Sushi can be an intimidating experience for a first timer if you have or if the thought of eating raw fish itself makes you squeamish. Traditional sushi, such as nigiri, is a simple preparation of sliced raw fish on a portion of warm, hand-shaped rice flavored with vinegar. However, if you don't like the idea of uncooked food, there are still several sushi options in which the featured protein is cooked.
Types of seafood commonly found cooked at a sushi restaurant include shrimp, salmon, and eel. Shrimp (aka ebi) is almost always presented cooked in sushi. The one exception is sweet shrimp, or ama ebi.
Cooking this type of shrimp will leech the famous sweet flavor out, so it is served raw, often with a crunchy side of its fried tail and head. Salmon is commonly found baked in maki rolls. Maki rolls have a portion of fish or vegetables wrapped with rice and seaweed (nori) into a cylindrical shape.
Cooked salmon skin is also sometimes used as an ingredient for maki rolls. Eel, also known as unagi, is always served cooked no matter what. It must be precisely grilled to avoid it getting too rubbery, so chefs are trained specifically in how to prepare eel for sushi.
Eel has a sweeter, stronger flavor than other seafood. It is also makes use of eel sauce, a sugary topping for popular maki like caterpillar rolls or spider rolls. Popular cooked sushi rolls A cautious sushi beginner can try out one of the maki roll options at .
What is likely the most well-known sushi roll, the Califo.