Love sushi, but don’t love being confused by its many options and terminology when scanning the menu?

These may be some of the questions going over your head. 👇

What’s the difference between maki and nigiri?
Was it the futomaki I ordered the last time?
Wait, is this even sushi?

No worries! After reading this article, you won’t be bothered by this problem anymore. You may even become your friends’ go-to sushi expert.

We’re about to discuss 8 of the most common types of sushi, their characteristics, ingredients, and more.

Let’s roll. 🍣

Here’s a quick summary of each sushi. Want to jump to that specific section? Just tap the name.

Maki: known as makizushi, this sushi type involves rolling vinegared rice and various fillings in seaweed.
Nigiri: hand-pressed sushi with a bite-sized rice base topped with seafood or other ingredients.
Sashimi (not sushi): thin slices of raw seafood like salmon, tuna, or prawn, served without rice.
Temari: inspired by colourful decoration balls, this round sushi is topped with fresh ingredients.
Chirashi: served in a traditional Japanese rice bowl, with rice at the base scattered with seafood, vegetables, and more on top.
Inari: sushi rice tucked inside sweet and savoury fried tofu pockets called ‘aburaage’.
Narezushi: considered the ‘original sushi’, it involves fermented fish with rice, offering a traditional, intense flavour.
Oshizushi: also known as ‘pressed sushi’, it’s made by compacting rice, fish, and other ingredients in a wooden mould.

What is sushi?

what is sushi?

Sushi is a Japanese dish made with rice and various toppings. It can be found in almost every corner of the world because everyone loves how simple yet flavourful, delicious, and versatile it is.

Sushi features vinegared short-grain rice, known as ‘shari’, which serves as the base for various ingredients, including vegetables, meats, and seafood.

Rice is the most critical ingredient in sushi. In fact, ‘sushi’ directly translates to ‘sour rice’ in Japanese.

Now, let’s take a wild guess — when you think of sushi, you imagine rolls with seafood, right?

The truth is that not all sushi is rolled, and not all of it features seafood.

It comes in various forms and flavours, and that’s exactly what we’ll discuss in the section below — different types of sushi.

Maki

maki sushi

Maki is the most famous type of sushi. When you type ‘sushi’ on Google, maki pictures are often the first result.

In Japanese, ‘maki’ literally means ‘roll’, so the name itself gives a hint of what to expect.

Characteristics

Maki sushi is easily recognised by its cylindrical shape, wrapped in seaweed, known as ‘nori’.

The key components of traditional maki sushi include vinegared rice (shari) with different fillings in the centre.

To make maki sushi (rolled sushi), you first roll the rice and fillings together using a bamboo mat to form a cylinder. Then, you slice this roll into smaller, bite-sized pieces, ready for enjoyment.

Types of Maki

types of maki sushi

Hosomaki translates to ‘thin roll’, typically consisting of a single filling wrapped in seaweed and rice.
Futomaki (fat roll) is larger than hosomaki and contains a variety of fillings.
Kappa maki has a cucumber filling.
Tekka maki has raw tuna filling.
Uramaki, also known as ‘inside-out roll’, has rice on the outside and seaweed on the inside, with the filling in the centre.
Temakizushi (temaki), or ‘hand roll’, is a cone-shaped sushi roll where the seaweed is wrapped around the filling (rice, seafood, vegetables, etc.) by hand.

5 popular maki sushi rolls

Maki rolls

California roll: a classic sushi roll filled with imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber, often with sesame seeds or tobiko (fish roe) on the outer layer.
Philadelphia roll: filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber, popular among sushi lovers.
Spicy tuna roll: filled with spicy tuna with mayo or sriracha sauce and sometimes accompanied by cucumber or avocado.
Dragon roll: features shrimp tempura, cucumber, and avocado inside, topped with slices of eel and a drizzle of sweet eel sauce.
Rainbow roll: California roll topped with slices of raw fish such as tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and avocado.

Nigiri

nigiri sushi

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” and that perfectly describes nigiri.

At its core, it’s just fish on vinegared rice, but with every bite, you’ll feel how the simple ingredients come together to create truly sophisticated flavours.

