place that serves this option. Actually, I ended up having hwe dup bap long before I had chirashi don. Which I get depends on whether I’m at a Korean place or not, and whether I want something light or something hearty.