The specially prepared rice is what gives sushi its name.

Looking at the menu in a sushi bar, one can easily be overwhelmed by the seemingly endless choices of food, from delicate hand-crafted rolls with layers of different ingredients to pure pieces of raw fish served over rice. Why is it that dishes that seem so different are all lumped together under the name sushi? What, in fact, does the word sushi mean?

Phillip Yi is an experienced sushi chef, instructor and the director of the California Sushi Academy. Here he fills us in on the literal meaning of sushi and explains the common link between all sushi dishes.

• Su and shi. According to Yi, su is vinegar and shi is a shortened form of meshi, which means cooked rice. Put them together and you have sushi, which refers to any dish that has vinegared rice.

• The rice. To make vinegared rice, Yi cooks rice in a steamer and adds a mixture of vinegar, sugar, salt, and sometimes konbu, which is giant kelp. Each restaurant may vary the recipe and preparation slightly, but this is the starting point for all sushi.

• Variety. From here, the rice can be used in a variety of ways. It can be wrapped around fish or vegetables to make maki, or rolls, which can sometimes have an outer wrapper of seaweed, or it can serve as a small bed for pieces of fish, as in nigiri. Leave the rice out of nigiri and you have sashimi, which is just raw fish, and therefore not actually sushi.

• Light & healthy. Yi loves sushi because it's light, healthy and delicious. It's also a unique dining experience and an excuse to go out and have a fun afternoon or evening. So now that you know exactly what sushi is, go out and try some!

California Sushi Academy
www.sushi-academy.com

Sushi links
www.sushilinks.com

Eatsushi.com

The Sushi World Guide
www.sushi.to

Tokyo Food Page: Sushi Vocabulary
www.bento.com/sushivoc.html