While every country has its signature dishes, not many cuisines are more defined by a single style of dish as Japan is by sushi. Seen as a cuisine in its own right rather than a subset of Japanese food, sushi is now a global phenomenon, enjoyed by people from all cultures and prepared by everyone from home cooks to master sushi chefs who’ve spent decades honing their craft. At these upper echelons, sushi preparation is regarded as more of a fine art than cooking, with incredible precision required to ensure that every item served has the perfect finish.
Whether you’re a sushi novice or someone who has been eating it for years, one thing that can get a little confusing is all the terminology surrounding it. Go beyond the packets of faux-sushi in supermarkets and you’re hit with words like onigiri, tobiko, maki and inari, which can make it tough to know where to start if you don’t know your Japanese. A good place to start is with the meaning of the word ‘sushi’ itself; although many people think of sushi as a raw fish dish, the word actually refers to the cold, vinegared rice, which is why it’s possible to have vegetarian and even meat sushi. To help you understand your sushi even better, below we’ve put together a beginner’s glossary of sushi-related terms, ingredients and equipment which you can refer back to next time you’re indulging in one of the most refined and tasty types of food on the planet.