Secret Sushi

While there are a lot of well known types of sushi - many Americans do not know that sushi rolls (makizushi) are rare in Japan except for the ubiquitous tekkamaki (tuna meat roll) and kappamaki (cucumber roll). Almost all other sushi is nigirizushi (sushi on top of rice). Anyway to further that, there are some types of sushi that people know little about and are very rare (or non-existent) in America. One of my favorites is Uni (sea urchin):



It doesn't look that appetizing, I admit, but there is something about the taste that makes me willing to shell out the $6 for a couple of these babies. And if you're ever snorkeling in Japan - do what I've done. Find a purple sea urchin, break off its spines, break it open, and dip its reproductive organs in the sea water for survivor sashimi:



If that makes you a bit ill, try basashi - horse sushi. It's usually raw too!



My favorite, destined to piss off the liberal, sushi-eating type, is kujirazushi, or whale sushi. It's very good.



On a side note, 99 (the Japanese comedy group has a segment in their show where Yabe, the tall one, introduces some weird sushi idea he thought up. Some of them were actually sold at Kappa Sushi. I ate Yabe's Corned Beef Sushi and Tofu Sushi, and both were ok. Here's an example segment: