The following is compiled from a web page run by Randy Johnson, with his implicit permission for summarizing by me unto www.everything.com. Randy is a Seattle area Sushi enthusiast, and quite knowledgeable to boot. Also be sure to look for my write up on decorum, tradition, and maximizing enjoyment in: At the Sushi Bar! Coming soon to a node near you!


·	# = foods for those who don't eat raw fish 
·	! = regular sushi that comes wrapped in nori seaweed 
·	* = not normally found in U.S. restaurants 
·	@ = occasionally found in the U.S. 

Sushi a la carte:

English	  Japanese	       Description
---------	 ----------	    --------------------
WHITE FISH:   (shiromi)
Halibut 	  hiRAme       All white, tasty, small East Coast
			       halibut.  A specialty in Japan, almost
			       translucent when fresh.

@Flounder	  kaREi        Sometimes raw; also deep-fried in Japan.
			       Sometimes called 'halibut', its cousin.

Sea Bass	  suZUki       Translucent, tender, some red bits.

Snapper 	  tai	       "Tai" also means Sea Bream, snapper's
			       cousin, and more common in Japan.

@ Striped	  shima aji    Red stripes in white flesh
   Mackerel

@ Swordfish	  maka-jiki    Occasionally found raw for sushi. Makajiki
			       can also refer to blue marlin.

*Blowfish	  fugu	       The 'deadly' one. Illegal in U.S. Only the
			       liver is poison; flesh is safe if the fish
			       was cleaned properly.  Since only specially
			       licensed chefs can cut fugu, it's not found
			       in sushi bars. Famous for translucent,
			       iridescent flesh.

* Shark 	  SAme	       Almost never eaten raw or in sushi bars

SILVERY FISH:

Mackerel	  SAba	       Fishy and oily, but good. The Big mackerel;
			       usually has been slightly marinated.

Horse		  Aji	       Red flesh, comes with ginger-paste and
  Mackerel		       onion.  Very often translated as 'Spanish
			       Mackerel'

Horse		  Aji no       One small fish chopped up raw with ginger
   Mackerel	   tataki      garnish. In Japan, it's served on its
   sashimi		       carcass.


@ Spanish	  saWAra       Off-white, looks like a white fish, but
    Mackerel		       rich and oily like mackerel.  Nice.

Yellowtail	  haMAchi      Silvery to light brown or pink, by season
			       and diet.  Often pinkish-brown in US,
			       silvery in Japan.  In fact, at least three
			       other names are used for yellowtail in
			       Japan, depending on its maturity: buri,
			       kanpachi, and inada.

@ Sardine	  iWAshi       Not often served in the US. Fishy and firm.

   "   "          koHAda       Kohada is a larger sardine, more common

* Trout 	  masu	       Usually only at specialty restaurants near
			       trout fishing grounds in Japan.
			       "niji-masu" is rainbow trout.

* Catfish	  NAmazu       Usually only in specialty restaurants


DARKER FISH:
Tuna		  MAguro       Red blue-fin tuna meat, usually deep red.

Tuna flank	  CHU toro     In between maguro and toro in color and
			       price.

@ Tuna belly	  TOro	       Very oily, light pink. Pricy! and rare in
			       US where chu-toro is often served as "toro"

Ahi tuna	  Ahi	       Lighter pink, occasionally served as "maguro"
			       but not as tasty.

Fish steak	  Sai-kyo-     A fish steak, seared outside, raw inside.
    in sauce	    yaki       Usually done with a white fish, but...

Ahi steak	  Maguro sai-  Seared tuna steak in a miso paste marinade.
   in miso	    -kyo yaki  SaikyoYAki.

Tuna in taro	  yamaKAke     Raw maguro in a bowl of "toROro" (grated
			       mountain potato - like poi!) with wasabi,
			       quail egg, seaweed. Stir it up.

@ Tuna in miso	  nyuta        Raw maguro in a bowl with wakame seaweed,
			       topped with sweetish miso paste (etc.)

@ Albacore	  Binnaga or   Light pink delicate flesh; often slightly
   tuna 	     Bin-cho   seared on the outside. Yum!  In the US,
			       also called shiro-maguro, "white tuna".
			       bincho maguro is sometimes considered
			       slightly different from binnaga but
			       they are both albacore.

