Mr. Easler, a teacher at Westside Middle School, heads to Mikoto Japanese restaurant on Washington Road about once a week for sushi, he said. Most people associate sushi with raw fish, but it's really the rice that makes it sushi, Mr. Morrison said. Specially prepared with rice vinegar and other ingredients, the rice gives sushi its distinctive flavor and bite. Wild Wasabi sushi chef Terry Inaba won't reveal specifics of his recipe - and that's not unusual, Mr. Morrison said. The raw fish so many people associate with sushi is actually called sashimi and can be served either with or without rice.
Some sushi includes cooked fish.
California rolls, which feature cooked crab, avocado and rice rolled together then sliced into bite-sized pieces, is one of the most popular types of sushi in Augusta, chefs said. Other types of sushi rolls, which are called maki, include a crisp outer layer of nori, a thin sheet of seaweed. Another favorite, shrimp sushi, also features cooked shellfish. The shrimp is served nigiri style, like the raw red snapper and yellowtail Mr. Easler ordered after clearing his plate of maki, with pieces of fish pressed on top of finger-length beds of sticky rice. The Augusta Chronicle .