The word sushi comes from an archaic grammatical form of a historical verb that means 'it is sour', no longer used in other contexts, and literally means 'sour-tasting'. The overall dish has a sour and umami or savoury taste. Sushi can be prepared with either brown or white rice. It is often prepared with raw seafood, but some common varieties of sushi use cooked ingredients or are vegetarian.
Sushi is often served with pickled ginger (gari), wasabi, and soy sauce. Daikon radish or pickled daikon (takuan) are popular garnishes for the dish.
Sushi is typically made with medium-grain white rice, though it can be prepared with brown rice or short-grain rice. It is very often prepared with seafood, such as squid, eel, yellowtail, salmon, tuna or imitation crab meat. Many types of sushi are vegetarian. It is often served with pickled ginger (gari), wasabi, and soy sauce. Daikon radish or pickled daikon (takuan) are popular garnishes for the dish.
Sashimi is one of the most famous Japanese dishes outside Japan.