Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Learn the basics
• Part 2 of 3: Order sushi
• Part 3 of 3: Eating sushi
• Tips
• Warnings

In this article you can read how to eat sushi.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Learn the basics

1. Choose a sushi restaurant that is well known. This is especially important if it is your first time eating sushi. Fish cooked the wrong way can ruin the experience and can make you never want to eat sushi again in your life, especially if you're not particularly fond of fish and shellfish. Once you've had a few positive experiences with sushi, you can start experimenting with different restaurants, but if it's your first time, you better play it safe.
   • Ask people for suggestions. If in doubt about a good restaurant that fits your budget, ask friends or other people in the area if they can recommend a restaurant to you.
   • Don't assume that a high price automatically guarantees quality. Although eating sushi is usually a bit more expensive than eating in other types of restaurants, you should be able to eat sushi without immediately spending 100 euros per person, depending on where you live and where you are going to eat, of course.
2. Get to know the standard types of sushi. At almost every sushi restaurant you can order sashimi, nigiri, maki and temaki.
   • Maki are also called "sushi rolls". Maki usually consists of one or two types of fish and vegetables rolled into a sheet of roasted seaweed along with rice, then cut into bite-sized portions. Eating maki is usually a good way to start sushi for people who are a bit dreadful of eating raw fish.
   • Nigiri are slices of raw fish placed on an oval shaped ball of rice. Nigiri are prepared to order by the sushi chef and are usually lightly flavored with a little bit of wasabi and soy sauce before serving.
   • Sashimi is sliced ​​raw fish on a plate, without rice. Overall, this is the easiest and cleanest way to eat sushi, but it may not be suitable for beginners.
   • Temaki - Temaki are similar to maki, except that the ingredients in temaki are rolled into a cone that you hold and bite into, just like you would with a taco.
3. See if you can find any signs on the menu that indicate that the quality of the sushi may not be the best. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference between a good restaurant that serves good quality ingredients and one that doesn't. Questions: "Do you serve fresh fish?" is a bit rude, so learn to notice the signs yourself. Below is a list of things that might indicate that a sushi restaurant might not be that good:
   • unlimited sushi for one fixed price
   • the dishes are not indicated in Japanese
   • the majority of the dishes consist of rolled sushi with names such as Oriental Deliciousness
   • the restaurant mainly serves other types of dishes such as Chinese or Thai
   • more than half of the available ingredients are boiled or fried
4. Know the seasonings. A plate of sushi usually also contains wasabi, which looks like a ball of green pasta. Most restaurants in Europe and the United States do not serve real wasabi, but powdered wasabi mixed with water. Wasabi powder consists of dried horseradish, mustard seed, corn starch and E numbers. True wasabi is a plant native to the Japanese Alps. This spicy spice is often added to maki and nigiri, but if you want more you can ask for it. Pickled ginger is served as thin, pink or white slices on the side of the plate and is used to clean the palate between bites of sushi. You also get a shallow bowl that you can use to dip the sushi in the soy sauce.

