Sushi facts

• Did you know that the word "sushi" technically refers to the rice and not the fish? Sushi emerged in Japan several centuries ago as dried fish was placed between two clumps of vinegared rice to preserve it and eventually seaweed was added to prevent your hands from sticking to the rice. "Su" is the Japanese word for vinegar and "shi" comes from the Japanese word "meshi" meaning rice, so sushi technically means vinegared rice.
• There are two main types of sushi you will find at Sushi Train and most other sushi restaurants. These two types are nigiri and rolled sushi. Nigiri sushi is basically a small piece of cooked or raw fish or shellfish on a small portion of sticky sushi rice. Rolled Sushi or Maki comes in several forms, the first is usually fish, vegetables and rice wrapped in seaweed, there is also a version called Temaki where the rolls are larger and cone shaped. They are sometime called hand rolls.
• Sashimi is sometimes confused with Nigiri sushi. Like nigiri, sashimi is a piece of raw or cooked shellfish or fish, however, sashimi does include any rice, it is just the piece of fish.
  
• The seaweed wrap in sushi is technically an algae. It is carefully cultivated in special harbors in Japan, compressed into sheets and dried.