Eventually you’ll want the raw fish, because fresh fish, I mean really fresh fish is so tender it almost melts in your mouth, and there is no fishy odor or taste. Anyway, try the eel, ocean – anago, or freshwater- unagi, because it’s always baked. A dragon roll contains that cooked eel with avacado. Shrimp can be raw (sweet shrimp) or cooked. Shrimp rolls contain cooked shrimp. The crab is always cooked. A cucumber roll is just that, with delicious sauces. The spider roll is fried soft-shell crab. There is also the egg. Don’t think it’s just scrambled egg – it is actually many thin layers of egg, nicely seasoned, and you can add a bit of the horseradish type of western wasabi usually found in Sushi bars. There are rolls without any fish in them too.
Usually the rolls that say “tuna”, “yellowtail”, “fresh salmon”, any roll that has the word “fresh” before the fish means that there is some raw fish in there.. sometimes depending on the restaurant it might say “cooked” or “baked” before the fish.. I’m not sure if that helps you if you say the menus don’t say if its raw or cooked but the restaurants that I have been to here in California tend to have a little description of what is in the sushi.
I suggest trying these basic cooked rolls: [The 1st two rolls happen to be my fav]
**Lion King (CA roll with Salmon wrapped & baked then topped with house special sauce)
**Bay Scallop – crab meat & avocado topped with baked scallops and house special sauce
**Deluxe California roll (CA roll with grilled unagi on top)
**Caterpillar roll: grilled Unagi & cucumber wrapped w/avocado
**New York roll: shrimp and avacado
**Raiders Roll – deep fried prawns, avocado, cucumber, crab meat topped with Unagi & special sauce
**Rock’n Roll – broiled eel, avocado & Flying Fish roe
**Futomaki – assorted vegetables & cooked eggs
(I took these descriptions from one of my fav restaurants in the bay area)
Hope this helps!
I love ‘real’ sushi…it’s my fav
Super fatty white tuna melts in your mouth 
Not really sure what Ji is talkin’ about. Shiro Maguro is not tuna but a realtive of the oil fish. Eating large quantities (6oz or more) can have some unpleasant side effects but nothing life threatening.
If it’s offered – you shoudl try it!! There is a reason they call this butterfish!
I like to improvise in the kitchen (since everytime I follow the recipe I screw the dish up) so sometimes I even put an egg or some cheese into sushi. But as my friend (who by the way teached my how to prepair it) says a fresh cucumber and carrot is a must:) I also recomend a tuna mixed with corn and rice with a bit of mayo(so it would stick together), you can also add some green onion and smoked salmon to it.It’s delish… And now I am getting hungry after taking about all this great food…:)
I have made sushi for my friends and family for years and no one has ever complained or worse gotten sick.
I live in the Mid-West and do not have access to fresh fish to use in my sushi.
I had for a long time purchased tuna steaks from Kroger (not sushi grade) that are still frozen in shrink wrap from the processor. Kroger has a corporate policy of cutting the shrink wrap before selling their fish due to the shrink and freeze process used by fish processors the world over. If you can buy frozen fish still in the original shrink wrap just make sure that when you pull it out of your freezer to use, you cut a hole in the plastic while you let it thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator. This allows the preservative gases to escape rather than be absorbed into the fish.
I now have found that Sam’s Warehouse of all places carries frozen sushi grade tuna steaks (and sometimes salmon) that is fantastic. I laugh at how much you can get for pennies on the dollar with the quality of the fish so high.
FYI, I would never buy sushi grade or any fish for that matter from under glass at any store I don’t care which one you go to. Once that fish has been defrosted the first time, you loose control of it’s freshness. When fish is allowed to thaw in a display case and you walk up to buy it, you are at the mercy of the hourly person bumming a ride home from work (if you catch my logic) I always ask to sort through the frozen boxes still in the deep freeze in the back. That way I can also pick the exact cuts I want.
At Sam’s the tuna and other fish come shrink wrapped in 3# bags (for about $7 bucks a pound) so you can’t choice the individual pieces, but I have been pleased to find that they have done a good job of choosing for you.
Dude you will love it! Your friends will love it. Don’t be afraid…just use common sense knowing that you are using raw fish and must be “anal” about keeping it protected from bacteria and other germs (i.e. always start with clean food surfaces etc).
I hope you try it! You will never look back! Let us know how it went!
good ruck!
Thanks for the advice
I lived in Japan for 9 years growing up and tried on numerous occasions to enjoy fresh octopus. I never found a way to enjoy that rubbery and chewy texture. Maybe someone else will be able to help you. Sorry!
I did develop a very keen enjoyment of dried and seasoned squid. If you haven’t already tried it you should. Its addictive. It is the Japanese version of jerky. Just make sure you flaws, brush and scope your teeth after wards or you wont be able to live with yourself not to mention the immediate repulsion others will have who may venture into the same room with you! He he Enjoy!
The best sushi I have had here in the Rogue Valley, (so far) is at Tin Tin Buffet. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet style restaurant, but they do have a sushi chef on site, and the sushi is always fresh. You can get all you can eat including sushi for about $10. Very good for the price.
Please keep smoked salmon off of your sushi. It’s for bagels. The salty, smokey flavor does not belong with the almost buttery taste you get from traditional sushi. I admit that I’d probably like smoked salmon sushi if I wasn’t such an experienced sushi eater so I sort of get why people eat it, but I just feel like it caters to the American’s fear of raw fish. I realize sushi does not have to contain raw fish, but if people don’t want raw fish on their sushi, I would suggest they try vegetarian sushi or more traditional cooked fish sushi (like unagi).
The first time that I had sushi of any sort was when I was in Denver Colorado. Looking back it was probably not the best place to have my first. I was told this was the place to get sushi/sashami. My friend took me to this place, sorry I cannot remember the name, and he ordered the variety boat for us, so that I got a taste of their “best”. I had the rolls and they were great the Philadelphia, and California and all the other varieties that they had. Then we got to the sashimi and this is where things got interesting. I started with a white fish that I cannot recal ever having since, and it was OK, I mean I survived and carried on to the Tuna and that is where I guess my stomach/gag reflex drew the line, I tried to swallow but my throat said NO!!! I almost coughed rice and raw fish all over my table in a crowded restaurant of Sushi lovers. I am sorry to say that it took me years before I was convinced by my beautiful wife to give it another try, and I fortunately had a much better experience.
Me and my girlfriend absolutely love “Hana Maki” or flower maki. It’s a sushi rice wrapped with freshly cut salmon, topped with a squeeze of mayo on the top and sprinkled with a dash of ebiko.
The taste is just heavenly! When the entire body is in the mouth, the sushi just melts away. The taste of the mayo tickles the top of your mouth, while the salmon explodes to the side. If you close your eyes while you savor the sushi, I swear you’d be able to see flowers. Perhaps even running in a field of flowers