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Sushi 101

Having trouble with the menu? Ever wondered what certain Japanese words or terms mean?
This glossary will expand your knowledge of Japanese terms.

General Sushi Vocabulary

  • Bara sushi: Sushi rice and ingredients mixed together, as a rice salad.
  • Chirashi sushi (Iso-don, gomoku sushi): Sushi rice bed under other ingredients.
  • Funamori (Gunkan maki, kakomi sushi): Nigiri sushi wrapped to hold less solid ingredients.
  • Futomaki: Large roll.
  • Fukusa sushi: A type of sushi which is wrapped in a crepe.
  • Inari sushi: Aburage stuffed with sushi rice.
  • Maki sushi: Nori seaweed and a layer of rice around a core of fillings.
  • Norimake: A roll with nori seaweed on the outside.
  • California roll: Crab meat, smelt or flying fish roe, avocado.
  • Philadelphia roll: Salmon, cream cheese and some sort of vegetable.
  • Nigiri sushi: A slice of fish or other topping atop vinegared rice.
  • Onigiri: Balls made with plain steamed rice with various stuffings.
  • Oshizushi: Sushi rice and other ingredients pressed into a box or mold.
  • Sashimi: Sliced or prepared raw fish.
  • Sushi: Anything made with vinegared rice.
  • Tazuna sushi (Rainbow roll): A roll with diagonal strips of food across the top.
  • Temaki: Hand rolls, usually cone-shaped.

Fish

  • Aji: Spanish mackerel, horse mackerel.
  • Aji-no-tataki: Fresh Spanish mackerel.
  • Akagai: Red clam.
  • Tarako: Cod roe.
  • Akami: Lean tuna, cut from the back of the fish.
  • Ama-ebi: Sweet shrimp, usually served raw.
  • Anago: Conger eel (saltwater).
  • Ankimo: Monkfish liver.
  • Aoyagi: Yellow clam.
  • Awabi: Abalone.
  • Ayu: Sweetfish.
  • Baigai: Small water snails.
  • Bonito: English word, for the Japanese katsuo.
  • Buri: Adult yellowtail.
  • Chikuwa: Browned fish cake with a hole running through its length.
  • Chutoro: Medium fatty tuna, from the upper belly.
  • Ebi: Shrimp.
  • Engawa: (1) Halibut fin muscle; (2) meat surrounding the scallop muscle.
  • Fugu: Blowfish, toxic if improperly prepared!.
  • Geoduck: Mirugai, in the American Pacific northwest.
  • Hamachi: Yellowtail.
  • Hamachi-kama: Yellowtail collars.
  • Hamo: Pike conger.
  • Hatahata: Sandfish.
  • Hirame: Halibut.
  • Hokkigai: Surf clam.
  • Hotatagai: Scallops.
  • Ika: Squid.
  • Ika-geso: Squid’s tentacles.
  • Ikura: Salmon roe.
  • Iwana: Char.
  • Iwashi: Sardine.
  • Kajiki: Swordfish.
  • Kamaboko: Fish cake.
  • Kani: Crab meat.
  • Kani-kamaboko: Fake crab meat.
  • Kanimiso: Green contents of a crab’s head.
  • Kanpachi: Very young yellowtail.
  • Karei: Flounder, flatfish

