Do you know the difference between sushi and sashimi?
If you’re dining at our Bellevue sushi restaurant, it’s important distinguish to make. Confusing the two could mean ending up with a dish entirely different from what you were wanting, or it could at very least look unrefined in the eyes of some of the more dedicated Japanese food aficionados.
A helpful point to understand is that the word “sushi” does not refer to the fish, as many people think. It is an antiquated word that translates to “vinegar rice”, describing the blend of rice and vinegar that goes into sushi’s production. Therefore, it’s not sushi if it doesn’t have rice, but it can be sushi without having fish.
Sushi rolls and nigiri-sushi are both sushi, therefore, even if they are made only with egg, cucumber, or nori. Sashimi, by contrast, is only a piece of fish, and therefore cannot be identified as sushi.