Q: What’s are Nigiri, Maki and Gunkan Maki?

(Not to exhaust the possibilities), these are all the types of sushi. Sushi bento places − for a quick, healthy lunch – have become popular in Auckland now almost to the point where no self-respecting street corner is complete without one. But how many people are aware of the many different prepared items which make up “sushi” as they pop those tasty pieces of raw fish into their mouths − other than that “it’s Japanese, it’s sushi, it’s good”?

“Nigiri-zushi”
(the “s” in sushi is tweaked to a “z”, for euphonious effect) are those pressed pieces of rice with a single slice of fish layered across the top. They are visually the most striking form of sushi, and certainly the most pleasant to handle, but are also the most difficult to dip in the shoyu sauce.

“Maki-zushi”
just means rolled sushi: the sushi items which are formed of concentric circles of, first, a layer of nori seaweed sheet/paper, then the rice, and lastly the filling − of anything from fish, to avocado, to lettuce. The two main kinds of maki-zushi are “hoso-maki” and “futo-maki”. “Hoso” is from the word “hosoi”, meaning slim − so, small − whilst “futo” is from “futoi”, meaning fat, and, therefore, the bigger round pieces of rolled sushi.

“Gunkan-maki”
(battleship sushi), despite the similarity of the name, is, strictly speaking, not rolled sushi; it is nigiri-zushi surrounded by a strip of the nori seaweed sheet. The reason for doing this is to create a vessel − hence the boat idea (?) − that can be filled with a fine or loose topping. The topping can be anything from fish roe, to quail eggs, chopped cucumber, or even guacamole (this last not strictly traditional).

All of this thanks to a 19th century gentleman called Hanaya Yohei − Japan’s equivalent to the Earl of Sandwich − who invented a form of food which is clean, quick, and simple to eat, and which today enjoys deserved worldwide recognition alongside the Earl’s equally celebrated creation.