Vinegared rice is the heart of all sushi. Despite what Americans think, sushi does not mean "fish" in Japanese but rather signifies any vinegared rice dish. The fish is sashimi. Wrap the two together in portions and sell it as sushi, and the name still refers to the rice, not the fish. Sushi is indeed the term for the special rice but it is modified, in Japanese, to zushi when coupled with modifiers that describe the different styles of this most popular dish.
Click here for a recipe for Japanese vinegared riced.
Ama Ebi o kudasai - please give me sweet shrimp.
Anago o kudasai - please give me salt water eel.
Arigato - thank you (informal).
Arigato gozaimashita - thank you very much (at the end of the evening).
Domo (DOH moh) - thank you.
Domo arigato (ah ri GAH toh) - thank you very much.
Dozo (DOH zoh) - please. Gochiso-sama [deshita], this phrase traditionally closes a meal.
Hai (high)- yes. Spoken abruptly with a glottal stop at the end, almost swallowing the last vowel.
Itamae-san - the sushi (or other Japanese) chef.
Kampai - to your health.
Konbanwa - good evening.
Konichiwa (koh NEECH ee wah) - a greeting, roughly "how are you" or "how do you do?".
Okanjo - bill/check.
Omakase - asking the sushi chef to choose what you'll have next.
Slang
Gyoku (means jewel) - tamago.
Murasaki (means purple) - soy sauce.
Namida (means tears) - wasabi.
Oaso - the check.
Sabinuki - no wasabi.
Other Sushi Terms
Aburage - fried tofu pouches prepared by cooking in sweet cooking sake, soy sauce, and water.
Chakin sushi - vinegared rice wrapped in a thin egg crepe.
Chirashi sushi - assorted raw fish and vegetables (usually nine, nine being the Japanese lucky number) over rice.
Daikon - giant white radish, usu. served grated as garnish for sashimi.
Edomae sushi - same as nigiri sushi.
Gari - vinegared ginger.
Kampyo - dried gourd that comes prepared in long, translucent brown strips like fettuccine.
Maki sushi - vinegared rice with insertions, rolled up in Japanese seaweed. Most maki places the nori on the outside, but some, like the California roll, place the rice on the outside.
Nigiri sushi - pieces of fish, shellfish, or fish roe over vinegared rice balls.
Odori-ebi - live "dancing" shrimp.
Oshibori - rolled up hot towel served to sushi bar customers.
Oshinko- Japanese pickles.
Sashimi - raw fish served chilled, sliced, and arranged without rice.
Shoyu - soy sauce.
Tekka-don- pieces of raw tuna over rice.
Temaki sushi - hand rolled cones of sushi rice and/or vegetables wrapped in seaweed.
Wasabi - Japanese horseradish.