# Salmon	  SHAke        Often smoked, like lox. (Really called
		   or sake     'sake' but the Tokyo-dialect "shake"
			       distinguishes it from the drink)

Raw Salmon	  nama shake   Raw, fatty salmon.  The best is in the
			       NorthWest (often from Alaska). Rarely eaten
			       raw in Japan because they don't have salt-
			       water salmon, except in Hokkaido

* Sturgeon	  cho-same     Never eaten raw. (means 'butterfly-shark')

Bonito		  KAtsuo       As sushi, topped with ginger-paste and
			       onion

Bonito		  KAtsuo       Aged thick slices of dark young bonito with
   sashimi	   no taTAki   a ginger and green onion garnish.

Bonito flakes	  KAtsuo-      Dried, shaved bonito; looks like wood
		    BUshi      shavings; garnishes some dishes

* Whale 	  KUjira       Red and rich, like beef. Illegal in U.S.

* Horse meat	  BAsashi      Raw horse, as sashimi, dark red, aged
			       Ba is horse, -sashi, sashimi

SHRIMP and MOLLUSKS

# Shrimp	  Ebi	       Whitish pink. Slightly steamed. Can get
			       tough when it's been around awhile.

Sweet Shrimp	  ama ebi      Raw shrimp; translucent and succulent when
			       fresh; brownish tinge when frozen.  Don't
			       eat the tails, but the deep-fried heads
			       come along as a side dish.

#! Shrimp in	  iSObe-Age    Shrimp wrapped in seaweed, deep fried.
   seaweed		       Several to the order. Also called
			       isobe-zukuri.

@ Mantis shrimp   SHA-ko       Grayish, flat, small and crunchy; look like
			       primordial crustaceans. Sometimes translated
			       as squilla.  Shako is common in Japan,
			       rare in the US.

* Giant Prawn	  kuRUma-ebi   Huge, salt-broiled with head and tail.
			       "Box-car shrimp"

Octopus 	  TAko	       Lightly marinated tentacle. Fresh is chewy,
			       old is tough

Octopus in	  TAko-SU      Sliced octopus in marinade with cucumber;
  vinegar		       "tako salad"

Baby octopus	  ii-dako      Whole, boiled and marinated in a sweet
			       brown sauce; cute little rascals.

Squid		  Ika	       The freshest is "fuzzy" on the tongue and
  (cuttlefish)		       more translucent.  The shinier, the older
			       and tougher; often garnished with nori or
			       shiso.

Raw squid	  Ika saSHImi  Just the raw sliced squid on a plate, with
			       garnish of shiso and shredded daikon

    "             Ika no       "A thousand slices", same as above, but
		   senGIri     always very thin-sliced.

Squid "noodles"   Ika SOmen    Raw thin-sliced squid in a bowl with quail
			       egg, wasabi, seaweed. (Somen is a  kind of
			       noodle)

Squid with	  Ika nat-to   Ika somen with fermented soybeans (natto)
 stinky beans		       added -- can also be a hand-roll.

Squid with	  Ika MENtai   Raw squid and spicy red "mentaiko" roe
   spicy roe

@ Fermented	  Ika no       Pink, pungent, fermented, god-awful salty
    squid	   shioKAra    'goop'. Good nibbles with sake, but not for
			       the faint of heart. (This is really a
			       drinking-house snack.)

Scallop 	  HOtategai    Rarely called "kai-BAshira".  Hotate means
		  (kaiBAshira) 'sail-unfurled'; slightly nutty flavor.
			       Better places have fresh, whole scallops;
			       others only serve hotate as...

! Spicy Scallop 	       Scallops chopped up in a white sauce (or
    mix 		       mayonnaise), often with hot chile.  Can be
			       a hand-roll

! Sea Urchin	  Uni	       Actually their gonads. Very fresh, creamy,
			       and 'sweet' from the Northwest US!  The best
			       has a mild 'nutty' or custardy flavor; older
			       is darker and yukky.

Red-tipped	  HOkigai      kai or -gai means shellfish
  surf clam

Goeduck 	  MIrugai      Also called Giant Clam.	Not bad; a bit
			       crunchy, naturally.

* Red clam	  Akagai       Rarely get 'em here; orange throughout.

Dark cockle	  TOrigai      Dark blue on the tip.

@ Conch 	  HOragai      White, firm, usually mild flavor. Caribbean
			       conch.

Oyster		  KAki	       Not always available or the best.  As
			       always, the smaller the tastier.  As sushi
			       or on the half-shell.

* Clam		  hamaGUri     Rarely served raw or in sushi bars

# Crab		  KAni	       Fresh snow crab as sushi, if you can find
			       it. Fake 'krab' is often used in rolls. Ask
			       if they have real crab.

# Softshell crab   ---	       Whole New England softshell crab, deep-
			       fried with a dipping sauce. In season.

@ River Crabs	  sawaGAni     Tiny little crabs, deep-fried to a beautiful
			       glaze, then eaten whole! Lovely.

