Week 9: Supreme Sushi

In my opinion, sushi is some of the most delicious and beautiful food out there. No matter what you order, no two rolls will ever be perfectly identical. Unfortunately a passionate love for sushi is rather expensive in the upkeep, especially on a college budget. I spent my last few days of spring break investigating local sushi places and doing some research to find a few of the cheapest places near campus. I also spent some time looking into the healthiest options out there. In this post I’ll offer you a few inexpensive options and go over some of the most basic types of sushi for those of you who are sushi beginners.

I like to consider myself a bit of a sushi veteran. I’ve been trying everything from the basic roll to nigiri and eel (which is one of my favorites!) from a pretty young age. My dad introduced me to the basic types of nigiri, in my case small pieces of raw salmon and tuna with rice, starting when I was about 13 years old.

There are plenty of nice places to get sushi in the Fort Worth area. From classics like Piranha to the new and trendy Blue Sushi, it’s pretty hard to go wrong when selecting a place to get some great sushi. But if you’re looking to eat sushi on a budget, Sushi Q is definitely the place that you should consider trying on your next night out. Located on Hulen, Sushi Q has a happy hour special on the weekends from 7 p.m. to close that allows you to get edamame (a boiled soybean appetizer) for $2 and sushi rolls from $2.75-$3.75 each. Not to mention low priced drinks for those of you who are over 21, it’s hard to go wrong with such inexpensive food. The place is definitely a hole in the wall, but in this case you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

Now I’ll go over a few of my favorite basic sushi rolls. When I’m introducing anyone to sushi who has never tried it before, I usually suggest that they start with the classic California roll. The California roll contains cooked crab, cucumber, and avocado. Pretty basic stuff for beginners. One thing that all rolls have in common is that the inner ingredients are held together with seaweed before being wrapped in sticky rice. Sushi rolls are also sometimes coated in toasted sesame seeds (also called tobiko) or orange fish eggs.

My next basic roll is the Philadelphia roll. This favorite usually contains smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber. It sounds like a strange combination, but this roll is seriously delicious.

If you’re looking to step it up a few notches, the spider roll is a good transition to some of the crazier sushi options. The spider roll usually contains deep fried soft shell crab, cucumber, avocado, sprouts, and spicy mayonnaise. This one is definitely a step up from the basics.

The spicy tuna roll is a great option for your first experience with a raw sushi roll. This roll is pretty straightforward, usually containing only sushi grade tuna mixed with spices and a bit of cucumber. The spicy tuna roll is always a crowd pleaser.

And now on to my favorite—the dragon roll. This roll is simply a California roll with a filet of eel on top. Eel, much like many other strange meats, tastes a lot like chicken that has been soaked in soy sauce. It can be a little tough if overcooked, but for the most part I find it extremely delicious.

All of these pictures can be found on google, along with the pictures of pretty much any other sushi roll you can dream up. I wish I could say I was lucky enough to eat every one of the rolls pictured above this weekend, but frankly thats a whole lot of fish!
For those of you who are watching your figure, picking healthy sushi is pretty straightforward. Any roll with tempura shrimp or crab contains double the calories of your basic roll that hasn’t been deep fried. Also, brown rice is a much healthier alternative to white rice, and most restaurants can substitute it upon request. 

So the next time you’re hoping for a night out with a little bit of Japanese food, keep this basic sushi guide in mind and don’t be afraid to take a few risks.

Happy Eating!