Part 2 of 3: Order sushi

1. Sit at a sushi bar if possible. That way you can talk to the sushi chef and check the quality of the fish, which you should be able to see. The fish should not look dry or otherwise unattractive.
2. If possible, order the sushi directly from the chef. Order the remaining parts of the meal from a waiter or waitress. Ask what he or she can recommend, and if they can serve you the freshest, whatever that is. Since sushi contains raw fish, the fresher the fish, the better it tastes.
   • Directly ask, "Is it fresh?" may be offensive, implying that some of the fish may not be fresh. Just ask what they can recommend. If you don't like the things they recommend to you, order something that makes you feel good. There is no such thing as a "correct order".
3. If possible, try a number of different things. If it is very busy, or if you cannot sit at the sushi bar, order a number of different types of sushi so you can get an idea of ​​what you like for yourself. Order some nigiri, some maki, and try the sashimi if you're feeling adventurous. Order anything you like, or whatever is recommended. If most of the fish are on the menu in Japanese and have not been translated (and that is probably the case in a good restaurant), keep the list below handy for the translations of the names of some commonly served fish types. :
   • Sake (which you pronounce as "sha-ke") - fresh salmon
   • Maguro - bluefin tuna
   • Hamachi - Yellowfin mackerel
   • Ebi - boiled shrimp
   • Unagi - freshwater eel
   • Tai - red snapper
   • Tako - octopus
   • Tamago - sweet omelette
   • Masago - lodgede caviar
4. Order the drinks and any snacks from the waiter or waitress. If you want to eat something while the sushi is being prepared, you can opt for popular appetizers like edaman beans (boiled soybeans), suimono (clear stock) or misoshiru (fermented soybean soup). Choose to drink from green tea, sake or water; soda will drown out the subtle flavors of the sushi.

Part 3 of 3: Eating sushi

1. Wash your hands before eating sushi. Many sushi restaurants will provide you with a hot, damp towel to wash your hands before serving food. While many people choose to eat with chopsticks, eating sushi with your hands is also permissible and it is good practice to wash your hands thoroughly before starting, especially if you are having a plate of sushi with friends. shares.
2. Prepare some soy sauce for dipping. Pour a little bit of soy sauce into the bowl provided. Some people like to stir some of the wasabi into the soy sauce, but others look down on this "Western" custom and find it a little disrespectful. Ask the cook or waiter if you are supposed to dip if you are unsure and try smearing the wasabi directly on the fish if you want more of it.
   • Be careful when you dip Nigiri in the soy sauce. Dip the fish in it, not the rice, so that the sushi doesn't fall apart or get completely soaked in the salty soy sauce. Don't overdo it. Try without it first and then use the seasonings as much as you like.
   • If there is already sauce on the sushi, do not dip the sushi in the soy sauce. Taste it and try to enjoy it as the cook has seasoned it.
   • You can also use chopsticks to dip the ginger in the soy sauce and then spread the sauce on the fish with the ginger, instead of dipping the fish directly into the sauce. This also gives the "essence" of ginger to the fish without having to eat the ginger itself.
   • Today it is more accepted to dip the rice in the soy sauce.
3. The sushi in one bite. If the piece is too big, eat it in two bites. Pay attention to the flavors as well as the textures. You may be surprised how soft and tender the fish is. Remember, eating sushi isn't supposed to overwhelm you with all strong flavors, but with a balance of flavors and textures. Take the time to enjoy it.
4. Refresh your mouth with a slice of ginger between bites. It is especially smart to do this between bites of different types of sushi. Do not eat the ginger at the same time as the sushi (so not in the same bite) and do not eat large pieces of ginger at once.
5. Ready.

Tips

• Before eating, read a little more about sushi etiquette so you don't accidentally offend the cook or the culture.
• Real wasabi is very expensive; wasabi is basically a carrot, and in some restaurants it looks more like scraps. Plus, it's not as ridiculously expensive as the green pasta. The green paste is basically horseradish and dried mustard seed with food coloring added.
• Better quality pickled ginger should be white in color; pink ginger usually comes from a jar with food coloring added. Although both varieties are (usually) tasty, the pale variety is more subtle and complex.

Warnings

• Do not eat sushi in Western restaurants (or at least not in a restaurant that is not primarily Japanese). The quality is probably not good and there is a good chance that the rice used is not sushi rice.
• Avoid eating large amounts of "albacore tuna" (actually called escolar or butter mackerel), as eating more than 170 grams can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea and in extreme cases nausea and vomiting.
• Eating raw fish, shellfish, and raw meat can put you at risk of serious food poisoning and other ailments, including hepatitis, parasites, and liver damage. While the chances of this happening in a self-respecting sushi restaurant aren't that high, you shouldn't eat sushi that knows how long a buffet has been served and where you don't know which hands prepared it.