When people ask me what my favorite food is, I gravitate towards my go-to: sushi. And that isn’t without justification. It’s SO good. Previously, I was only interested in cooked rolls, but I’m a changed susheater connoisseur now and I’ll eat pretty much anything off of a sushi restaurant menu. Maki. Unagi. Sashimi. Nigiri.

However, in terms of making sushi, I’m far from a expert. My mom occasionally makes rolls, but they only contain shrimp tempura or imitation crab. Additionally, what she makes is considered “maki” which means that the seaweed is wrapped on the outside. In my sushi adventure, I will try and make various types of sushi as well as aspects of Japanese food culture.

What do I already know about sushi? Not much. I know a couple of the Japanese words for the types of sushi, but I know that through translation, a lot of the terms are poorly attributed to something other than what they are intended to be.

Sushi literally translates to “it’s sour” in reference to the vinegar rice traditionally used in sushi. It surprisingly does not mean “raw fish” as many presume. Which leaves the term “sushi” plenty of wiggle room for subcategories. Five of these subcategories are nigiri, sashimi, maki, uramaki, temaki which are different forms. Nigiri is a topping (usually fish) that is served on top of sushi rice. Sashimi is the plain fish or shellfish served alone. The image most people have when they hear “sushi” is maki, or rice and a filling wrapped in seaweed. Similarly, uramaki contains all of the same elements, but the rice wraps the outside of the roll. And finally, a single serving cone-shaped hand roll is temaki.

Within each branch of sushi, there are scores of variation, mostly in the types of fish or meat used. They can range from cooked to raw, deep-fried to boiled. Aside from the traditional meat toppings/fillings, there are also vegetarian sushi ingredients like tamago (egg) , kappa (cucumber), and avocado.

Throughout the next few months, I will attempt to better understand sushi culture as well as the intricacies of being a level-one (or probably a level-zero) sushi chef.

Sushi has always been more than just food; it’s an expression of my love and respect for Japanese culture. — Tyson Cole, Uchi co-founder