Japanese Food 101

Niban dashi is the second drawing of stock from the ingredients.

Ichiban dashi is the first drawing of stock from the ingredients.

Cone shaped hand rolls can be filled with anything you like. Enjoy them before the nori wilts, as there’s nothing better than biting into a crispy temaki!

Small rolls can be filled with just about anything you’d like. You can line chopped tuna to make tekka sushi, or lay long and thin cucumber sticks in the middle to make kappa maki. How about mixing chopped salmon and spicy mayonnaise for the centre? Or pickled plum paste (umejiso)? Anything goes. Even cooked and chopped chicken. Get creative!

Tazuna Zushi is a rolled sushi with slices of fish, vegetables and egg wrapped around it. The nori hides underneath the toppings, and in the middle of the rice, lies cucumber and egg. Because of its pretty striped appearance, it is called “candy cane sushi”.

For this recipe, you’ll need a pyrex rectangular dish and smoked salmon, either sliced or in a whole fillet (as they are usually sold).

These sweet little tofu pillows stuffed with sushi rice are a favourite with kids and adults alike.

Chirashi Zushi is a layer on sushi rice onto which assorted sliced seafood, tamagoyaki, and vegetables are placed.

Kobashira is trough shell scallops. Generally, they are already removed from the shell, and only the adbuctor mucle is eaten.