The Basics of Sushi Making

Let’s start with the most basic of basics, the seasoned rice on which all sushi recipes depend. The commonplace name for this food is sushi meshi, but in the lingo of the sushi bar it’s known as shari. If you want to impress the ita-maé (literally, “[the one who stands] in front of the cutting board,” i.e., the chef) and others within earshot, you’ll refer to the rice as shari, the soy sauce as murasaki (literally, “purple”; soy sauce is otherwise known as shōyu), the powerful horseradish as namida (“tears”)，and the sprightly pickled ginger as gari (“crunchy”). Tea, which is elsewhere referred to as ocha, is known in the sushi bar as agari or “up” (as in “drink up”).