Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What You're Not to Read 4
Foolish Assumptions 4
How This Book is Organized 5
Part I: Discovering the World of Sushi 5
Part II: Getting Ready, Getting Set 5
Part III: Rock-and-Rollin' Sushi Recipes 5
Part IV: Enjoying Sushi Meals at Home and at the Sushi Bar 6
Part V: The Part of Tens 6
Icons Used in This Book 6
Where to Go from Here 7
Part I: Discovering the World of Sushi 9
Chapter 1: Embarking on the Sushi Adventure 11
Appreciating Sushi's Past, Present, and Future 12
Enjoying Sushi at Home 14
Gathering fresh ingredients 14
Collecting a few tools 15
Mastering popular techniques 15
Making up a sushi menu 16
Enjoying each and every piece 17
Feeling at Home in a Sushi Bar 17
Chapter 2: Outfitting the Sushi Kitchen 19
Covering the Basics: Kitchen Equipment You Gotta Have 19
Acquiring the Right Stuff to Make Sushi Rice 21
Electric rice cooker 21
Shallow wooden sushi rice tub 21
Rice paddle 23
Flat fan 23
Lint-free kitchen towels 23
Knowing When to Mold 'Em: Tools for Shaping Sushi 24
Bamboo rolling mat 24
Sushi molds 25
Honoring Your Inner Samurai: Looking at Japanese Knives 26
Choosing a sushi knife 26
Using and caring for knives 28
Adding Other Handy Sushi Equipment 29
Finding the Equipment You Need 30
Chapter 3: Getting Familiar with Sushi Ingredients 31
Shopping for Sushi Ingredients 31
Stocking the Sushi Pantry 33
Dry ingredients 33
Bottled ingredients 37
Filling the Sushi Fridge 39
You gotta have these 40
You're gonna want these 41
Sushi-loving fresh veggies 43
Puckeringly good pickled veggies 46
Delving into the Sushi Deep Freeze 48
Edamame (soybeans in their pods) 48
Sesame seeds 48
Chapter 4: Chilling Out with Fresh Seafood 49
Practicing Safe Seafood 50
Taking cleanliness to heart 50
Being aware of potential raw seafood risks 50
Making sure the seafood is fresh 51
Bringing seafood home 53
Reeling In Six Fabulous Fish for Sushi 55
Roe, Roe, Roe Your Sushi 56
Part II: Getting Ready, Getting Set 59
Chapter 5: Cooking and Seasoning Sensational Sushi Rice 61
Understanding the Object of the Game 61
Gathering the Equipment 62
Introducing the Star Player - Rice 62
Selecting the rice 63
Measuring the rice 64
Preparing the Rice for the Big Game 64
Rinsing the rice 64
Giving the rice a good, long soak 65
Preparing the Rice Vinegar Dressing 66
Kicking Off! Cooking the Rice 67
Adding sake and dashi konbu to the soaked rice 67
Turning up the heat 68
Finishing the Rice - It's a Winner! 69
Turning out the rice 69
Pouring on the rice vinegar dressing 71
Fanning the rice until it's cool 71
Keeping the rice moist 72
Chapter 6: Introducing Popular Sushi Types and Techniques 73
Getting Organized: Gathering the Essential Tools 73
Hitting the Ground Running with Hand-Shaped Sushi 74
Finger sushi 75
Battleship sushi 78
Sushi rice balls 80
Tumbling into Rolled Sushi 81
Sliced sushi rolls 82
Inside-out rolls 86
Hand rolls 88
Building Up to Pressed Sushi 90
Breezing into Scattered Sushi 92
Tokyo-style scattered sushi 92
Osaka-style scattered sushi 93
Stuffing Tofu Pouches with Sushi 93
Venturing On to Creative Sushi 95
Chapter 7: Slicing and Dicing the Sushi Way 97
Getting a Grip on Sushi Knives 97
Slicing with a sashimi knife 98
Cutting