7 Things Americans Get Wrong About Sushi

Why I hate hearing “ew, sushi" or “sushi is a no-go”

Photograph of a line of sushi on a white stone countertop, with a disposable wooden chopstick on either side of the line of sushi. Three nigiri and three maki are pictured. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels.

Please excuse me, Japanese Americans, American chefs, and other American sushi fanatics. This story isn’t speaking directly to you even though you are, of course, very much American.

MYTH 1: Sushi = raw fish

Definitionally, there is one thing that sushi absolutely must have, which is vinegared rice that has been prepared in a particular way. Sushi does not have to involve fish at all, and some dishes containing raw fish are not sushi. For example, sashimi is not a kind of sushi (although they are often both served at the same restaurants).

If you like steamed white rice but say you don’t like sushi, I will definitely look at you funny.

MYTH 2: All sushi has seaweed

Nope. A kind of seaweed preparation, called nori, is in a lot of makizushi (rolled sushi) and gunkan, but other nigiri almost never have seaweed.

If you’re grossed out by the idea of seaweed, I will try to respect that, but even this taste preference doesn’t exclude all sushi.

MYTH 3: Sushi is always cold