Characteristics

Nigiri sushi is easily recognisable by its boat-shaped form. It typically has raw or cooked seafood above a small mound of seasoned rice.

While traditional nigiri has a single topping, variations may include additional ingredients.

nigiri sushi seaweed

It can be tricky to keep certain toppings on top of the rice. In such cases, chefs may use a strip of seaweed to secure them in place and prevent them from falling off.

Sometimes, nigiri may have a dab of wasabi or a brush of soy sauce, depending on the chef’s (or your) preference.

Unlike maki sushi, which is pressed using a bamboo mat, nigiri is shaped by hand.

In fact, its name, ‘nigiri,’ comes from the Japanese term meaning ‘two fingers’. This is because the rice must be shaped to fit perfectly between the chef’s two fingers during preparation.

Types of nigiri

Maguro nigiri is topped with tuna.
Sake nigiri is topped with salmon.
Ebi nigiri is topped with butterflied shrimp.
Tamago nigiri is topped with an omelette made from eggs, sugar, and dashi broth.
Unagi nigiri is topped with grilled eel glazed with a sweet and savoury sauce.
Vegan nigiri can be topped with various things like avocado, tomato, bell peppers and more.

Sashimi (not sushi)

Sashimi takes simplicity one step further than nigiri and skips the rice altogether.

“But didn’t you say all sushi has rice?” 🤔 Yes, you’re right. Sashimi isn’t considered sushi.

But because it’s one of the most famous Japanese dishes and is found in most sushi restaurants, it’s useful to know about.

Characteristics

Sashimi is thin slices of raw seafood like salmon, tuna, or prawn, served without rice.

While enjoyed on its own, sashimi is also a common ingredient in sushi.

Like sushi, it often comes with soy sauce and extras like wasabi paste and grated ginger.

Types of sashimi

Tuna sashimi (Maguro)
Salmon sashimi (Sake)
Yellowtail sashimi (Hamachi)
Scallop sashimi (Hotate)
Prawn sashimi (Ebi)
Squid sashimi (Ika)
Red snapper sashimi (Tai)
Flounder sashimi (Hirame)

If you’ve made it this far, it means you’ve got a good handle on the basic sushi types. We’re now moving into more intermediate territory.

⛵

Temari (Temarizushi)

Temari sushi

Temari and nigiri have their similarities. Temari is also (usually) raw fish on rice, but with one difference: the shape.

Can you guess how? Here’s a hint.

The word ‘temari’, which means ‘handball’ in English, is used for the traditional Japanese toy ball.

Characteristics

temari sushi vs temari toy

You may have already guessed that temari sushi has a round shape (just like the toy ball) instead of cylindrical.

To make temari sushi, a small amount of sushi rice is shaped into a ball by hand, and then topped with various ingredients like seafood, vegetables, or fruit.

The focus of temari sushi is usually on its presentation, with toppings chosen for their contrasting colours, like pink (salmon) and green (avocado).

Types of temari

Tuna temari
Salmon temari
Avocado temari
Cucumber temari

Chirashi (Chirashizushi)

Chirashi

If you ordered sushi and got a bowl of scattered ingredients instead of something rolled up, don’t worry — it’s chirashi sushi (scattered sushi).

This type of sushi is a festive dish in Japan, often served at celebratory events like Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day).

Characteristics

The main thing to note about chirashi sushi is its presentation. It’s served in a bowl or a rice tub with all the usual sushi ingredients — rice, vegetables, seafood, and more.

Sounds a bit like a poke bowl, doesn’t it?

Types of chirashi

Tekkadon chirashi: with raw tuna.
Sake Don chirashi: with fresh salmon.
Ebi Don chirashi: with butterflied prawn.
Tamago Don chirashi: with sweet Japanese omelette.
Vegetarian chirashi: with vegetables like cucumber, avocado, and pickled radish.

Inari (Inarizushi)

Inarizushi

Want to impress friends at your next sushi get-together? Inari sushi’s origin story might just do the trick.

This sushi got its name from Inari, a god in Japanese mythology. Inari’s the guardian of farmers, blessing them with abundant harvests and crop prosperity.

