Ingredients: Rice, seaweed, barbecued eel, avocado, tempura shrimp, burdock root, cucumber, flying fish roe

Preparation: Inside-out

Popularity: Moderate in the US

Another in the long line of sushi rolls in which decoration on a theme is almost as important as taste, the Dragon Roll tends to come with a slightly higher price tag, but if it’s done right, it’s worth every penny.

The avocado is usually draped across the top of the roll to give a ‘dragon scales’ effect, with the bright orange roe going on top of that to give contrast.

Inside, it’s all good stuff – BBQ eel, crunchy tempura shrimp, and the burdock root/cucumber combo to fill things out.

The Dragon Roll is a bit of a fatty dish, due to the deep-fried tempura, and while some variations might include hot sauce, or chili, to give it a fire-kick, generally at most sushi houses it’s a very mild menu item.

Ingredients: Rice, seaweed, shrimp, cucumber, mayonnaise

Preparation: Inside-out

Popularity: Medium to low 

An east coast special, but virtually unknown on the other side of the US, the Boston Roll (sometimes known as the Ebi Roll) puts good old-fashioned New England shrimp in bed with Japanese mayo and cucumber to make a simple, yet tasty sushi menu item that is essentially a slight variation on the California Roll.

Some versions feature tobiko (flying fish roe) on top for a splash of yellow color, and a can’t-be-beat shot of flavor.

Ingredients: Rice, seaweed, tuna, salmon, crab, shrimp, avocado

Preparation: Inside-out

Popularity: Moderate in the US, not so much in Japan

If you like stuff the comes from the sea, this is truly the sushi dish that will get you there. A Rainbow Roll is essentially seafood on seafood on seafood on seafood, wrapped in seaweed, with a California Roll in the middle.

The salmon usually comes in the form of a piece of sashimi draped over the top of the roll, leaving the tuna, crab, shrimp mix to combine inside, often with Japanese Mayonnaise as a means of keeping it smooth and together.

Usually, to create the ‘rainbow’ appeal of the dish, sushi chefs will add lines of tuna, yellowfin, albacore, and shrimp to the top, so that each piece has a different colored (or even multi-colored) appearance.

The Rainbow Roll is part of the California-family of sushi, which is all made inside-out, and frequently comes with cucumber, avocado and mayonnaise.

Ingredients: Rice, seaweed, prawn tempura, crab, cucumber, avocado, mayonnaise

Preparation: Inside-out

Popularity: High in the US, not so much in Japan

The Dynamite Roll sounds like it would give you a big hot kick, and that’s a mistake some less educated sushi first timers sometimes make.

In reality, this is a nice variation on the California-family of sushi menu items – think of it as one step beyond the Spider Roll, which is a step beyond the California Roll.

Generally, when dynamite Roll is served, the last piece of sushi on the roll features a prawn tail sticking out the end. Just so you know, it’s not offensive to leave the tail uneaten.

As one of the ingredients in this dish is deep-fried, be aware that it’s just a little more calorific than many other dishes.