Expert outlines trivia about sushi, plus our guide to the best in Mumbai

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What's the difference between maki and uramaki? Are chopsticks necessary to eat sushi? How do you pair sushi with the three odd condiments served on the side? We hear you. Eating and ordering sushi can get slightly intimidating, thanks to a vastly different palate and lingo, though it doesn't stop us from rolling with it. With International Sushi Day around the corner, Harry Hakuei Kosato, founder of Sushi & More and brand ambassador of Kikkoman India, shares some cool facts that you should know about this much-loved Japanese delicacy.

Temaki

1 Sushi, although synonymous with Japan today, originated in the Mekong Valley, as a method of preserving fish and increasing its shelf life. Fermented rice was used to wrap fish, so it would last longer, shares Kosato. "At the time, however, they would eat the fish - narezushi - and not the rice. From there, people started consuming fresh fish with vinegared rice in Japan, an archipelago with abundant fresh seafood; this led to the modern version that we now call sushi," he tells us.

Salmon nigiri

2 Sushi is derived from the Japanese word sui, meaning acidic, and the su character (also, Japanese), while -shi is used with adjectival verbs ending with i. There is a preconceived notion that sushi is non-vegetarian, but it refers to vinegared rice and can have any kind of filling or topping, Kosato points out. For instance, cucumber sushi or kappa-maki, which is quite popular in Japan.

Harry Hakuei Kosato

3 The key ingredient in sushi is vinegared rice, while the blackish coating you might have noticed in or outside sushi rolls is nori or seaweed. It's served with shoyu (soy sauce), gari (pickled ginger) and wasabi (Japanese horseradish), the sushi curator shares. There are multiple ways to eat sushi. "Take a dash of wasabi and place it on your sushi; then dip it in soy sauce. Or you can take some wasabi and put it in soy sauce. Dip the sushi in this wasabi-infused soy sauce. Gari is actually meant to be a palate cleanser," he explains.

4 The next time you struggle using chopsticks, remember that in Japan, sushi is also eaten with your hands.

5 There are different kinds of sushi, the most popular being maki roll, uramaki, nigiri, temaki, temari and chirashi. While maki is rolled with nori on the outside, uramaki is when the nori is inside, Kosato explains. Temaki, meanwhile, is a hand roll-rolled sushi that's one-fourth the size of a nori; it can have different combinations of fillings. "Temari is a ball-shaped sushi; nigiri is when the rice is moulded by the grip of the hand, topped with fish or any other topping; and chirashi is a bed of rice with a scattering of sushi toppings," he adds.

Shisoto charcoal tempura; (right) Sushi and cocktail

On the sushi trail

Find a variety of sushi at these eateries in the city:

. Confused about which sushi you'd like? Try a smattering of each with Sushi and More's special platters.
LOG ON TO thrivenow.in
CALL 9930937285

. Check out the truffle Philadelphia roll and chilli tempura sushi at Zenmai apart from the unique open sushi.
AT Savoy Chambers, unit 2, Linking Road, Santacruz West.
CALL 7715048934

. Taki Taki is launching a new menu of sushi and cocktails. Pair maki rolls, temari or kudamono poke bowls with yuzu basil cobbler, salted rosemary paloma and Japanese ginger martini.
FROM June 18 to 30 AT World Crest, unit 1A & 1B, Lower Parel.
CALL 7400491480

. Dig into a hearty Peruvian lobster roll, Nikkei prawn tempura uramaki or shisoto charcoal tempura, among a host of options at Foo.
AT Andheri, Bandra, BKC, Lower Parel and Churchgate.
CALL 8591983371

. Try Kyma's special vegetarian tempura, California roll or peri peri corn sushi with crispy corn, sriracha mayo and lettuce.
AT Plot C-66, One, G Block, BKC.
CALL 9372952680

. Crunchy Korean prawns, nigiri, and uramaki with Manipuri black rice await
at Yazu.
AT 9, Raheja classic, Andheri West.
CALL 7715804506