Fish

  • Aji: Spanish mackerel, horse mackerel.
  • Aji-no-tataki: Fresh Spanish mackerel.
  • Akagai: Red clam.
  • Tarako: Cod roe.
  • Akami: Lean tuna, cut from the back of the fish.
  • Ama-ebi: Sweet shrimp, usually served raw.
  • Anago: Conger eel (saltwater).
  • Ankimo: Monkfish liver.
  • Aoyagi: Yellow clam.
  • Awabi: Abalone.
  • Ayu: Sweetfish.
  • Baigai: Small water snails.
  • Bonito: English word, for the Japanese katsuo.
  • Buri: Adult yellowtail.
  • Chikuwa: Browned fish cake with a hole running through its length.
  • Chutoro: Medium fatty tuna, from the upper belly.
  • Ebi: Shrimp.
  • Engawa: (1) Halibut fin muscle; (2) meat surrounding the scallop muscle.
  • Fugu: Blowfish, toxic if improperly prepared!.
  • Geoduck: Mirugai, in the American Pacific northwest.
  • Hamachi: Yellowtail.
  • Hamachi-kama: Yellowtail collars.
  • Hamo: Pike conger.
  • Hatahata: Sandfish.
  • Hirame: Halibut.
  • Hokkigai: Surf clam.
  • Hotatagai: Scallops.
  • Ika: Squid.
  • Ika-geso: Squid’s tentacles.
  • Ikura: Salmon roe.
  • Iwana: Char.
  • Iwashi: Sardine.
  • Kajiki: Swordfish.
  • Kamaboko: Fish cake.
  • Kani: Crab meat.
  • Kani-kamaboko: Fake crab meat.
  • Kanimiso: Green contents of a crab’s head.
  • Kanpachi: Very young yellowtail.
  • Karei: Flounder, flatfish

Terms about Fish

  • Hikari-mono: Fish sliced for serving with the silver fish skin left on.
  • Neta: The fish topping in nigiri sushi.
  • Shiromi no sakana: Sushi/sashimi fish which are relatively white in color.
  • Sukimi: Bits of fish scraped from the bones, used in rolls.

Fruit, Vegetables & Seaweed

  • Bamboo shoots: Bought sliced or whole.
  • Daikon: Giant, long white radish.
  • Edamame: Soybeans, served in the pod as an appetizer.
  • Fuki: A fibrous vegetable often simmered in broth.
  • Gobo: Long, slender burdock root.
  • Hijiki: Black seaweed in tiny threads.
  • Kampyo: Dried gourd strips.
  • Kappa: Cucumber, when used in a roll.
  • Kombu: Kelp, possibly dried.
  • Konnyaku: Gelatinous, rubbery oblong cake made from snake palm.
  • Nasu: Eggplant.
  • Negi: A Japanese onion.
  • Nori: Purple laver seaweed pressed into thin sheets.
  • Oshinko: Pickled vegetables, usually cucumber.
  • Sumitomo: A kind of cucumber salad.
  • Takenoko: Bamboo shoots.
  • Takuwan: Pickled daikon.
  • Tsukemono: Pickles.
  • Umeboshi: Small, bitter, pickled Japanese plum.
  • Wakame: Lobe-leaf seaweed, possibly dried, in strands.

Spices & Seeds

  • Aji-no-moto: Monosodium glutamate (MSG).
  • Beni shoga: Red pickled ginger.
  • Gari: Pickled ginger.
  • Goma: Sesame seeds.
  • Hichimi togarashi: A western dialect rendering of shichimi togarashi.
  • Kinome: Leaves of the Japanese prickly ash.
  • Kuro goma: Black sesame seeds.
  • Nanami togarashi: Mixed hot spices.
  • Ohba: Japanese beefsteak plant.
  • Sansho: Japanese pepper.
  • Shichimi togarashi: Mixed hot spices.
  • Shiro goma: White sesame seeds.
  • Shiso: Japanese mint.
  • Togarashi: Whole dried hot red peppers.
  • Wasabi: Green, very hot Japanese horseradish.
  • Renkon: Lotus roots.
  • Sato-imo: Taro root.
  • Shoga: Ginger root.

Noodles & Grains

  • Gyoza: Stuffed wonton, pan-fried, sautéed and/or steamed.
  • Harusame: Thin, transparent bean gelatin noodles.
  • Shari: A sushi bar term for sushi rice.
  • Shiratake: Translucent rubbery noodles.
  • Soba: Buckwheat noodles.
  • Soba-zushi: Sushi made with soba rather than rice.
  • Toshi-koshi soba: Japanese custom of eating soba at the end of the year.
  • Somen: White, threadlike wheat noodles.
  • Sushimeshi: Rice for preparing sushi.
  • Udon: Thick, wide wheat noodles.

