Sushi: Ingredients and Recipes for Norimaki and Nigirizushi

There are many types of fish used in sushi. Learn about the ingredients found in your favorite sushi dishes and how to make some of your own.

Tuna are very big and live out from shore in the open seas. Bigeye tuna grow up to 6.5 feet long and weigh up to 450 pounds. Swordfish tuna grow up to 15 feet and weigh up to 1,100 pounds. Bluefin tuna grow up to 10 feet and weigh up to 770 pounds.

Sea bream is costly and eaten for special occasions. Black porgy grow up to 20 inches. Kidai grow up to 16 inches. Red Sea Bream grow up to 40 inches. Parrot fish have black stripes and grow to 26 inches.

Flatfish and flounders are also used in sushi. They live on the ocean floor and are colored like the sand. Flatfish can grow up to 16 inches and flounder up to 31 inches.

Squid have ten legs and octopi have eight legs. Sagittate, Yariika, Mongohika, and Hotaruika are squid types. The common octopus is widely used in sushi.

Some other ingredients in sushi include mackerel, shrimp, sardines, mantis shrimp, sea urchin, pen shell, abalone, clam, ark shell, nori (seaweed), long onions, egg, shiitake (mushrooms), wasabi (japanese horseradish), cucumbers, dried gourd, ginger, kaiware (white radish sprouts), and conger eel.

To make sushi, first boil the rice (about 3 cups). The rice should be a bit hard after boiling for best results. Now you are ready to make your sushi vinegar dressing. You will need 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of salt. Put all the ingredients in a pan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Then cool.

To prepare the rice, cool and spread out the cooked rice in a wooden bowl. Pour the dressing evenly over the rice. Use a spatula to mix in the dressing. Cool the rice as the dressing is being mixed in to cool it.

Slice up your toppings, which include fish, egg and other ingredients for nigirizushi, sushi that can be eaten right away. The toppings are called tane.

To make nigirizushi, take a small handful of sushi rice and form it into a ball shape. Place a dab of wasabi on the slice of tane fish. Now put the rice on top of the tane and press down. Turn it over so the fish is on top and press the sides and top. The rice should form a firm oblong shape. Now it's ready to eat!

To make norimaki, or sushi wrapped in a seaweed roll, gather these materials: 1 rolling mat, 1 sheet of nori, 1 small bowl of sushi rice for a small norimaki, and 1 large bowl of sushi rice for a fat norimaki. Place the rolling mat on the table and lay one sheet of nori on the mat. Spread a layer of sushi across the nori. Lay the fillings on top of the rice. You can use egg, gourd, spinach or cucumber, or whatever you desire. Lift up the bottom edge of the rolling mat and roll everything together. After rolling to the other edge, grip the rolling mat and press firmly to mold. Remove the rolling mat and slice into bite-sized pieces to finish.

Sushi for Kids - Kaoru Ono