By Ti Jia Chi
Picture of types of sushi and wasabi
Many people nowadays can be eating sushi weekly or even daily. We always go to the sushi restaurant and sitting at the sushi bar, watching the sushi chef carefully slice a piece of toro (a type of fish) then slowly press it into a formed mound of rice in the palm of his hand. It is because there is an art to make sushi, there is an art to eat it.
Everything involves with sushi comes with years of training and tradition. So, people had done some research and consulted the sushi’s experts: sushi chef from Los Angeles. It is because we all just doing it wrong most of the time. Here are some rules and regulations of eating sushi.
Eat nigiri with chopsticks
Use your hands, not your chopsticks when eating nigiri (the slices of seafood over pressed rice). For those of us who finally feeling very proud after grasping a piece of sushi with chopsticks, this may come as a surprise, perhaps a disappointment. In Japan, it is traditional to eat nigiri with fingers whereas when eating sashimi, use chopsticks.
Eating miso soup before your sushi
Most Japanese restaurants in the United States serve miso soup as an appetiser before their meal. However, in Japan, it is opposite. As a way to help settle the food, a small bowl of warm miso soup is meant to be eaten last after your sushi. So, ask for it after the sushi.
Rubbing your chopsticks together
There is something about a pair of wooden chopsticks that makes people want to rub them together. But, remember do not do it especially in front of the sushi chef. “It’s very, very bad manners,” said Yoya Takahashi, executive chef of Hamasaku.
“It’s like if you rub your knife and fork together. Not good.”
Using too much of soy sauce
When dipping nigiri into the soy sauce, do not dunk the fish. Also, do not overpower it, just use enough soy sauce to complement the fish. Be sure to dip your nigiri fish-side down. The sushi rice also should not touch the soy sauce. This make sense when you think of all the time where you have had ask for a new sauce plate for new soy sauce because yours is already full of errant rice.
Using your phone during dinner
The temptation to Instagram, Tweet, Snapchat and Facebook every course of beautifully prepared omakase(a type of meal consisting of dishes selected by the chef) is always going to be there, but respect the chef in front of you and put the phone down. As we can see, some sushi restaurants will have “no cellphone” signs posted behind the bar. Some chef will even ask to leave if this situations happened.
Ordering anything but sushi at the sushi bar
If we take a seat at the sushi bar, our intentions should be clear. Do not sit at the sushi bar infront of the chef, and order chicken karaage, beef teriyaki with tempura, some garlic edamame and maybe a side of ramen. We can do that at regular table but not at the sushi bar. Respect the chef by just ordering sushi at the sushi bar.
7younghearts 