Sushi is hands down my favorite food(s). Today I came across an article, or really an excerpt from a book, that I thought I my fellow sushi eaters would find interesting. The following info comes from the book "Sushi for Dummies".
Figuring out how to eat sushi politely can be confusing at first, but if you remember the tips in this article, you're sure to display good sushi manners in a Japanese friend's home or at a sushi bar.
Don't rub chopsticks together
Don't rub disposable wooden chopsticks (waribashi) together after splitting them apart. Making a performance out of rubbing them together shows bad manners. It implies that the chopsticks have splinters and are cheap, insulting your host. If you must, or the disposable chopsticks really do splinter when you snap them apart, rub them together discreetly, not in view of all.
Do place chopsticks together
There's chopstick etiquette for proper placement and use just as there's etiquette for knives and forks. Don't cross your chopsticks when you set them down, any more than you'd cross your knife and fork when you set them down. Lay your chopsticks down tightly together, below your plate, and directly in front of you. The points should face to the left if you're right-handed, or the opposite way if you're left-handed. And heaven forbid you stick chopsticks in food — especially a bowl of rice! That's a definite no-no! This is done only at funerals, where the deceased's personal chopsticks are placed upright in a full bowl of rice, offering the person sustenance for the journey into the next world.
Don't look for a spoon
As unusual as it sounds, the Japanese don't use spoons. They sip their soups out of small soup bowls. Sometimes soups are served in lacquer bowls with lids. You remove the lid (which keeps the soup warm), lift the bowl, and sip out of it. Any small, solid ingredients are eaten with chopsticks while holding up the bowl. If the heat of the soup causes the lid to stick, don't panic. Simply squeeze both sides of the bowl gently with your fingers and the lid will pop loose. If it's too difficult for you to drink soup without a spoon, go ahead and ask for one. But give it a try the Japanese way, at least once.
Do flip chopsticks over
If the sushi bar or dinner host doesn't provide serving utensils, go ahead and flip your chopsticks over and use the blunt, clean ends to pick up some tasty bit of sushi from a communal platter or bowl or from a friend's plate, if the friend is willing to share! Set the items down on your plate and flip the chopsticks back to their original position to eat with them. Doing this is hygienic and shows that you care for yourself and others at the table.
Don't overload on soy sauce
Don't drench your sashimi (slices of raw fish) or sushi (vinegared rice items) with soy sauce. Soy sauce is meant to enhance flavors, not smother them. Just as it's polite to taste your food before you salt it, it's polite to limit the use of soy sauce, letting the hosts or sushi chef's mastery of flavors be your guide. Just lightly dip your sashimi or sushi in your soy sauce.
Do dip the fish in soy sauce
There's a practical reason for dipping the fish or other finger sushi topping — instead of dipping the sushi rice ball — into the soy sauce or other dipping sauce. The rice ball falls apart, making quite a mess. Plus, the rice absorbs too much soy sauce, drowning out the delicate tastes of the sushi rice. Doing so also insults the host or sushi chef who took time to season the way he felt was right.
Don't put wasabi in soy sauce
Unless you're absolutely crazy about wasabi and can't help yourself, don't mix wasabi in your soy sauce when eating sushi. If you want to do the proper thing, ask your host or sushi chef to put extra wasabi in the sushi itself. Eating sashimi is the exception. When eating sashimi, you can mix a bit of wasabi in soy sauce without being improper.
Do eat sushi with your fingers
Finger sushi started out about 200 years ago as a street snack meant to be picked up and eaten with your fingers. You can use chopsticks to eat sushi, but fingers are still perfectly acceptable. But always use chopsticks, not fingers, when you eat sashimi.
Don't forget to use the washcloth
In a sushi bar or restaurant, you'll receive an oshibori, which is a small hot or cold (depending on the weather) wrung-out towel to cleanse your hands with, before and sometimes after you finish your meal. Oshibori is set in front of you when you sit down. Pick it up out of its little basket or tray, wipe your hands, fold it up, and put it back in the basket. If you like, keep this first oshibori to wipe your fingers during the meal. Sometimes you'll see the Japanese wiping their face with their oshibori, which is perfectly acceptable. Wiping your hands and face with an ice-cold towel is refreshing if it's a particularly hot summer day. Conversely, if it's been very cold, a warm towel on your face feels great!
Do ask the sushi bar wait staff for food and drink
When you sit down at the sushi bar in a sushi or Japanese restaurant, the wait staff will bring you just about everything but the sushi. They'll bring you your first oshibori, or washcloth, for your hands, and a cup of complimentary tea. You'll place your orders for sushi with the sushi chef in front of your section of the sushi bar, but you ask the wait staff for any drinks, like sake, wine and beer, and items such as soups, salads, and desserts that are on the restaurant's Japanese menu. The exception to this rule is if you'd like the sushi chef to prepare a special dish, perhaps a salad, to go with his sushi that's not on the menu. If you need more soy sauce, extra plates, clean dishes, or another oshibori, ask the wait staff. Tell the sushi chef when you've finished your meal. He's been keeping track of your sushi dishes and will have the wait staff add them to your bill.
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