Sushi rolls are the most popular form of sushi. Japanese and American restaurants serve two types of sushi to their patrons.
Seaweed called nori on outside of sushi is one variety of sushi rolls. The second type has nori inside the roll.
Presence of nori be it inside or outside changes dramatically the flavor and texture of sushi rolls.
Those who enjoy nori often prefer the style of sushi roll where the nori is on the outside of the roll. This style of sushi roll is called futomaki.
Sushi rolls that have nori inside them are called uramaki. People who like sushi prefer futomaki as it is more popular and traditional compared to the other form.
Futomaki rolls are often served by Japanese restaurants or sushi bars. Even grocery stores keep futomaki sushi rolls.
A typical futomaki sushi is vegetarian but has fish eggs as toppings. Generally futomaki is cut into pieces and then served. However, on certain Japanese festivals it is offered as a roll.
Japanese prefer to eat with their fingers, so uramaki is becomes a less popular choice. As uramaki is has a tendency to be sticky and it falls apart under pressure, it is difficult to eat it either with fingers or chopsticks. A uramaki sushi roll, on the other hand, is non-vegetarian in nature and is served with sesame or fish egg toppings.
Since most Americans do not fancy futomaki with its black coating, uramaki is the preferred form of sushi rolls.
In the entire spread of sushi rolls hosomaki is the clear winner. Hosomaki, like futomaki, has seaweed on the outside and is served as such.
Kappamaki, Tekkamaki, Negitoromaki and Tsunamayomaki are the four varieties of hosomaki.
Kappamaki contains cucumber, as well as some other ingredients, and is used to cleanse the palate between raw fish dishes and other parts of the meal.
Tekkamaki is the tuna sushi roll, named after the red color of the fish meat.
Negitoromaki variety of sushi rolls has scallions and tuna in them.
Last, but not least, is the tsunamayomaki, which is canned tuna and mayonnaise. This is considered a home style sushi, and can be made by virtually anyone easily.
Author Resource:
Kimikoshi Sumo is a Japanese cuisine expert. Her sushi help website at http://www.hereishelp.com offers simple yet delicious sushi recipes. Kimi's cookbook about sushi "Introduction to Sushi" is jam packed with tips for making mouth watering sushi delicacies.