Sushi lovers have been growing exponentially, but perhaps it’s time we started learning how to eat sushi properly – the traditional Japanese way.
With 45,000 restaurants in Japan and 16,000 sushi restaurants outside of Japan, and its popularity growing yearly, perhaps it’s time we learnt how to eat sushi properly.
Do you eat it with your fingers? Chopsticks? How much soy sauce do you put in? Is wasabi necessary, and do you just shove the whole thing in your mouth?
Naomichi Yasuda, former owner of Sushi Yasuda in Manhattan for 30 years but has returned to his native Tokyo to open another Sushi Yasuda. Yasuda taught the people at MUNCHIES how to eat sushi properly.
Hands-on approach
For sushi rolls, it’s ok to use your hands (this may come as a relief for people who struggle with chopsticks). Not only does it make it easier, but there’s definitely something more satisfying when you eat with your hands. How much soy sauce do you need? According to Yasuda “Just a touch – enough” and only on one side.
The difficult Nigiri
Nigiri is the one I always have the most trouble with, nigiri is the one that is rice topped with fish and no seaweed in sight. This always seems to fall apart on me. Yashuda tells us “Turn on the left side… Soy on the fish side”, so you turn the nigiri on the left side and pick it up with chopsticks, holding the fish and rice together. Turn your wrist to dip into the soy sauce so that the soy sauce only touches the fish. Also, whatever you do – don’t shake the sushi after dipping.
“Don’t shake it… shaking, this is just for the man and go finish at the men’s room”
Gari (ginger)
Gari is the sweet pickled ginger that appears at every good sushi restaurant. “Ginger do not touch soy sauce, just eat by itself. Sometimes some of the people pick up the ginger to put onto the sushi to eat together, but this is very much bad manner”