The California Roll-My Introduction To Sushi

Even though its been a few years since Ive had my first cali roll, I have still yet to jump on the wagon of eating the raw stuff. Firends rave about the freshness and quality of all kinds of sushi, cooked and raw, on our trips to Japan. However, I have not been able to get over my food phobia of a raw piece of fish. That is why I have raw sushi at most once a year. Normally, this involves salmon but I have taken to ordering spicy tuna. the chili sauce tends to take my mind off the texture of the fish. Thats my biggest hang up about it, having a raw piece of somewhat gelatinous fish in my mouth. It detracts from the flavor and prevents me from enjoying it.

Many years ago in college, people had just begun to eat sushi and the general populace were not as familiar with this iconic japanese dish as they are nowadays. At the time, I had assumed that all sushi was uncooked fish with rice. Little did I know that there were cooked items and other contects aside from just the fish. A friend practically had to shove one in my mouth in my first encounter and I have been enjoying them and other kinds of sushi ever since. Cali rolls are rolled with the nori(seaweed) on the outisde or on the inside. I have no particular preference but I find the nori on the outside less of a mess as I dont have any lingering kernels of rice stuck to my fingers after popping one into my mouth. The contents usually include crab in various forms. The crab could be real or imitation and it could me mixed with mayo or included as a solid piece. An odd pairing on first glance was the avocado. Accompanying it is usually come cucumber. My favorite addition is the organge fish eggs, tobiko, which give it a salty flavor and a crunchiness.

I have gone on to try other sushis. Unagi is cooked eel slathered with a sweet teriyaki sauce. Ebi is cooked shrimp. Spider rolls include deep-fried tempura crab. Other rolls have a comination of items and are called by different names depending on what restaurant you order them from. I will try to broaden my sushi horizon