My First Sushi Experience

I thought of eating sushi for the first time after living for more than 2 years in States. The notion of experimenting with this 200+ year-old Japanese cuisine did cross my mind a few times, but my taste palate did not let me divulge into a dish that includes raw fish. Frankly, the first time I laid my eyes on a sushi roll was in the cartoon –  Shin Chan (Raise your hands all you 90s kids if you can relate). My second not-so-animated encounter was with the sushi symbol on WhatsApp emoticons (Seriously, Yes!) Recently I realized how fancy and serious the sushi eating experience is!

The lockdown and social distancing have brought all sorts of enthralling ideas and one of them was to finally try sushi. I was always fascinated by the aesthetics of this beautifully rolled extravagant food item. Oh my! How fancy do I sound already! I called my non-sushi virgin friend who had feasted upon sushi rolls a few times. We glued to our phones to dig up for the best sushi in the town. It is hard for us millennials to order food without Google reviews and Uber Eats. Our search came to an end at 4.6 starred Sushi Katsu vouching to be Denver’s best sushi and bar. Next, came the hardest step – What to order?

Initially, it was all Greek Japanese to me. A little googling and my dear friend helped me narrow down my choices. According to Mr. Wikipedia- Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, accompanying a variety of ingredients such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Phew! Chill!  It is not that complicated (or is it??)

First things first, there are 5 broad types of sushi:

1. Nigiri      – fish on top (usually raw)
2. Sashimi  – only fish, no rice
3. Maki        – wrapped in seaweed (the ones shown in Shin Chan)
4. Uramaki – seaweed hidden inside rice
5. Temaki   – looks like shellfish to me :/

Disclaimer! Please do not consider the above as the exact definitions of types of sushi rolls. It is just my take on what I came across while experimenting.

I am sure you will go bonkers while looking at the menu of a sushi bar for the first time. I played it safe and went for crab meat and shrimps filling. It a good idea for beginners to try California Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll or any vegetable roll. I would suggest, play with the variations and definitely order more than one type.  We ordered Baked Volcano Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll and  Dragon roll. I was all in and excited about trying out everything. We had raw fish along with crab and shrimp. We also had Coconut Sake and some Ramen to accompany the sushi, All set! Waiting for our delicate hand-crafted food in white rice!

Our order arrived and by that time, I had acquainted myself with all that one needs to know about how to eat sushi. Sushi rolls usually come in bite-sized 7-8 pieces. Ginger pickle, usually pink colored, is served as a side to compensate the flavors and wasabi (thick green horseradish plant paste) is added for that extra kick of pungent and spice. Do not forget to dip your sushi in soy sauce as I did. Chopsticks are usually provided with the order. I am on my way to master the art of eating food with sticks, I will one day. I am a diligent learner when it comes to food 😉

There you go – Pick up a delicate piece of sushi, dab a LITTLE wasabi, dip it in soy sauce/shoyu and relish. Let the flavors work their magic and keep chewing slowly. It is a fusion of creaminess and a blast of the subtle taste of all ingredients. I will be honest; I liked the tempura shrimp roll and the dragon sushi roll. I am yet to develop the taste to savor the sashimi or to put it unfiltered out there – I did not really enjoy other rolls. I am a fan of hot piping food and maybe the fact that sushi is served cold put me down. Never mind, it was my first attempt and I was happy with my order. I will dine next time at a sushi bar with my improved taste and choices. It is all about the overall eating experience, with all those little sides and Sake. We finished our dinner with generous shots of Sake….which was AMAZING!

Moral of the story:

Sushi is NOT always raw fish! It is fun to explore and that is how I ticked off another one from my bucket list – Try Sushi

Presenting my tried and tested tips to all newbies in the Sushi game:

Tip #1 – Dine with someone who has already experimented with sushi

Tip #2 – Wasabi ≠ green chutney (prevent hot wildfire in mouth)

Tip #3 – Chopsticks – fancy, Hands – Authentic

Tip #4 – Avoid raw fish the first time

Tip #5 – Make friends with Sake!