Sushi for Dummies

Whether You're looking for a Crash Course in Sushi or a Review of the Book, You've found the right place!

Sushi for Dummies in the context meant for this page is about the book. But, if you got to this page from Google or another search engine and you're wanting to read some info online about Sushi geared toward Beginners (or dummies!) then check out our Sushi for Beginners page.

Otherwise you must be here for a review of the book. 

Book Review

I read this book pretty much cover to cover to get a real good idea of its content and information.

Pros:

Sushi for Dummies is written in a relaxing, conversational style. The authors try to explain concepts like how to roll sushi with a sushi mat and how to slice meat with a sashimi knife about as well as can be done using mainly just illustrations and drawings.

A lot is covered in a book of 268 pages. I think it is very thorough however. You will have to read some of the instructions slowly, and maybe over and over again a couple of times referring to the illustrations carefully to drive home some of the concepts. But overall I think it is very well done.

The content covers everything from sushi history and sushi etiquette to outfitting your sushi kitchen as well as dozens and dozens of the most common recipes.

One thing that I was very pleased with, was seeing somebody else recommend using Kombu (seaweed used to make dashi) in making sushi rice. I recommend that on our Sushi Rice Recipe page, but have not seen it in hardly any other sushi rice recipes. This is the REAL authentic Japanese way to make sushi rice (and my recipe actually uses another ingredient that nobody else uses). 

Seeing this gave me great confidence in these authors. 

Cons:

There isn't a whole lot to nit pick here in Sushi for Dummies. Some of the reasons for nit picking anything is mainly due to the cost of the book.

Which brings me to the main complaints that most of other reviewers of this book had, if they had a complaint at all (most loved the book) --- the lack of pictures to explain how to  do things (instead of drawings).

Again, I think the main reason that the Dummies series of books are not glossy photo heavy (there's a few of finished sushi that is in color in the middle of the book) is just to keep the price down  and the book affordable.

I'd say that if it is that important to you to have pretty pictures to look at instead of drawings, then get on amazon and find another book that has pretty pictures in it instead --- just be ready to pay double the price of this book to get it.

And don't be surprised if the content is not nearly as good as it is in this book.

This book is really very well written and a bargain for what it costs. (a little under 12 dollars at the time of this writing).

The only other thing I can say about this book that is not necessarily negative but just an observation, is that the verbage for a lot of the standard sushi terms is kind of americanized.

In other words, they keep referring to Nigiri as "finger sushi". I didn't know what they meant by finger sushi at first. I had to find it and verify (through an illustration) that they were in fact talking about Nigiri sushi. And they pretty much do this with almost every sushi term.

They may "mention" the correct Japanese term for something once, but then will just continually use the "americanized" version of the word throughout the book . No big deal. I know that they are doing it to make it "simple" to relate to different types of sushi for those that are new.

After all, it is called "Sushi for Dummies".

Consensus:

I think this is a very good, well written book. And an excellent value for the money. If you are interested in Sushi and want to learn how to make it but want to spend as little as possible on on a book, then this is the book for you.

Either way, if I had to recommend just ONE book based on both content and price value, Sushi for Dummies is probably the one it would be. If you want to get a copy or check it out, you can see it here on amazon.

There is Another Beginner Sushi Book you should consider...

Sushi for Dummies is a good book... from the standpoint of breadth and overall deeper content... but it does not shine for its pictures.

So, if you are a beginner and you want a more "well-rounded" library, there is another book that I think complements this book.

That book is "Sushi The Beginner's Guide". I would get this one mainly for its clear explanations and step by step pictures. You can read our review of this book here or if you want to get it, they have it at Amazon here.

Together both of these books would set you back maybe a little over 20 dollars but with both of them you may never see a need to invest in another sushi book again...

Unless of course you wanted to graduate to a lot more advanced or obscure sushi making...

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