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For some people, heaven is a Kobe steak; for others, it’s exquisite sushi like this tuna tataki (the equivalent of tartare) with ikura (salmon roe), wasabi-flavored tobiko (capelin roe) and nori flakes (seaweed). Photo by Kelly Cline | IST.

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July 2007
Updated March 2008

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Fish, Seafood & Caviar

Types Of Sushi

And A Glossary Of Sushi & Sashimi Terms

Page 8: T to Z

You can click on the letter of the alphabet in the bar below to get to a term
without having to scroll manually; letters other than T to Z
will take you to the appropriate page of the glossary.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Tai: In Japan, this refers to the sea bream. It must be imported to the U.S., so often, according to an item in the Chicago Sun-Times (May 10, 2007), Japanese restaurants in the U.S. have begun referring to tilapia as tai—it is similar in flavor to tai (sea bream, related to porgy and daurade). Previously, U.S. sushi bars had been substituting red snapper for sea bream, but red snapper is not as easy to obtain as tilapia, and the newspaper quotes some sushi chefs as saying that red snapper isn’t well-suited for sushi or sashimi because its flesh is too soft. Real sea bream has a lovely white flesh with a pink hue, Octopus Sushi and red accents. Unless you know your fish, it is easy to confuse with sea bass, which has a similar coloring (but the red accents are more striped).

Tako: Octopus. Much octopus is frozen; it is also blanched because, like squid, it is too chewy to eat raw. Nama tako indicates fresh octopus. Photo of tako by Radu Razvan| Fotolia.

Takuwan: Pickled daikon, generally deep yellow in color. Often part of an order of oshinko, and an excellent option for a vegetarian roll.

Tamago-yaki: Tamago is the Japanese word for egg. In sushi, it refers to a rectangular sweetened omelet, cut into small rectangles for sushi or sashimi. When the slice of omelet is wrapped around a slice of dried nori (seaweed), it is known as nori-tama. In Japan, tamago is the “signature dish” of each chef: Often potential customers will ask for a taste of it in order to judge the chef’s proficiency. Photo of tamago by Yong Hian Lim | IST.

Tataki: Japanese for “finely chopped.” The equivalent of the French “tartare” (see photo at top of page).

Tarako: Alaska pollock roe.

Tazuna-sushi: See Rainbow Roll.

Tekka-don: Slices of raw tuna over rice. This is tuna chirashi-style, except that chirashi implies an assortment of fish.

Tekka-maki. A tuna roll. The reason it is called tekka-maki and not maguro-maki has two derivations. “Tekka” means “iron on the fire” and in the old days, the red color of the fish looked like the color of a hot iron glowing in the fire. However, if you ordered a maguro maki, you would be understood; and maguro-temaki is the correct way to order a tuna hand roll. Tekka is also the word for Japanese gambling parlors in Japan, where the snack originated as a quick, hand-held food that could be eaten at the gaming table (as the sandwich was so the Earl of Sandwich could eat without interrupting his card game).

Tekka-maki: tuna roll.

Temaki-zushi: A temaki is a cone-shaped hand roll. Add the name of any fish or vegetable the word before temaki, and you will get that item wrapped with rice in a sheet of toasted seaweed. Maguro temaki is a tuna hand roll, hamachi temaki is a yellowtail hand roll, etc. For a photo, see Hand Roll.

Tobiko: Flying fish roe. Orange to red in color, these tiny, pinhead-size eggs are crunchy. They are served as in gunkan-maki (boat-style sushi rolls), and also used to coat the outsides of uramaki, “inside out” rolls. One popular gunkan-maki is tobiko topped with an uncooked quail egg yolk (uzura no tamago). Photo at left of tobkio by Maria | IST.

Toro: The most tender part of the tuna, buttery, rich toro comes from the fatty belly portion. It is a smaller area, so a pricier part of the tuna, rosy in color rather than the bright red maguro that is more commonly served. It is often chopped with scallions for a negi-toro roll. At connoisseur sushi emporia, toro can be ordered as medium fat (chu-toro) and high fat (oo-toro)—similar to choosing the level of fat marbling you want on your steak. Interestingly, prior to the 1920s, when Japanese started adapting more Western dining habits, this fatty part of the fish was not considered prime and was used for cat food.

Tsukemono: Pickled vegetables, which can include daikon, ume, turnips, Chinese cabbage and cucumbers. Gari is also a type of tsukemono. They are served with rice, and can be made into sushi.

Tuna: Several varieties of tuna are used for sushi and sashimi, including ahi (yellow fin) and maguro. Blue fin, big eye and albacore are different species of maguro. See also toro (above) and chu-toro.

Umeboshi: A small, bitter, pickled Japanese plum that is made into a sushi roll.

Ume-shiso: A tart plum paste (neri ume) and shiso leaf mixture, popular for sushi. Japanese diners feel that ume clears the palate and leaves a pleasant aftertaste, and often order it to conclude a sushi dinner. Many American palates may find the flavor too tart.

Unagi: Freshwater eel, which is richer than salt water eel (anago). Eel is not served raw, but is pre-boiled, freshly grilled prior to serving and brushed with a teriyaki-type sauce. Most of our unagi supply is imported pre-cooked from Taiwan and China, but is marinated and re-broiled by the restaurant. Photo of unagi by Alexander Zhiltsov | IST.

Uni: The gonad of the sea urchin. Sea urchin is one of those foods that people Uni Sushi either love or hate. The taste can vary widely—people tend to think it is seasonality, but it is actually geographical. U.S. uni can come from California, the east coast of Canada, Maine and other regions, each with different nuances of flavor and appearance. The California uni tend to be sweeter and more creamy. Maine uni are reportedly less creamy, with a stronger taste. Even if one has a preference, each of these can be attractive as long as they are fresh. (Note: Lobsters love to eat uni!) Photo of uni by Radu Razvan | Fotolia.

Uramaki: Reverse roll or “inside out roll,” where the rice is on the outside of the sheet of nori instead of on the inside.

Uzura no tamago: Quail egg. A raw quail egg is often served on top of tobiko or uni in a gunkan-maki.

Wakame: A popular seaweed, long strands known as lobe-leaf seaweed, served as a vinegared salad at sushi bars, as well as in miso soup.

Wasabi: In most restaurants, this is “faux wasabi,” the hot horseradish/mustard mixture that is served instead of real wasabi, to be mixed with soy sauce as a dip for sushi and sashimi. Read the difference between real wasabi and imitation wasabi.

Yellowtail: See Hamachi. Yellowtail is a fish that is called different names depending on its age. Inada is a very young yellowtail, hamachi is medium age, buri an older yellowtail.

Zuke: Japanese for “marinated.” In the Edo Period, sushi was often served already marinated in soy sauce. Today, some creative sushi chefs serve pieces of sushi already marinated in citrus, saké or vodka, requiring no use of soy sauce.

Zushi: The more correct spelling for sushi; however, the “unvoiced” transliteration has taken on in the U.S., to the chagrin of Japanese-speaking people. A grammatical rule called rendaku governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word. Thus, the word “sushi” as a standalone noun would be pronounced with the unvoiced “s,” but when it becomes part of a compound noun, it becomes a voiced “z,” e.g., maki-zushi. There are also exceptions to the rule—all of which are too complex for Americans to follow. Thus, Japanese will continue to translate correctly, while Americans will continue to call everything “sushi” rather than attempt to figure out which is sushi and which is zushi.