Types of Sushi

by Iyath Adam

Whether you love it or hate it, you’ve probably heard of sushi.

With the rise of Japanese and East Asian restaurants here in the Maldives, sushi has quickly become a favourite in our food scene. But did you know that there are actually different names to the types of sushi, depending on the ingredients and how it’s made?

Here, we break down the major types of sushi, so that the next time you go to dinner, you can order it all like a pro! And if you’re wondering where to get sushi in the Greater Male’ Area, check out our article Finding Sushi.

Nigiri

Nigiri is made by pressing vinegared sushi rice into small mounds, then topping it up with slices of fresh, raw seafood. Each mound gets one piece of expertly cut fish, which can be anything, ranging from tuna, salmon, eel, shrimp, scallop and even eel.

To get the full taste of the nigiri sushi, it’s important to not overly dip it in soy sauce, so that you can taste the fresh flavours of the seafood and the simply seasoned sushi rice.

Maki

Maki (or makizushi) is what you often see as sushi rolls; in fact, ‘maki’ means ‘roll’ in Japanese. To make maki, seaweed (nori), seasoned sushi rice, and different fillings are layered on top of a bamboo mat (in thar order), then rolled tightly and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Popular maki fillings include tuna, salmon, imitation crab, cucumber, egg, avocado, prawns, and even pickled ingredients like daikon. The filling can be either a mix of ingredients or just one to give it a really clean taste. Small or thin rolls which usually have one ingredient fillings are called ‘hosomaki’ while thick or large rolls with more fillings are called ‘futomaki.’

Uramaki

Uramaki – also known as ‘inside out roll’ – is actually a type of makizushi or sushi roll, where the outermost layer consists of sushi rice, which then has a layer of seaweed and fillings. The rice can be left as is or even covered with something like toasted sesame seeds or fish roe.

Some common types of sushi you might encounter – like the California roll, dragon roll, spider roll, and spicy tuna roll – are all types of uramaki.

Temaki

Temaki is another type of makizushi. It’s an interesting type of sushi where the rice and fillings are enclosed in a seaweed cone – resembling something like a sushi ice-cream cone.

Unlike other types of sushi – which is eaten with chopsticks and served with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi – temaki is eaten by hand and served on its own. It’s also typically larger and must be consumed immediately, before the nori sheet becomes chewy and loses its crispiness.

Inari

Inari or inarizushi doesn’t really have any fillings in it – rather, it consists of sushi rice which is placed in a pocket of deep-fried tofu. Before being stuffed with rice, the fried tofu is simmered in a sweet and savoury broth, which gives the sushi a simple yet umami-like flavour.

Sashimi

Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy, which consists of thin, high-quality, exquisitely cut fish or seafood, which has a fresh, melt-in-your-mouth quality. One could argue that sashimi isn’t strictly a type of sushi (because it doesn’t have sushi rice), but it’s always found in sushi restaurants here in the Maldives!

It’s typically served with condiments like wasabi, soy sauce, and pickled ginger or daikon for dipping – but it’s recommended to eat the first piece of sashimi on its own to get the full flavour of the dish. Sashimi can be made with different fish like tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and mackerel.