The most common sushi fish include maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), hamachi (yellowtail), tai (sea bream), and ebi (shrimp). Tuna is graded by fat content: akami is the lean cut, chu-toro is medium-fatty, and o-toro is the prized very fatty belly. Salmon in the sushi context, written differently in Japanese than the alcoholic drink, comes in both wild and farmed varieties; wild salmon has a firmer texture, while farmed salmon tends to be fattier. Yellowtail, or hamachi, is rich and buttery, while sea bream (tai) is lighter and more delicate.
Beyond these staples, sushi showcases an array of seafood. Uni is sea urchin, soft and creamy with a pronounced ocean flavor. Ikura is salmon roe, appearing as bursting orange pearls. Tamago is a sweet egg omelet, traditionally served at the end of a sushi meal. Unagi is freshwater eel grilled with a sweet sauce, while anago is its saltwater counterpart, lighter in flavor. Amaebi is sweet shrimp served raw, hotate is scallop, tako is octopus often slightly cooked for tenderness, and ika is squid.
Freshness is paramount. Sushi and sashimi require sashimi-grade fish handled and frozen to standards that reduce parasite risk. In the United States, the FDA guideline for parasite destruction is freezing at -20 degrees Celsius for seven days or -35 degrees Celsius for fifteen hours. When eating a sushi meal, the traditional order is lighter fish first and richer fish later, with egg often reserved for the end. Nigiri is typically picked up by hand or with chopsticks, and the proper etiquette is to dip only the fish side lightly into soy sauce, never the rice side, which would absorb too much and fall apart.