To show their gratitude, farmers started putting newly harvested rice into fried tofu pockets — and that’s how inari sushi was born.

Characteristics

The defining characteristic of inari sushi is its outer layer, which is made from seasoned and fried tofu pockets called ‘aburaage’.

Traditionally, Inari has sushi rice as its sole filling. But recipes have evolved, especially as the dish travels through many countries and cultures. So, you may see variations with different toppings on top of the rice.

Types of inari

Barrel shape (tawara)
Open style
Long style (Shōdenzushi)
Triangular shape (Sankaku)

Congrats! Now you’re beyond the basics — you know your sushi stuff. Are you ready to level up and become an expert?

👀

Narezushi

Narezushi

Congrats on making it this far — this is where the story of sushi began!

Back in the day (2nd century CE), when fridges weren’t a thing, the people of Southeast Asia used rice and salt to ferment and preserve fish.

This practice migrated to Japa, and that’s how narezushi, one of the earliest forms of sushi, was born.

Characteristics

This one’s not your typical California roll.

To make narezushi, fish is packed in layers of salt and rice in a wooden barrel. Then, it sits and ferments for several months to years, giving it a strong flavour and aroma.

Some say it’s like blue cheese — you either love it or hate it.

Oshizushi

Oshizushi

Let’s move to another old sushi type: oshizushi. Also known as pressed sushi, it originated in the Kansai region of Osaka.

Instead of rolling (maki) or shaping by hand (nigiri), oshizushi is made by pressing sushi rice and toppings into a rectangular mould.

Characteristics

Oshizushi gets its rectangular shape from a special wooden mold called an oshibako.

Before putting in the ingredients, the chef moistens the mould with vinegar water so things don’t stick.

Then, they start layering sushi rice and toppings — like fish or veggies — in the mould and press it down.

Sushi rice is layered over toppings (although they go under) — like fish or veggies — in the mould and pressed down. After this, it’s sliced into pieces.

Oshizushi is truly special. Thanks to the pressing process, it boasts a firmer texture and more concentrated, intense flavours than other sushi types.

Types of oshizushi

Saba oshizushi: made with mackerel (saba).
Unagi oshizushi: made with grilled eel (unagi).
Masuzushi: made with vinegared trout sashimi.
Salmon oshizushi: made with fresh salmon.

Test your knowledge

No restaurant menu will puzzle you anymore — now you know the different types of sushi beyond just the basic rolls. And not only that but their cultural backgrounds too.

As they say, though, practice makes perfect. And you can review your knowledge with Bolt Food!

Open the Bolt Food app, search for ‘sushi’, and look through any restaurant menu. See if you can spot the different types of sushi.

You might even feel like ordering some! 😋

Frequently asked questions

What are the different types of sushi?

Some different types of sushi include maki (sushi rolls wrapped in seaweed), nigiri (a small rice mound with toppings), temari (sushi balls), and chirashi (sushi bowl with scattered ingredients).

What is the most popular sushi?

The most popular sushi varies based on regional and cultural preferences, but maki sushi is a global favourite. Of all the maki types, the California roll is usually the most famous.

What type of sushi is best for beginners?

For beginners, starting with maki sushi (rolled sushi) is a good idea — it’s milder in flavour and texture. For example, the California roll (uramaki) was actually created in the US to suit Western tastes and those new to sushi.

What is sushi without rice called?

Sushi always contains rice, but sashimi — thinly sliced raw fish — is served without rice. It’s often referred to as ‘no-rice sushi’.

What sushi rolls are the healthiest?

Some of the healthiest sushi rolls are rainbow rolls (high in protein), vegetable rolls (packed with fibre), and salmon rolls (rich in omega-3 fatty acids).

What is sushi vinegar?

Sushi vinegar is made from rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. It’s used to flavour sushi rice, giving it a tangy, slightly sweet taste that complements other ingredients.

Is there a difference between zushi vs. sushi?

There’s no difference between the two. In Japanese, ‘sushi’ becomes ‘zushi’ when discussing a particular sushi type.

8 different types of sushi

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