Hi All,
As promised, we continue to serve by providing our readers with interesting facts and information with respect to the world of Sushi. Many people and potential patrons find Sushi and other Asian restaurants to be very intimidating. For conservative folks, such eateries are often surrounded with mysticism particularly with respect to cultural and dining etiquette. However all is not lost. For those of you who still believe that all meals should be eaten with a knife and fork, we have decided to provide you with quality tips in an attempt to get you to explore in the delicate exotic delights of Sushi.
Today’s focus is on a Sushi serving known as Nigiri. Also commonly known as Nigiri-Zushi, it simply consists of an oval shaped, hand-formed mound of sushi rice topped with a slice of raw fresh fish or other related seafood. This topping is also called Neta. Nigiri is usually served in pairs and depending on the type of topping you ordered, it may by wrapped with a thin band of seaweed (Nori).
Thus to put it plainly, Nigiri is simply fish on rice. The Sushi Chef may occasionally put a light spread of wasabi between the rice and neta. However, we have rarely seen this done in some of the restaurants we have reviewed.
(pictures compliments of and )
Nigiri Sushi can be topped with most seafod items. The most common is of course salmon, tuna or prawn. Other toppings include clams, squid, fish eggs, scallops, mackerel, eel, sea urchins, bean curd, vegetables and even sweetened egg . Depending on your choice of topping, this seafood can either be served raw, cooked, smoked or cured, grilled or batter fried. Don’t be shy to ask the Sushi Chef or waiter if you are unsure about your choice of toppings.
As with most Sushi dishes, Nigiri is accompanied with the usual condiments of wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger. Nigiri can be eaten with chopsticks, although the most authentically correct manner of eating this dish is as follows:
- Pick up one sushi piece between your thumb and middle finger, putting the index finger on top of the nigiri;
- Dip the end of the neta into the soy sauce (not the rice part);
- Bring the sushi to your mouth and bite in half; and
- Before your next bite, dip the neta side in the soy sauce again.
(pictures compliments of and
We recommend that you start with the more common Nigiri toppings and work you way to the more savoured and sought after toppings after a few visits. Of course like everything else in life, we cant guarantee that you will like them all, however life is too short as the saying goes, and you should be happy in the fact that you at least attempted something different...yes maybe even I learnt something new in the living life happily article in the latest Mens Health (sad to hear the Editor Andy Ellis is leaving though).
Enjoy and remember, the discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star :-)
Grant
