Hi everybody, thanks for all your great responses and questions. I’m really happy with the amount of sushi love I’m getting from people already! 
Anyway, I’ve been getting a few questions about things to do and try when just starting out with sushi and cooking japanese food in general. Well, I’ve been thinking about my own adventures in sushi and japanese food and have been wondering about how my past experience can help you guys and girls out there… especially when it comes to making the food myself.
I’m sure as you sit there reading this you know that you want to eat good sushi if you’re going to have it at all. That one is kinda obvious! I can make sure the food is good when I make it myself. The main reasons I like DIY sushi are:
- I know exactly what goes into it, so I know it will be healthy – definitely the best way to make sushi good for you.
- I can also change it up however I like. Like how when I make tuna sushi, my boyfriend loves it with LOADS of wasabi but I find it too hot! When I do it myself we’re both happy.
- And it doesn’t take very long to do – to be honest I find making sushi, in fact most japanese food, pretty easy.
I do know though that it would’ve been easier if I had a little guidance from the beginning. Starting over, the first thing I’d to is Get a good japanese cookbook. If I had, I would have had a much easier time and all my food would have been a lot tastier (along with Quicker and easier to put together!) from the beginning.
It can be hard to find a really good cookbook though. I’ve collected a few books over the past couple of years so I’ll take a look and let you know which ones I think are worth getting.
Update: I’ve had a look through my collection and think this one is great: A Touch Of YouLin’s Japanese Kitchen. The author, Chef YouLin, has been making sushi and japanese food for over a decade. More importantly though, his recipes are quick to make, easy to follow and really tasty!
It comes with a couple of nice bonus books too but I don’t know if they’re still available. Check the website to find out.
Anyway, if I was starting out and could pick one cookbook to help me, it would probably be this one. Click here to take a look.
I’ve actually had a really good response by email from people that are interested in what I have to say. Thanks for reading! I would like to answer a question though I’ve had from Yamazaki2Dragons by email – is sushi healthy for you and why?
Well, is sushi bad for you or is sushi good for you? I know that sushi is actually very good for you and here’s why.
- It doesn’t have any added fats which can really add up over the day to make you unhealthy.
- There is next to zero cholesterol in sushi.
- The fish content helps make sushi good for you. Fish contains Omega 3 which is good for the brain, vitamin E which helps lower your cholesterol and is also high in protein.
- Rice, another main component of sushi, is a healthy food that also contains zinc, which helps the immune system.
- Lots of sushi contains seaweed which is rich in antioxidants.
As fast food goes, it is hard to beat the nutritional value of sushi. The ingredients that go into it and the way its prepared are why I can rely on it when I’m too busy to spend lots of time cooking and just want something quick, without having to worry about what I’m putting into my body.
Of course, there are times when it pays to be careful. I’ve heard that some places like to stuff their sushi with mayonnaise. Watch out for that! You would be able to taste it straight away but then it might be difficult to get a refund for such a reason. Also buying ready made sushi can sometimes expose you to MSG (monosodium glutamate) of HVP (the free form of MSG). Neither of those are particularly good for you so check the label before you buy.
Honestly, I find the best way to make sushi good for you is to prepare it yourself. It honestly is easy and then you know what is going into it. You also have the luxury of being able to tailor your food to your own taste! So yes, sushi is good for you, especially sushi that you prepare yourself.
I hope that answers your question Yamazaki
Hi, just a quick update to let you all know that I now have a Youtube channel! There isn’t much there now, but I’ll be uploading more videos in future. You can take a look at Alliesashimi’s video channel.
Hi everyone, its Alison here welcoming you to my site about sushi and Japanese food. I’ve been a fan for a couple of years now and I’ve learned a couple of things that I’d like to share. I’ll be adding a couple of the recipes that I’ve picked up along the way, but I’d like to start with why I like sushi so much.
First off, its really healthy – japanese food doesn’t really have much added fat or sugars, for the most part the ingredients are kept simple and unprocessed. You can really tell what you’re eating as you eat it. Is sushi good for you? I would say yes!
Second – It is convenient and doesn’t take long to prepare. I generally don’t have much time on my hands at all because my job takes up too much time. I have a long commute and am generally don’t have a huge amount of time or energy to cook. After getting the basics down though I find it really quick and simple to whip something up that I know I’ll enjoy.
Third – now this is a matter of taste – but I find it delicious! I’ve been to a couple of all you can eat sushi places in my time I must admit
Alison Ford (that's me!) is 24 and is a huge fan of sushi and japanese food.
She has enjoyed a lot of it and also knows how to make a tasty dish or two.