Eating Sushi
One word of warning: Eating sushi can be a very expensive habit to break. When you start your meal at a Japanese sushi restaurant, you'll first be given a wet towel (called oshibori) to wash your hands. Since sushi can be a finger food, this is a good thing to utilize. Spanish Springs Sushi's All-You-Can-Eat begins with a bowl of miso soup and/or cucumber salad.
A small dish is used to pour soy sauce into for dipping. The green paste is known as wasabi (think Japanese horseradish), and may be mixed into your soy sauce. Most sushi maki rolls already have wasabi added by the chef, so you may want to taste your sushi first before adding wasabi to your dipping soy sauce. Small pink slices of pickled ginger (called gari) are eaten between different types of sushi courses in order to cleanse the pallet.
When eating nigiri (hand pressed) sushi or sashimi (which are small pieces of raw fish), hold the sushi with fingers or chopsticks, dipping (not soaking) the fish into the soy sauce. Avoid dipping the rice into the soy sauce, as rice will absorb the liquid and lose it's flavor. Place the sushi fish side down in your mouth, making sure you taste the fish first, followed by the wasabi and rice. Maki roll sushi is traditionally eaten in one bite. The rice in the roll tends to fall apart if eaten in more than one bite.
Chop Sticks How To ...
While sushi is considered a finger food and can be eaten with your hands, you'll want to learn how to properly use chopsticks. After all, who wants to ask for a knife and fork in a sushi bar or Japanese restaurant?
Holding Chopsticks Rest the end of the lower chopstick in the V fold of the hand between the thumb and the forefinger. The lower chopstick is supported with the little finger and the ring finger.
Using Chopsticks Hold the upper chopstick in a similar manner as holding a pencil between the middle finger and the index finger, supported by the thumb. Keeping the two chopsticks even, the lower chopstick remains perfectly still, while the upper chopstick pivots. (See animation above.)
How to Use Chopsticks While sushi is considered a finger food and can be eaten with your hands, you'll want to learn how to properly use chopsticks. After all, who wants to ask for a knife and fork in a sushi bar or Japanese restaurant?
Holding Chopsticks Rest the end of the lower chopstick in the V fold of the hand between the thumb and the forefinger. The lower chopstick is supported with the little finger and the ring finger.
Using Chopsticks Hold the upper chopstick in a similar manner as holding a pencil between the middle finger and the index finger, supported by the thumb. Keeping the two chopsticks even, the lower chopstick remains perfectly still, while the upper chopstick pivots. (See animation above.)
