Reference
A Typical Sushi Menu
Vocabulary
A Typical Sushi Menu:
Most Sushi Bars provide a 1 page sushi menu for you to fill in the quanties of each type sushi you want. You will often see these readily available at the bar along with small pencils for filling in your order. Feel free to order multiple times. Many places include 2 columns on the sushi menu for entering your first and second orders.
Vocabulary
Useful Phrases
| Ama Ebi o kudasai | please give me sweet shrimp |
| Anago o kudasai | please give me salt water eel |
| Arigato | thank you (informal) |
| Arigato gozaimashita | thank you very much (at the end of the evening) |
| Domo (DOH moh) | thank you |
| Domo arigato (ah ri GAH toh) | thank you very much |
| Dozo (DOH zoh) | please |
| Hai (high) | yes |
| Itamae-san | the sushi (or other Japanese) chef |
| Kampai | to your health |
| Konbanwa | good evening |
| Konichiwa (koh NEECH ee wah) | a greeting, roughly "how are you" or "how do you do?" |
| Okanjo | bill/check |
| Omakase | asking the sushi chef to choose what you'll have next |
Slang
| Gyoku (means jewel) | tamago |
| Murasaki (means purple) | soy sauce |
| Namida (means tears) | wasabi |
| Oaso | the check |
| Sabinuki | no wasabi |
Other Sushi Terms
| Aburage | fried tofu pouches prepared by cooking in sweet cooking sake, soy sauce, and water |
| Chakin sushi | vinegared rice wrapped in a thin egg crepe |
| Chirashi sushi | assorted raw fish and vegetables (usually nine, nine being the Japanese lucky number) over rice |
| Daikon | giant white radish, usu. served grated as garnish for sashimi |
| Edomae sushi | same as nigiri sushi |
| Gari | vinegared ginger |
| Kampyo | dried gourd that comes prepared in long, translucent brown strips like fettuccine |
| Maki sushi | vinegared rice with insertions, rolled up in Japanese seaweed. Most maki places the nori on the outside, but some, like the California roll, place the rice on the outside |
| Nigiri sushi | pieces of fish, shellfish, or fish roe over vinegared rice balls |
| Odori-ebi | live "dancing" shrimp |
| Oshibori | rolled up hot towel served to sushi bar customers |
| Oshinko | Japanese pickles |
| Sashimi | raw fish served chilled, sliced, and arranged without rice |
| Shoyu | soy sauce |
| Tekka-don | pieces of raw tuna over rice |
| Temaki sushi | hand rolled cones of sushi rice and/or vegetables wrapped in seaweed |
| Wasabi | Japanese horseradish |