Mushrooms & Other Fungi

  • Cloud ears: Alternate name for Kikurage.
  • Kikurage: A dried fungus.
  • Matsutake: Very rare pine mushroom.
  • Shiitake: A type of Japanese mushroom.

Beans & Bean Products (including tofu)

  • Aburage: Puffy, brown fried tofu.
  • Azuki: Small red beans used to make an.
  • Koyadofu: Freeze-dried tofu.
  • Miso: Soybean paste.
  • Momen tofu: “Cottony” bean curd.
  • Moyashi: Bean sprouts.
  • Natto: Fermented soybean.
  • Red soybean paste: Sweetened puree of cooked red beans.
  • Shiro miso: White soybean paste.
  • Sweet bean paste: Red azuki beans boiled with sugar.
  • Tofu: Soybean curd.
  • Yamakaki: Grated mountain potato with chunks of maguro.
  • Yakidofu: Broiled or grilled soybean curd.

Soups

  • Anko-nabe: Monkfish stew.
  • Fugu-chiri: Blowfish soup.
  • Ishikari-nabe: Salmon stew with sake.

Other Food & Preparations

  • Aemono: Vegetables or meats mixed with a dressing or sauce.
  • Agemono: Fried foods.
  • Basashi: Horse sashimi.
  • Bulgogi: A Korean marinated beef dish.
  • Buta: Pork.
  • Dashi: Basic fish stock.
  • Gohan: Plain boiled rice.
  • Gyu Tataki: Beef tataki.
  • Ji- Prefix: Locally made or caught.
  • Katsu: A cutlet.
  • Katsudon: Deep-fried pork cutlet served with sauce over rice.
  • Kareh katsu: Curry sauce poured over deep-fried pork cutlet.
  • Kim chee: Spicy marinated cabbage.
  • Manju: Sweet bun filled with an.
  • Meshimono: Rice mixed with meat or vegetables.
  • Mitzutaki: Cooked in liquid.
  • Mochi: Sweet glutinous rice cakes.
  • Mochigome: Mochi rice.
  • Mochiko: Sweet glutinous rice flour.
  • Murasaki: Sushi bar term for soy sauce.
  • Mushimono: Steamed foods.
  • Nabemono: One-pot meals.
  • Nama- Prefix: (food) raw, (beer) draught.
  • Nimono: Simmered or boiled foods.
  • Pan-joo: Very light Korean scallion pancake.
  • Ponzu: Sauce made with Japanese citron.
  • Robata-Yaki: Fresh ingredients cooked over a wood fire.
  • Sakamushi: Steamed over sake.
  • Senbei: Thin, crisp rice crackers.
  • Shirumono: Generic Japanese term for soup.
  • Shoyu: Japanese soy sauce.
  • Shu-mei: Stuffed wontons, served steamed or deep-fried.
  • Soy sauce: Salty sauce made from fermented soybeans.
  • Spicy Mayonnaise: A common condiment with some kinds of sushi rolls.
  • Su: Rice vinegar.
  • Suimono: Clear soup.
  • Sunomono: Vinegared foods.
  • Tamago: Eggs.
  • Tamago yaki: Fried egg.
  • Teriyaki sauce: A sweetened soy sauce.
  • Tare: Any thick sauce, usually soy-based and slightly sweetened.
  • Tempura: Seafood or vegetables, battered and deep-fried.
  • Teriyaki: Broiled foods marinated in a sweet soy sauce.
  • Tonkatsu: Pork cutlet, breaded then fried.
  • Tori: Chicken.
  • Ume-shiso: Plum paste and shiso leaf mixture.Beverages

  • Agari: Green tea.
  • Biiru: Beer.
  • Doburoku: Sort of a thick, soupy sake.
  • Nihon Shu: A sake, rice wine.
  • Ocha: Tea.
  • Sake: Rice wine.
  • Shochu: 25-40% spirit made from potatoes or rice.