Everywhere you look nowadays there's a sushi restaurant. This ever popular food has been trendy for over a decade. For the uninitiated, sushi can seem overwhelming: The idea of eating raw fish, lots of food names to learn not to mention the vastly different eating customs. This guide will explain all about sushi - from the vocabulary, ingredients, popular dishes and even a bit about how to prepare your own at home.

Sushi began in 7^th century China as a method to preserve fish. Jump to 19^th century Japan and the local food sellers began selling sushi as a form of fast food. Sushi has become a global food and its popularity continues to grow. Today in the USA alone it’s a $2 billion annual business.

Kinds of Sushi

Maki - sushi rolled with a bamboo mat.

    Uramaki - aka "inside-out" roll. Reversed maki.

   Nigiri - slices of raw fish covering rice.

   Sashimi - slices of raw fish.

  Temaki - hand rolls.

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Gunkan - boat-shaped nigiri, with seaweed.

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  Chirashi - rice and raw fish salad.

Preparing your own sushi

Sushi is a very healthy dish and you don't have to go to a Japanese restaurant to enjoy it. The ingredients and tools for making these delicious delicacies are available at many grocery stores or Japanese specialty shops.

Rice recipe: The most important part of making good sushi is the rice. You need to purchase short-grain rice called sushi rice.  1 cup of rice will make you 3 sushi rolls. We recommend 3 cups.

1. Wash the  rice to remove all the starch.
2. Place the rice in a pot with slightly more water than rice. Too much water will make your rice into a dough.
3. Cook the rice on a high heat and stir every minute. When the water boils lower to a medium heat and cover the pot. You don't need to stir anymore.
4. The rice will be ready when there is no more water after about 7 minutes.
5. Use a wooden spoon to remove the rice from the pot.

Seasoning the rice:

1. Mix together 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons salt.
2. In a pot heat the ingredients on medium until they are all mixed.
3. Pour this over the rice and stir well.
4. Let the rice cool to room temperature.

You can look below at popular dishes for ideas of what to fill your roll with. You can use any raw fish, vegetables and even fruit.

This video shows you how to roll and cut a sushi roll like an expert:

Sushi Dos

• Eat what you are served - wasting sushi is considered disrespectful.
• You should eat nigiri sushi in one bite.
• You may use chopsticks to eat sushi, however eating with your fingers is acceptable (except for sashimi).
• Slurping noodles is perfectly acceptable.

Sushi Don'ts

• You shouldn't shake soy suace off sushi.
• Don't eat the ginger with the sushi. It's supposed to be a palate cleanser between rolls.
• Don't ask the sushi chef for anything besides sushi. The server will bring side dishes and drinks.
• Rubbing chopsticks together is considered rude.