To make sushi, specifically nigiri sushi or sushi with a slice of raw fish on the top and rice (shari) (舎利) at the bottom, one needs to cook and season the rice, combining the cooked rice with a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Next, one needs to prepare the fish, using a sharp knife to cut the fish into slices so that they fit snugly on top of the rice. There are different types of fish people can use, but tuna is considered one of the most popular types of fish here in Japan! After this, one shapes the rice by gently squeezing and forming it into an oval/ oblong shape, allowing the rice to stick together but still be loose enough to come apart when someone comes to eat it. Next, by placing the sushi rice (shari) in one hand and the sliced fish in the other hand, gently press the rice into the fish so that both of these parts can stick together. From there, you can use your fingers to shape the nigiri sushi together so that the fish is wrapped over the sides of the rice. And there you have it, nigiri sushi!
There are different methods and ways to make sushi, but nigiri sushi is just one of the many types of sushi you can make yourself! Try making nigiri sushi yourself and experiment with different types of toppings!
Many of the ingredients used to make sushi are collected and harvested from different regions based on what each part of the sushi is made of! For example, the sushi rice, sushi-meshi (酢飯), or shari (舎利), is usually made with Japanese rice.
