Sushi Etiquette

When I was training with my teacher, part of what I was taught related to Japanese history and culture. My teacher believed that a person should be well rounded with their interests. Although he took his martial arts seriously, he also took great pleasure in gardening and reading religious scriptures.

Another pleasure he enjoyed was food. He loved to eat. Though with hi 5-1, 100lb frame, I was always surprised how much he could consume. While he wasn’t what I would call a gourmet, or even open to trying a vast variety of foods, he did look forward to mealtimes.

Food, was the only gift my teacher would ever let me bring him without a fuss. He really enjoyed the days I brought him burritos, loved cookies, and I think he would have eaten every Gummy Bear in the city of San Francisco if given the chance.

Of course his main staple was Japanese cuisine (rice, vegetables, and noodles), and since I would often go to his house directly after school I was exposed to a lot of various Japanese foods. Some I enjoyed, and others I don’t want to ever see again.

I don’t know about other people’s tastes, but squid, egg, mayonnaise, and bean sprouts should never be fried together. And what was in that sauce, I can’t even start to guess. Yuck!

My teacher was the first person that introduced me to sushi; long before eating sushi was in vogue in the US. I think I was about 13 years old, and initially the concept of eating raw fish was really gross. However, once I opened my mind enough to try sushi I loved it.

Many people eat sushi, but few know its history or that there specific etiquette one should observe when eating it.


Brief History:

The term “Sushi” means vinegared rice, not raw fish. It was originally a process designed to preserve raw fish, and had little in common with sushi as we know it today.

In ancient times the raw fish was cleaned and then pressed between rice and salt by heavy stones. After a few weeks the stones were replaced with a light cover, and the mixture of rice, slat and fish was left to ferment. After several months the fermentation process would be over and the fish would be ready for consumption.

This process of preserving fish was most likely introduced to Japan from China, who had already begun using this method of food preparation by the 7th century.

Sushi in its current form is attributed to an Edo based chef named Yohei Hinaya during the 18th century.


Etiquette basics:

1 - Chopsticks are proper tools for eating sashimi (slices of raw fish), but it is perfectly acceptable to pick up and eat sushi with your fingers.
2 - Don’t rub your chopsticks together. That is considered rude. If rubbing wooden chopsticks is absolutely necessary, do it under the table where no one can see.
3 - If you use chopsticks to pick up a communal dish always use the back end. Never pass food to others with your chopsticks, pass the plate. If taking something from another person’s plate use the reverse end of your chopsticks. When chopsticks are not in use they should be placed under you plate.
4 - Never bite into a piece of sushi and then return the uneaten portion to your plate. Sushi in its original form was small, and each piece was eaten whole. If the piece is big cut it before attempting to eat it.
5 - Sushi should be dipped into the soy sauce fish side down. Don’t dip the rice. The rice will absorb to much sauce.
6 - Sushi should be placed in the mouth fish side to tongue side.
7 - The pickled ginger that accompanies most sushi orders should be eaten between bites of sushi to cleanse the palate. This can also be accomplished by drinking sips of Green Tea. Green Tea is actually better.
8 - Don’t mix wasabi in soy sauce. The proper thing to do is request more wasabi on each piece of sushi when making your initial order. (My mother breaks that rule all the time.)
9 - Mixing wasabi with soy sauce when eating sashimi is acceptable.

I know thinking about to many rules takes the fun out of just enjoying a good meal. So now that you know what is proper, just go out and have fun.