Books and Articles by Mineko Takane Moreno

Maybe you love sushi, but you’re not sure you’re completely familiar with all the different types of sushi or the items available. Fortunately, you can find that information here, as well as key phrases that can have you talking to your Japanese sushi chef like a native.How to read the menu at a sushi barWhen you go out for sushi, the number and variety of dishes on the menu can be overwhelming.

Miso soup with Manila clams is a big hit in Japan, and for good reason. The nutty flavor of miso finds a perfect partner in the sweet flavor of clams. If you can’t find Manila clams, choose another type of clam, preferably small ones.A rich and diversified world of miso is waiting to be enjoyed. You can use any salty (not sweet) miso, red or white, for this soup; this recipe recommends shinshu miso, which is a pale salty miso.

This light, refreshing cucumber and wakame salad possesses just the right amount of thin, crunchy cucumber in proportion to delightfully chewy wakame seaweed, to tease your palate into wanting more.Tip: Make the dressing, and soak and drain the wakame and cucumbers well in advance, refrigerating them until needed.

Sushi is especially gorgeous when adorned with salmon roe — known for its showstopping size, orange-red color, and velvety texture. This easy Salmon Roe Battleship Sushi has only four ingredients, so it really highlights the look and taste of the roe. Battleship sushi starts with regular finger sushi that you wrap with little nori strips, creating tiny sushi that look like — yes, you guessed it — battleships.

Some people say that the California inside-out roll was invented in Los Angeles during the early 1960s for people new to sushi bars. The California inside-out roll became (and remains) hugely popular. California Inside-Out Roll Special sushi tools: Bamboo mat wrapped with plastic wrap, sashimi knife Preparation time: 45 minutes Yield: 4 inside-out rolls (24 pieces) 1 ounce (1/4 cup) smelt roe 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 2 tablespoons sliced scallions 1/2 Japanese cucumber 1 ounce daikon sprouts or other radish sprouts 4 ounces kani kama (imitation crabmeat), preferably leg-style 1 avocado 4 sheets nori 4 cups prepared sushi rice 8 teaspoons reroasted white sesame seeds Soy sauce Pickled ginger Thinly slice the scallions.

Shrimp finger sushi is a beloved sushi bar staple. The process for making shrimp finger sushi isn’t difficult, and the sushi looks (and tastes!) amazing. Shrimp Finger Sushi Special sushi tools: 6- to 8-inch bamboo skewers Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 3 minutes Yield: 8 finger sushi 1 cup prepared sushi rice 8 jumbo shrimp (3/4 ounce each), in their shells 1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste, or to taste Soy sauce Pickled ginger Hand-shape a bite-size portion of sushi rice into a little oval.

Most people eat their first hard-boiled quail egg out of curiosity. When they taste how much flavor these little quarter-ounce quail eggs have, especially when dipped in matcha (powdered green tea) salt, they go on to eat three or four more. If you can’t find quail eggs, you can substitute chicken eggs in this recipe.

If a Japanese-speaking sushi chef is behind the sushi counter, these ten brief Japanese expressions will come in handy and make you a very welcome guest. Stress each syllable equally and you’ll be set. Hai (hah-ee): Yes. Iie (eee-eh): No. Konnichiwa (kohn-nee-chee-wah): Hello (in the afternoon). Kombanwa (kohm-bahn-wah): Hello (in the evening).

When you go out for sushi, the number and variety of dishes on the menu can be overwhelming. To help you out, the following lists contain Japanese words and dishes that frequently appear on sushi bar menus. Stress each syllable equally, and you’ll be ordering like a pro! To get familiar with the types of sushi, use this list: Chirashi-zushi (chee-rah-shee-zoo-shee): Scattered sushi Gunkan-maki-zushi (goon-kahn-mah-kee-zoo-shee): Battleship sushi Maki-zushi (mah-kee-zoo-shee): Sliced rolls, in general, including the following two types: Futo-maki-zushi (foo-toh-mah-kee-zoo-shee): Thick (2- to 2 1/2-inch wide) sliced rolls Hoso-maki-zushi (hoh-soh-mah-kee-zoo-shee): Thin (1-inch wide) sliced rolls Nigiri-zushi (nee-gee-ree-zoo-shee): Finger sushi Temaki-zushi (teh-mah-kee-zoo-shee): Hand rolls Ura-maki-zushi (oo-rah-mah-kee-zoo-shee): Inside-out rolls Sushi is often all about seafood and the following list goes through seafood sushi offerings: Aji (ah-jee): Flavorful Spanish or horse mackerel, served as sashimi or on sushi.