Why The Shrimp Tempura Roll Is America’s Favorite Sushi

Let’s have a brief discussion about sushi. Just to start things off, Full disclosure here, I do not eat sushi because I do not eat raw fish. (At least on purpose.) That’s just me, I understand sushi is very popular. It’s considered relatively healthy. It’s just a personal choice that I have made that I do not eat raw animal protein. 

I have lived with that misconception all My life. 

After doing more research, I have discovered very late in life (like 10 minutes ago) that sushi is not synonymous with raw fish, but with a special type of vinegared rice. It can include cooked or uncooked protein, vegetables, or eggs, and a variety of dipping sauces. 

Since Washington state has a rather long and abundant coastline and Seattle has a robust Asian community. Sushi is popular in Washington. 

What about the rest of the US? 

Ovidlife.com was so curious about this question that they did their own survey and we have some results for you.  

According to ovidlife.com,
‘With so many options to choose from, we wanted to know which sushi rolls Americans are searching for most. To find out, we analyzed Google Trends search interest over the past five years for 18 popular sushi rolls across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The results show that while classic rolls still have staying power, crispy favorites like shrimp tempura and spider rolls are leading the way.’ 

The number 1 sushi roll? 

The most popular sushi roll in the United States is the shrimp tempura roll. Listing is number one in 14 states.  

Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin. 

I can see why this is popular because I love shrimp, both tempura and other preparations, and turning that into a roll with rice and some vegetables sounds lovely. 

Least popular sushi roll? 

So based on this survey, what would the least popular sushi roll be? Something called the Alaska Roll. The classic Alaska roll always includes salmon whether it’s raw, smoked, or cooked along with avocado, some crab meat, sushi rice and wrapped in nori. (seaweed) Connecticut is the only state that claims the Alaska role as its favorite sushi roll. 

What about Washington State? 

The Spider Roll is claimed by 12 states, including Washington, as their favorite sushi roll. The other states are Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas. 

What is a spider roll? 

A spider roll always starts with a deep-fried soft-shell crab with cucumber and avocado, sometimes including Dicon sprouts, or lettuce and some spicy mayo. Add sushi rice and roll it in Nori. The reason it’s called a spider roll is because of the legs of the soft-shelled crab. (Sorry, no actual spiders are included.) 

So, after going through all of this. I think I’m hungry. 

I may have to try something new in my life.  

I’ll start out slowly with the Shrimp Tempura roll.