Sushi Basics

    Ingredients

    Serving Sushi

    Sushi Bar

    Handling Sushi

    Making Sushi

Ask Henderson

Newsletters

When serving sushi it is important to consider the flavors that are being presented and how they balance with each other.  Sushi is traditionally made with an emphasis on simplicity in order to highlight each flavor, thus pickled ginger is eaten between pieces to clear the palate.  The same consideration should be given when choosing a beverage or accompanying dish. 

Beverages

The beverage most commonly served with sushi is green tea.  Tea, like ginger, is used to cleanse the palate and prepare the mouth for the next flavors.  Green tea is refreshing and is available in many varieties to complement any kind of food.  Although sake is often served at sushi restaurants, it is not the ideal drink to accompany sushi since both have too similar of tastes.  Sake is still a great drink for many Asian style foods; visit True Sake to learn more about it.  Japanese rice beer would be a better option when choosing an alcoholic beverage.  There are several Japanese rice beers in the U.S., the most popular being Sapporo.  Another recently developed option is a wine specifically made for sushi called Oroya.

Sides

Two common additions to sushi are miso soup and salad; both have complementary flavors and are light.  Miso soup, made from miso paste and dashi, is often made with seasonal ingredients and can be eaten with any meal, thus paring will with all sushi varieties.  Instant soup packets are available at Asian specialty stores and easy to make.  When accompanying sushi with salad, a fish component is often added either directly to the salad or as part of the dressing.  Other common ingredients are ginger, seaweed, and soy sauce, all of which complement sushi.

Dessert

Many desserts are available with flavors to suit a sushi or Asian style meal.  Specialty iced creamery shops offer sorbet flavors such as green tea or ginger which pair excellently with sushi.  Fusion bakeries, such as the Fresh Flours bakery in Seattle, WA incorporate Asian ingredients into traditional desserts, such as green tea muffins and cookies.

Breaking the Rules

With an increasing variety of sushi styles and ingredients, sushi connoisseurs can be creative when combining foods.  Serving vegetable sushi at holiday parties to spice up the traditional spread is a great way to introduce sushi to your family members.  Fruit sushi is another item which can be eaten as a dessert or snack along side any variety of food.  With sushi, the choices are endless. 

Want to learn more about sushi?  Visit Sushi University