@ Abalone	  aWAbi        Crunchy but quite tasty.  Becoming very
			       scarce and expensive.

@ Jellyfish	  kuRAge       Marinated, crunchy, bland flavor

Sea Snail	  saZAe        Steamed in the shell (yuk), sliced and
			       marinated (yum), or boiled in sauce (ok)

FISH ROE:
! Flying-fish	  TObiko       Tiny bright orange eggs, loose and crunchy;
     eggs		       wrapped in nori.. The flying fish is
			       tobi-uo.  (Tobu is 'to fly'.)

!   "   with      tobiTAma     One quail egg on top.  Tama = "ball" (quail
   quail egg		       is "uzura")

! Smelt eggs	  maSAgo       Tiny eggs, paler orange than tobiko and
			       sweeter; a garnish on many other dishes and
			       rolls, but masago can be ordered alone, an
			       alternative to tobiko.

! Salmon eggs	  Ikura        Pea-sized, red-orange; not always very
			       fresh

@ Herring roe	  kazuNOko     Yellow roe chunks, a winter specialty.

@ Herring roe	  kazuNOko     Another specialty: kombu kelp strips
   on kelp	    KOMbu      caked with herring roe bits. Usually sushi.
			       Also called komochi kombu.

@ Cod roe	  TArako       Yellowish white, in chunks.

! Spicy roe	  menTAIko     Red paste of tiny roe with chile

*! Milt 	  shirako      Soft white fish milt (sperm).


EELS:

# Freshwater eel  uNAgi        Broiled and topped with thick brown sauce

# Sea eel	  aNAgo        Lighter colored and more delicate flavor
   (conger)		       than unagi, served the same way.

#@ Eel on rice	  UNa-ju       Broiled eel in thick dark sauce, topping a
		   or ANa-ju   rectangular lacquered box of rice; a lunch
			       or dinner menu item.


SIMPLE ROLLS:

Sushi roll	  maki-sushi   A roll of rice surrounded by seaweed and
  (generic)		       filled with various foods.  Sliced into
			       five or six sections. (Also makiZUshi)

Tuna roll	  tekka maki   Maguro in a roll; the name means "iron
			       roll". Adding mountain potato makes it
			       a yama-kake roll.

Cucumber roll	  kappa-maki   Kappa is a mythical gnome who loves
			       cucumbers

Pickled radish	  shinko maki  Bright yellow crispy pickled daikon. Takuan
		   or TakuAN   is the name of an early priest who invented
		     maki      shinko.

Pickle roll	  tsukeMOno    Various pickled vegetables.
		     maki

Vegetable roll	  yaSAI maki   Carrots, cucumber, mountain potato, burdock
			       root, etc.

Combination roll  FUto-maki    The only traditional Japanese fancy roll.
			       Omelet, sweet pink shrimp powder, vegeta-
			       bles, mushroom, etc.



USUALLY HAND-ROLLED:

Hand roll,	    te-maki	 A one-person cone of seaweed and rice,
  (generic)			 rolled by hand ('te').  You can ask for
				 many rolls as "temaki"

Tuna and onion	    Negi-TOro	 Toro (or maguro) with green onion (negi)
   roll

Tuna and mountain   Yama-kake	 Uses ungrated mountain potato with tuna,
  potato (taro)       maki	 nori, and green onion.


Yellowtail and	    Hama-NEgi	 Hamachi with green onion (negi)
  onion

# Eel and cucumber  Ana-KYU	 Anago-Kyuri - Una-kyu uses unagi instead.

# Salmon skin roll  sake hada	 Broiled skin, w/chunks of salmon too,
				 and vegetables.

'Stinky bean'       Nat-to maki  Fermented soy beans. Smelly, stringy. I
     roll			 like mine with sticky mountain potato.

Spicy rolls			 Western concoctions of chopped tuna,
				 scallop, or hamachi with a spicy sauce
				 (often mayonnaise-based), masago,
				 green onion and such.


FANCY ROLLS:

Every US sushi bar invents new ones; I won't try to keep up. 
# California roll		 Avocado, krab, cream cheese(!), etc

Geisha roll			 California roll with raw maguro and
				 hamachi (sometimes other fish) outside

# Oregon roll			 Smoked salmon, vegetables, etc.

# Ebi Tempura roll		 Tempura shrimp in a roll

Sushi tempura			 A sushi roll (often California), deep
				 fried (yuk!)

