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When one thinks of the word "sushi," they often think of three completely separate types of Japanese food. The first is called nigiri zushi, which refers to the fish and rice combination. The second is called sashimi or just cuts of fish. The third is known as nori-maki, or seaweed roll. As you will see, these are unique in their own ways.

Nigiri zushi, meaning "squeezed sushi," refers to the raw fish being pressed on a small rice ball. Nigiri zushi originated in Tokyo during the Edo period. Edo was the ancient name for Tokyo.

To make nigiri zushi, first the hands are moistened with water or vinegar. Then a small amount of rice is used to form an oval rice ball. Once you have your oval rice ball, you lay a slice of fish on your index and middle fingers and dab a small amount of wasabi on the fish. Then you take the oval rice ball and the slice of fish and squeeze them together with the wasabi side in the middle. Finally, place the sushi with the rice ball on the bottom and the fish side up.

The following are some examples of nigiri zushi:

• Crab stick sushi -
• Eel sushi -
• Salmon sushi -
• Smoked salmon sushi -
• Squid sushi -
• Tuna sushi -
• Yellowtail sushi -

Sashimi, or "raw fish," must be fresh and the finest fish available. Making sashimi is where the sushi chef can be artistic and show their cutting skills. There are two steps in preparing sashimi. The first step is skinning and shaping the fillet. Here the skin is cut off as close as possible. After this, the fillet is trimmed into rectangle shapes. The second step in preparing sashimi is slicing the fish. This is done in four ways. The first is known as hira giri or thick cut. This is done by cutting straight down on the fish. The second type of slice is known as usu zukuri or thin cut. This is done by cutting at a 45-degree angle across the grain of the fillet. The third cut is called kaku giri or cube cut. To make a cube cut, first you make a 1/2 -inch slice of fish. Then you cut it again into 1/2-inch cubes. The final way to slice fish is the thread cut, called ito zukuri in Japanese. Here the fish is cut into 1/4-inch slices, and then it is cut again into thin, long 1/4-inch strips.

The final type of sushi is nori maki or seaweed roll. There are two types of nori maki. One is maki zushi. The other is temaki zushi.

Maki zushi, or rolled sushi, is one of the easiest types of sushi to make. The two types of maki zushi are thin and thick rolls. Rolled sushi is made by first placing a sheet of nori (seaweed paper) onto the bamboo rolling mat. After that, rice is spread evenly on the nori until it covers all of the seaweed paper. Then the ingredients in the roll are placed along the front, in a row. At this point, you should hold the ingredients with your fingers and begin rolling using the bamboo rolling mat. Complete the roll be sealing the end with a small amount of vinegar or water.

Some maki zushi are as follows:

• Asparagus Roll -
• California Roll -
• Cucumber Roll -
• Dynamite Roll -
• Spicy Tuna Roll -
• Spider Roll -

*See GLOSSARY OF SUSHI BELOW for descriptions of these rolls.

Temaki zushi, or Hand-rolled sushi, is simple and fun to do. First, place a small amount of rice on the sheet of nori. Then place your ingredients in the middle and roll the nori around everything into an ice cream cone shape. Then you are finished!

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