Sushi is a Japanese dish made of specially prepared rice, usually served with raw fish or other ingredients. The rice is seasoned with vinegar, sugar, and salt, giving it a slightly tangy taste that balances perfectly with fresh seafood like tuna, salmon, or shrimp.

Many people think sushi just means raw fish, but the rice is actually what makes it sushi. The word comes from the Japanese term for the vinegared rice itself. You can have sushi with cooked ingredients too: some rolls contain cooked crab, grilled eel, or just vegetables like cucumber and avocado. The small rolls wrapped in dark green seaweed are called maki, while the pieces with fish draped over rice are called nigiri.

Sushi chefs train for years to master cutting fish properly, cooking rice to the right texture, and assembling each piece so it looks beautiful and tastes balanced. In Japan, becoming a sushi chef is considered a serious art form. When you eat at a good sushi restaurant, you're experiencing food that someone spent years learning to prepare with care.