# How should one eat sushi? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118 "2005-06-13T18:33:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/21 "2005-06-13T21:20:22Z")
I want sushi now! I’d be willing to go for sushi with **missbunny** , as long as she doesn’t have a problem with me mixing the wasabi and soy sauce, and almost certainly ending up with at least a few drops of the wasabi/soy mixture on my shirt. > [@Soul Brother Number Two](#): > > One should flip the nigiri over and dip the fish into the soy/wasabi. A LOT easier said than done for some of us, whether with fingers, chopsticks, or whatever. It always falls apart when I try to do that. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/22 "2005-06-13T21:25:51Z")
> [@Soul Brother Number Two](#): > > My sushi books, and sushi chefs I’ve known, say the only real mistake we Merkins make is that many of us dip the rice into soy sauce. A big no-no, as “sushi” means “vinegared rice,” so dipping the rice into soy destroys the flavor of this special rice preparation. Next time I eat sushi, I’‘m going to try that. If for no other reason to be all like "YOU’RE DIPPING THE RICE IN THE SOY SAUCE??!! What are you? Some kind of FREAKIN’ savage? :rolleyes: " to my dining companions. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/23 "2005-06-13T21:27:13Z")
The last time I ate good sushi, for some pieces I dipped one side in the soy and put wasabi on the other. Delicious. But then the sushi was delicious with the soy, with the wasabi, and on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/24 "2005-06-13T21:32:14Z")
First, there is no absolutely right or wrong way to eat **sashimi** , which most people in this thread seem to be talking about, or sushi. Sashimi is the raw seafood slices to which you _apply_ (in varying methods) wasabi and shoyu (soy sauce). There are many types of sushi (the defining ingredient of which is vinegared rice). Sushi does _not_ equal “raw fish.” Much of the sushi you’ll eat at the sushi place is nigiri-zushi, which are the compact bunches of rice with raw seafood (but not always; I’ve had mushroom nigiri, etc.) on top. But you’ll also find maki-zushi (rolled sushi). Nigiri-zushi and maki-zushi already have wasabi in them. If you want more wasabi, you should order it with more (wasabi-dakusan de onegai shimasu, etc.). You can dip nigiri- and maki-zushi in wasabi-less shoyu, however. For maki-zushi, I usually just dip the edge of the nori (seaweed) in the shoyu; there’s no need to turn it upside down. For nigiri, I turn it over and dip the corner of the fish, etc., in the shoyu. How to apply wasabi to sashimi: Most Japanese people make a solution of wasabi in the shoyu and dip. But this is not the high road! The better way is to apply the wasabi directly to the slice, then dip in shoyu (my old boss taught me this method). You get better flavor this way, mainly because a solution of wasabi in shoyu will not get you the right proportion of wasabi to shoyu. No, you don’t eat the gari (pickled ginger) with the sashimi. I’ve never once seen a Japanese person do that. It’s a palate cleanser or just an extra thing to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/25 "2005-06-13T22:11:57Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Too much wasabi is one of the risks of sushi, although it wears off quickly. And if you do get too much, there’s one moment on the way up, and another on the way back down, when it’s perfect. They sell wasabi peas in Japan and NZ (haven’t seen them here) - freeze-dried peas coated with wasabi, eat them like you would peanuts. But every so often you get a really hot one! When you do this, you must first make ‘the face’, take 5 seconds to start breathing again, and then resume eating. Mmmm masochistic yummy goodness. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/26 "2005-06-13T22:38:12Z")
There’s a great sushi place in West L.A., called Mori Sushi. Mr. Mori San, the sushi chef, is of the old school. Real wasabi root (not the green colored horseradish paste you get in most places). He grows his own rice. And he does not provide soy sauce or wasabi to the customer. He places the proper amount on each piece of sushi (he uses a little brush to dab on a bit of soy). And he expects you to each each piece in one bite. I don’t want to piss off Mr. Mori San, because he makes damn fine sushi. And he carries a very sharp knife! ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/27 "2005-06-13T22:48:13Z")
Uh oh, it seems I’m a sushi savage. I don’t mix the wasabi into the soya because I might want different amounts for different sushi, which maybe isn’t so horrible except I just plunk the rice part into the sauce. I also eat the ginger with most sushi-- it tastes good that way. The worst is that no way could I ever eat sushi with chopsticks, gotta use my fingers unless I want sushi flying all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/28 "2005-06-13T22:52:35Z")
So…I’m the only one who saw the thead title and said “well-done?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/29 "2005-06-13T23:09:08Z")
> [@shelbo](#): > > There’s a great sushi place in West L.A., called Mori Sushi. Mr. Mori San, the sushi chef, is of the old school. Real wasabi root (not the green colored horseradish paste you get in most places). He grows his own rice. And he does not provide soy sauce or wasabi to the customer. He places the proper amount on each piece of sushi (he uses a little brush to dab on a bit of soy). And he expects you to each each piece in one bite. I don’t want to piss off Mr. Mori San, because he makes damn fine sushi. And he carries a very sharp knife! Is Mori Sushi on Wilshire? Echigo on Santa Monica is similar: They serve real wasabi & natural-colored pickled ginger, and don’t make weird American rolls. They also serve their rice warm which is a nice variation. They’re not quite as nuts – they let you have your own soy and wasabi. But you don’t need it. To the OP: 1. Putting wasabi directly on the fish or mixing it in with your soy sauce? Either is okay. 2. It generally works better to flip the sushi over and dip the fish side in the sauce rather than the rice side. Dipping the rice side makes the rice fall apart. It also often means you get so much soy that the flavor of the fish is overwhelmed. 3. Don’t automatically dip everything. Many varieties of sushi are already seasoned by the chef. My local sushi bar makes a really wicked peppered albacore with salt and sesame oil that is destroyed by dipping it. Sometimes a little extra bit of wasabi and soy adds to a piece of sushi, sometimes not. 4. Don’t eat the ginger along with the sushi. It masks the flavor of the fish. (Personally I like to dip my ginger in the soy and wasabi too, but I’m weird.) 5. Sushi is not a wasabi-eating competition. If you want to prove how much horseradish you can choke down, there are cheaper ways to do it. It’s about the flavor of the fish, not the condiment. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/30 "2005-06-14T01:02:59Z")