Inside-out roll 		 Any roll with flying fish eggs all over
				 the outside

Softshell Crab	    Spider Roll  Deep fried softshell crab in a roll.
    roll

Tiger Eye			 A broiled squid body stuffed with salmon,
				 avocado, and various goodies.  The slices
				 look like huge colorful eyes.
				 Surprisingly tasty.


COOKED FOODS:

@ Broiled smelt     shi-SHA-mo	 Several whole, 4-inch fish, full of roe.
				 Adventurous! These ShiSHAmo smelt are
				 from Europe.

@ Pacific Saury     san-MA	 Sanma is a long narrow fish, salt-broiled
				 and served whole, usually with grated
				 daikon oroshi; rich flavor; some
				 dark bits

Yellowtail cheeks   HaMAchi	 Yellowtail stew, plenty of meat, with
		      no HO	 boiled vegetables.

* Fried flounder    kaREi no	 Deep-fried till you can eat the bones!
		      kara-AGe

Omelet (chicken     taMAgo	 Sushi with a big slice of special omelet.
  egg)				 Often too sweet, but the best are not.
				 Filling.

@ 'Hodgepodge'      o-DEN        Hot stew with unrecognizable stuff -
				 konnyaku (arum root paste), lotus root,
				 burdock root, various kinds of fish-cake,
				 kelp, boiled eggs and cabbage; or some
				 sub-set.  Oden is a drinking house snack.


VEGETABLES (etc) a la carte:

Carrot and	    kimPIra	 The two vegetables marinated, slightly
  burdock root			 pickled, as a side-dish; usually a little
				 spicy.

Japanese radish     daikon	 Large long white 'Japanese' radish, often
				 shredded, or grated (oROshi) as a garnish

Pickles 	    tsukeMOno	 The general term for any thing pickled
				 (pronounced "ts'ke-mono")

Pickled daikon	    shinko,	 Yellow, crunchy, served with almost any
		      TakuAN	 rice dish.

Broiled eggplant    NAsu yaki	 With curly dried bonito flakes on top.

Pickled eggplant    nasu no	 Purple and crunchy
		     tsukemono

Perilla leaf	    SHIso (or	 Mint's cousin, garnishes other dishes.
		      happa)	 Sometimes called 'beefsteak plant'.  Try a
				 shiso and shinko roll; cheap, light, tasty.

Spinach 	    hoREN-so	 Horenso is often pickled as a side dish

@ Fresh soy beans   eda-MAme	 Boiled green soybeans served cold in the
				 pod. EdaMAme is a salty summer beer
				 snack. Pull the beans out of the pod with
				 your teeth (leave the pods).

@ Tofu, cold	    hiya-YAko	 "hi'YAko"; onion and ginger on top.

* Tofu in hot	    yu-DOfu	 YuDOfu is a Kyoto specialty.
    water

@ Mountain	    san-sai	 Various mountain ferns and sprouts, often
  vegetables			 marinated or pickled, sometimes with a
				 miso paste or bonito flakes.

@ Ferns 	    warabi,	 Several kinds of edible fern sprouts
		      shida

@ Wild mountain     fuki	 Butterburr or coltsfoot sprouts, once
   sprouts			 used in herbal medicines. Marinated.

Wild mushrooms	    masutake	 A specialty mountain mushroom, collected
				 in early fall in Japan and the Northwest.

@ Burdock root	    gobo	 Marinated and sliced; 'between a carrot
				 and a potato'

Daikon sprouts	    kaiWAre	 Tender little leaves used as a garnish.

@ Arum root paste   konnyaku	 Very strange gray cake of pasted arum
				 root (or konjak); sometimes called snake
				 root (not exactly the same).

Pumpkin or squash   kabocha	 Steamed, in sauce

@ Gourd shavings    kampyo	 Dried gourd shavings, usually marinated.

Yam or sweet	    Imo 	 Often baked as yaki imo; Japanese
  potato			 street food.

Potato		    JAga-imo	 Usually boiled; niku-jaga is a
				 bowl of beef and potato stew.

Mountain potato     yama-Imo	 The sticky, crunchy white taro root (used
				 in Hawaii to make poi). When grated into
				 an equally sticky paste, yamaImo
				 is called toROro.

Plum and mountain   yama-Imo	 The sticky taro root, sliced, and topped
  potato	      ume	 with a sweet-sour paste of pickled plum.
				 As a side-dish or a nice hand-roll.

@ Lotus root	    renkon	 Crunchy, with holes; steamed or
				 marinated. (Lotus is hasu.)

@ Bamboo shoots     take-NO-ko	 TakeNOko is fresh only in a short season.

Salad		    saRAda	 Green salad is also called "nama yasai"



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