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Sushi: Taste and Techniques

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How to Buy and Care for Sushi Knives

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How to Make Sushi Rice

How to Use Sushi Knives

Making sushi and sashimi requires cutting ingredients to precise sizes and shapes. With the right tools and a few practice sessions, you can learn to make elegant cuts which will make your sushi as beautiful as it is tasty.

Slicing

To make sushi and sashimi, you should know how to slice fish with both straight and angled cuts. No matter which cut you use, there are a few general fish-slicing guidelines you should always follow:

Use a well-sharpened knife. You should be able to slice through the fish in one clean motion.
Grip the knife with your index finger extended along its top (blunt) edge.
Before using your knife, moisten it to keep fish from sticking to it.
Cut against the grain of the fish. Cutting along the lines or grooves in the flesh will cause the fish to fall apart.

Making Straight Cuts

Straight cuts are used to cut fish for sushi and some sashimi. For finger sushi and sashimi, make your cuts along the short edge of the rectangle of fish. For rolls, cut on the long edge of the rectangle.

Place the knife on the side of the fish farthest from you, about 1/4–1/2" from the edge. Make the slices as thin as possible without causing the fish to fall apart. The tendency to fall apart varies by fish, so finding the right thickness for a fish might take some experimentation.
Pull the knife back slowly toward your body, allowing the weight of the knife to do the work of slicing the fish. If your knife has been sharpened adequately, you shouldn’t have to apply much downward pressure.

Making Angled Cuts for Sashimi

Angled cuts are used for making sashimi, as well as some finger sushi, inside-out rolls, and pressed sushi.

Slice a small triangle from a corner edge of your block of fish to form an angled edge.
Cut slices from the angled edge of the block. Aim for slices roughly 1/4" thick. Lift the back end of the emerging slice with your free hand as you slice through the piece of fish.

Cutting Vegetables

Sushi vegetables are usually cut into sticks or diced.

Cutting Vegetable into Sticks

Trim the vegetable into a rectangular block.
Slice the rectangle lengthwise into two thinner rectangles.
Stack several of these rectangles and cut them lengthwise again to create sticks.

Dicing Vegetables

To dice vegetables, follow the directions for cutting vegetables into sticks. Then rotate each pile of sticks 90° and cut it crosswise to the desired thickness.

Helpful Cutting Tools

The following tools can help you cut sushi ingredients without practice or advanced skills:

Japanese mandolin: This tool cuts vegetables into uniformly thin, rectangular slices. Many mandolins also come with attachments for cutting sticks.
Vegetable peeler: This tool makes it easy to create thinly sliced vegetable garnishes.