The problem with this thread and what offends me more than how you eat your sushi, is the fact that all of you seem to speak so nonchalantly of eating sushi. Something that for me would be a luxury, and ultimately prohibitive because of the outrageous expense. I’m assuming most of you eat this in a restaurant where an average check for two may be well over $100.00. Unless of course you are all sushi chefs and make it at home? I love sushi, but I only occasionally get the crappy california roll off a chinese buffet. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/31 "2005-06-14T01:26:22Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > The problem with this thread and what offends me more than how you eat your sushi, is the fact that all of you seem to speak so nonchalantly of eating sushi. Something that for me would be a luxury, and ultimately prohibitive because of the outrageous expense. I’m assuming most of you eat this in a restaurant where an average check for two may be well over $100.00. Unless of course you are all sushi chefs and make it at home? I love sushi, but I only occasionally get the crappy california roll off a chinese buffet. 😕 Not around here. I can split a plateful with a friend (12 pieces) for under $15. Given miso before and a teeny scoop of green tea ice cream afterwards, with plenty of tea, that’s a satisfying meal. There’s one restaurant near me that’s a buck a piece (limited menu choices.) It’s probably not orgasmic sushi, but it’s good enough for my plebian taste buds. Not as cheap as Thai or an Indian buffet, but nowhere near $100. Maybe it’s because I’m lucky enough to live near Chicago? The Chicago Reader restaurant search returned 87 results for Japanese with an “typical” entree price below $15. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/32 "2005-06-14T01:30:12Z")
Was gonna say. My daughter and I just had dinner Saturday, and the total bill was $38 including tip. And that girl can put it away. **devilsknew** , where on earth are you that sushi costs that much? ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/33 "2005-06-14T01:53:29Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > The problem with this thread and what offends me more than how you eat your sushi, is the fact that all of you seem to speak so nonchalantly of eating sushi. Something that for me would be a luxury, and ultimately prohibitive because of the outrageous expense. I’m assuming most of you eat this in a restaurant where an average check for two may be well over $100.00. Unless of course you are all sushi chefs and make it at home? I love sushi, but I only occasionally get the crappy california roll off a chinese buffet. I can get two eel rolls (my favorite kind) for $5 at the fast food place a bus ride away. When I want to pack it in, I can take the long trip out to an all you can eat buffet (it’s mostly a Chinese buffet, but it’s not just crappy California rolls on the sushi side–they have a real chef there and everything) for $11. I only eat “nice” sushi once or twice a year, and the bill is never more than fifty dollars for two people. You’re going to the wrong places. Apparently, I eat my sushi the “right” way–wasabi in the soy sauce, no soy sauce on the rice. I don’t think it really matters though; if you want to eat your sushi deep-fried and wrapped in Wonder Bread, go nuts! I will say, though, that the rice is a lot better when it isn’t doused in soy. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/34 "2005-06-14T01:55:21Z")
> [@](#): > > How should one eat sushi? With someone else’s mouth? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/35 "2005-06-14T02:00:21Z")
Disasemble the sushi into a pile of sushimi and a pile of rice. Eat all the rice. Throw away the fish. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/36 "2005-06-14T02:12:09Z")
> [@Girl From Mars](#): > > They sell wasabi peas in Japan and NZ (haven’t seen them here) - freeze-dried peas coated with wasabi, eat them like you would peanuts. But every so often you get a really hot one! > > When you do this, you must first make ‘the face’, take 5 seconds to start breathing again, and then resume eating. Mmmm masochistic yummy goodness. I find these just about everywhere. Where is “here” to you? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/37 "2005-06-14T02:48:24Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > The problem with this thread and what offends me more than how you eat your sushi, is the fact that all of you seem to speak so nonchalantly of eating sushi. Something that for me would be a luxury, and ultimately prohibitive because of the outrageous expense. I lived in Japan. Sushi is everywhere. It’s both a super-cheap food and a super-expensive food. And good stuff is not necessarily super-expensive. You can go to the supermarket and get some good maki- or nigiri-zushi for $10 or less. Try tekka-maki, natto-maki, or anago nigiri-zushi. Thing is, I’m no sushi freak. I like it now and then. People in the US can get awfully froofy about it. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/38 "2005-06-14T02:54:16Z")
I’ve always heard that you put a bit of the wasabi on the fish itself, because you get truer flavor as compared to the mixing it into soy sauce method. I stilll mix it into the soy sauce, though. I want sushi, now, too. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/39 "2005-06-14T03:32:25Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Maybe it’s because I’m lucky enough to live near Chicago? The Chicago Reader restaurant search returned 87 results for Japanese with an “typical” entree price below $15. I’ve found this to be true in almost any large city. My husband and I love Japanese food, so we’ve sampled it all over the country, in a variety of price-ranges. It’s not always the “fancy” places which have the best sushi, either. Hell, some of the best Japanese food I ever had came from a place located in a strip-mall. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/40 "2005-06-14T03:48:01Z")
I was taught to use the ginger as a paint brush. I mix the wasabi and soy sauce together, pick up a piece of ginger, dip it, and “paint” the fish. And FTR, the best place I’ve found in Toronto for sushi is called Asuka Sushi in Yorkville. North side of Yorkville Rd., just east of Hazelton, below street level. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118.md?page=3)