Journal

Sushi, explained

Guides to temaki, ingredients, and technique — from our counter to you.

Temaki is sushi's most immediate form — cone-shaped, eaten within seconds, and built around texture.

Paper sheet, tiny pencil, one piece at a time. The unwritten rules of the temaki counter.

What the three grades actually mean, why o-toro melts, and how to taste the difference.

Chefs train for years on rice before touching fish. What goes into proper shari.

How seaweed is made, why it goes stale in minutes, and why temaki must be eaten immediately.

What you're eating probably isn't wasabi at all. The truth about hon-wasabi.

The three pillars of a sushi menu, decoded.

Custardy, briny, divisive. Everything a first-timer needs to know.

The chef's-choice tradition: how it works, what it costs, and the etiquette that matters.

Chopsticks or fingers? The real rules of the sushi counter.