Sushi, Sashimi and Such

Sushi rolls at Shoguns. From the top, Philadelphia roll, California roll, and spicy tuna roll.

We love sushi, sashimi, hibachi grills, chopsticks, fried rice, green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream, wasabi, pickled ginger and most Japanese foods!

Restaurants like Benihana, Kyoto, Aoki Teppanyaki, Samurai, and Shoguns are fun events when you eat at the hibachi grill. Usually about eight to ten people sit around a grill. (This may be your friends or strangers). The waiter takes the drink and dinner orders for the table. Usually guests are served a salad and soup as starters.

A chef comes out with a cart of ingredients for the appetizers and meals. While cooking, he/she entertains the group with gags, such as catching an egg in his pocket or building a steaming train engine out of onions. Some of these folks are very talented!

The chef cooks the meals, serving them directly on your plates in front of you. There is always too much food, but it makes for an enjoyable evening.

These restaurants usually have a regular dinner option at a table as well. Sometimes you can order the hibachi dinners without the entertainment. They also offer sushi, sashimi, and other meals.

If you aren’t real sure about eating raw fish, you should at least try it (just please don’t serve it to the elderly or young). These restaurants aren’t going to serve you bad fish. They will buy fish specially for serving raw or lightly seared. Usually this type of fish is known as sashimi grade fish.

Sushi roll...looks delicious! — Philadelphia roll…looks delicious! Smoked salmon and cream cheese are the stars in this roll.

So what is the difference between sushi and sashimi? Sushi is cooked, smoked, or raw fish served with rice. Normally we see it in the form of rolls, which are usually a filling circled by a seaweed wrap (called nori) and then covered in sticky rice. I love to dunk mine in a mixture of soy sauce, pickled ginger and a bit of wasabi.

Sashimi, on the other hand, is raw fish, thinly sliced and served on a plate. This may not be for everyone, but it can be delicious.

Seared ahi tuna is readily available at restaurants.

A great place to start, and available at many restaurants is seared ahi tuna. It is seared, so you have a bit cooked, it melts in your mouth and it tastes wonderful. You don’t even have to be at a Japanese restaurant to try this dish, which is pretty mainstream!

So go ahead and give it sushi, sashimi, hibachi grills, and Japanese foods a try. There is something on the menu that you will enjoy. 🍜🍤🍣🍚