A Beginner's Guide to Sushi

I remember my first encounter with Sushi. My family and I were at a Chinese buffet that offered a small sampling of not-so-fresh-looking fare. My mother insisted that I try sushi, since at the time I was pescetarian (semi-vegetarian). I grabbed a couple of pieces of various types of sushi, then eyed them suspiciously for a few minutes before popping the first one in my mouth. A couple of chews into the bite, I solidly decided that sushi wasn't for me.

My first experience with sushi was not such a good one. Hopefully yours wasn't (or won't be) similar.

To prevent such a travesty as missing out on the joy of sushi, I have a few helpful hints to help you adjust to the unfamiliar waters of "sushi."

First and foremost, don't make the mistake I made! Always go somewhere reputable, preferably somewhere that someone you know has eaten, or that has many good reviews. I can't emphasize enough, not to make your first experience with sushi, one in a Chinese buffet. These places are great to get your chicken lo mein fix, but rarely are they able to budget for providing a constant flow of good, fresh sushi.

Second, make the first experience a safe one. While enthusiasm for the wonderful world of sushi is something everyone should experience, a gentle introduction will go a long way. Start with cooked or no-fish sushi. You might say, "Well then it's not sushi, right?" Nope. "Sushi" doesn't actually mean "raw fish," like most people think. Sushi is actually the vinegar-rice that is served with something else. Sushi can be anything from cooked egg over rice, "Tamago," to the prized "Toro," fatty tuna over sushi rice and anything in between (I've even seen a peanut-butter-and jelly-roll!).

That being said, you'll want to go with something like a California roll, which has cucumber, cooked crab meat or imitation crab meat, and avocado. If you don't like crab, you could go for a simple "crunchy roll" which at its simplest has nothing more than sushi rice, nori (dried seaweed), and tempura. The crunchy roll is redone by many restaurants with extras such as cooked shrimp, avocado, cucumber, or whatever else the sushi chef can think up! Make sure to read the menu carefully so that you won't be surprised by any ingredients, and when in doubt, ask your server or sushi chef what you can expect in any roll that looks interesting.

If you're ready to move on to more raw-like food, but without the raw risks, I highly recommend rolls like the Philadelphia roll, which contains smoked salmon, cream cheese, and avocado (and in some restaurants cucumber is substituted for avocado). This roll gives you the texture of raw fish, but has a salty-smoky taste. Another good transitional roll is unagi or grilled eel. Don't freak out! Eel isn't weird tasting, and is usually served in a sweet eel sauce that makes the eel taste like a fish and a chicken had a baby and it got barbecued. Again, it isn't raw, but it gets you used to trying new textures.

The next step in the sushi world is, you guessed it, raw fish. Here's where the waters part: Sushi has the raw fish and rice. Sashimi is just raw fish. I wouldn't recommend going straight to sashimi, until you have at least tried one raw sushi roll. You will want to start out with a mild fish without a crazy texture, for which I recommend salmon or tuna. Salmon is a little "slimier" than tuna, but the taste is buttery and smooth. The color is a beautiful orangey-pink with light stripes. Tuna's texture is a bit more firm and the taste is almost tart and meaty. These are wonderful in a simple rice and nori roll. If you're afraid of tasting them directly, you can always add cucumber or avocado for a little distraction to your taste buds. Once you learn to love the fresh fish flavor, you'll soon find yourself craving the simple flavor of the fish itself.

The journey to sushi connoisseur is very similar to that of learning to taste wine. It's a slow transition where you learn to "read" the food, and enjoy it for more than it's simple immediate qualities. Sushi is beautiful, artful, and a delicacy. One of my favorite things about eating sushi rather than Italian food, steak, or even my native Cajun cuisine, is that you feel good after you finish. Instead of feeling like you had a brick land in the pit of your stomach, you feel pleasantly full and like you could go out for a walk. It's a food so versatile that almost anyone can find some form of sushi that they like, if they only give it a chance!