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Lesson Transcript

Hello, and welcome back to JapanesePod101.com.
I’m Eric.
In this lesson we will talk about the ​"Top 5 sushi items”.
The first topic on the list is tuna, the most popular
sushi item, which is known in Japanese as (J: ma-gu-ro).
Based on the fat content, the tuna meat is
broken up into two main groups, (J: toro) and (J:
a-ka-mi).
The fatty belly meat, (J: toro), is further divided
into (J:oh-toro) and (J: chu-toro).
The fattiest and the most expensive cut is (J:
oh-toro). But some people prefer the other (J:
chu-toro) because they find it less fatty but still
flavorful.
Meanwhile, the leaner meat from the sides of the
fish is called (J:aka-mi). If you order any kind of
tuna sushi without requesting (J:toro), you
would likely get this cut.
The next topic on the list is salmon, which the
Japanese pronounce as (J: sā-mon).
Salmon is a relatively new fish for sushi use,
but its oily texture and strong flavor has made it one of the most popular sushi items.
In Japan, what is known as “salmon” in
English-speaking countries is called (J:sa-ke).
But when you order salmon sushi in restaurants,
you would most likely be served cultured and
less-expensive “rainbow trout” (J: niji-masu).
The reason behind this is that wild-caught
(J:sake) is extremely difficult to serve fresh as
they often contain parasites.
The next topic (on the list) is Salmon Roe, which in Japanese is called (J: ikura).
When making the salmon roe sushi, a sushi chef
places those reddish-orange caviar on top of a
bite-size rice ball, then wraps the piece with a
seaweed sheet. This traditional shape of sushi
is called “battleship” or (J: gunkan-maki).
To add more color and texture, battleship-shaped
sushi is often served with a slice of cucumber
on top.
But you can also use the slice to dip into the
soy sauce, rather than dipping the whole sushi
piece, so that your sushi doesn’t get too soggy.
The next topic is egg, which is called (J: tamago) in Japanese.
The main ingredient for the egg sushi is a sweet egg omelet. But this simple sushi is known to
require years of practice for sushi chefs, so
only high-quality sushi restaurants can offer
decent egg sushi.
By the way, you might see people ordering the egg
sushi at the end of the meal as a sweet dessert.
But there is no rule about this, you can of
course order them anytime you want.
The last topic (on the list) is California Roll which is (J: Kariforunia rōru) in Japanese.
The California Roll was first invented in the U.S.
in the 1960s and re-imported to Japan. This
sushi has seaweed on the inside and the rice
on the outside as opposed to a regular sushi
roll.
Nowadays, the California roll can be found on
menus around the world, using ingredients like
avocado, crab meat, tuna, and cucumbers.
Making California rolls at home is also easy and
fun. Just pick your favorite fillings and enjoy
the endless varieties of this creative dish!
That’s all we have for this lesson.
What is your favorite sushi item? Why do you like it?
Leave us a comment and let us know!
Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time. Until then, bye!

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