School of Fish: Not fish

by Sarah J. Gim, Posted Apr 3rd 2006 @ 9:47PM

We've been making our tour around the sushi bar these days, covering different kinds of fish. Though most of us adore the silky smooth raw fish, let's not forget that the word "sushi" actually refers to the sweet, vinegared rice. It's not about the fish (that's technically, but I too, would cry a Pacific Ocean if I had to eat sushi without the fish).

Since it's not just about the fish, that means there are some vegetarian-ish options available at the sushi bar. I learned all about these, as well as the "cooked" fish in sushi during my sister's pregnancy. One of the most common non-fish options is tamago, which is a sweetened egg omelet. The omelet is cut into the same shape and size as sushi fish, and placed on the rice.

We've already talked about cucumber rolls, kappa maki, in a previous post. However, the use of vegetables in rolls doesn't stop there. A sushi chef can basically make a roll with any one or combination of vegetables, though it seems the big three are asparagus, cucumber, avocado. However, I have also seen more interesting vegetables. Kanpyo is dried gourd, shiso are the leaves that look like large mint leaves (often used for garnish as well), and ume, a Japanese plum that is sometimes pickled or salted.

Filed Under: Ingredients, How To
Tags: appetizers, asia, dinner, food, food and drink, food and wine, grains, hors doeuvres, japan, japanese cuisine, japanese food, lunch, sashimi, school of fish, SchoolOfFish, sushi, vegetables

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-03-2006 @11:16PM Heidi said... My local cheapy sushi place (Kitaro in SF) makes the best broccoli nigiri and pumpkin nigiri. I always order some if we end up there on monday nights (when the fish is usually not at its best).
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4-04-2006 @4:54PM Richard said... I love tamago! I was a bit sad to hear, though, that most sushi restaurants order a block of tamago rather than make it in-house. (This is from a friend that recently had a stint working as a sushi waitress.)

The vegetable tempura rolls at Koo in San Francisco are a vegetarian's sushi dream-come-true. They use soy (tofu?) wraps instead of nori.
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4-04-2006 @6:04PM Hiro said... Tamago is not really a "non-fish option" in the strict sense for non-fish eaters. It includes dashi stock, which is basically bonito and kelp stock.
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4-05-2006 @10:03AM umetaro said... There are some sushi-tsu who judge an itamae's skill by their tamagoyaki and will order it first to test out a new place. good tamagoyaki should have kind of a spongy quality without any moisture in it. much like this: http://www.foodzealot.com/images/food/urasawa/tamago.jpg

"tamago" refers to eggs in general. tamagoyaki is the term for "fried egg." the full name would be "atsu tamagoyaki" or "thick fried egg" in contrast to uh... the egg pouch thingy. usu tamagoyaki? i'm too lazy to look it up.

also, i was once told that kansai tamagoyaki is usually a bit sweeter than the kanto style stuff. i've yet to try them side by side, so that may be apocryphal.
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