# 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:** 4
**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 14, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/61 "2005-06-14T20:40:18Z")
> [@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. My regular sushi place has lunch specials in the $7.00 - $8.00 range. This will get you 4 hand rolls of your choice or a nice assortment of nigiri + miso soup and salad. They used to run an all-you-can-eat lunch special for $20 that was killer. And this place does really decent B-level sushi. Not melt-in-your-mouth-oh-god-I’m-dying sushi, but miles beyond the crappy cut-rate sushi you can get at the mall. You can get a really excellent sushi dinner in LA for $20-30. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/62 "2005-06-14T21:02:40Z")
DeHusband learned to eat sushi in Korea. Gim-bap is a wonderful, fully cooked sushi-like salty goodness that is served with soya, rice wine vinegar, and fermented bean/chile paste. So he’s a bit warped from the git-go. Then he taught me how to eat sushi. Every sushi restaurant waitperson looks at us funny when we ask for rice wine vinegar. We’ve had them bring it to the table and stand there, watching, to see how we use it. Mix vinegar with soya in equal amounts, mix into wasabi until it’s a slurry not a paste. Dip fish in mixture. It keeps the soya from being too salty. And we like it, dammit. Stop looking at us like that! And at least once every sushi meal, you must achieve wasabi nirvana. That blissfull moment after the burn of too much wasabi turns into the bloom of heaven. Wasibi nirvana. It’s addictive. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/63 "2005-06-14T22:12:19Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > But come on. . .raw fish sliced and dropped on top of a ball of rice wrapped up in a small peice of seaweed? > > Raw fish plain? Why do people feel the urge to ridicule things they don’t understand? There’s nothing easy about obtaining a fine specimen of fish (an important part of the chef’s job), slicing it in a way that provides just the right texture, steaming the rice to the proper firmness, making the vinegar mixture (it’s not pure vinegar, you know), combining just the right amount of it with the rice at just the right time, and shaping a ball of rice with perfect firmness so that the texture complements the fish. Most native Japanese don’t even attempt to make _nigiri_ at home - it’s one of those things best left to a highly skilled professional. (_maki_ is a different matter though, and many make it at home. Especially _temaki_ which is a cone-shaped sushi wrapped in a large piece of seaweed.) ---
**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 14, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/64 "2005-06-14T22:27:36Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > But come on. . .raw fish sliced and dropped on top of a ball of rice wrapped up in a small peice of seaweed? [stomach growls] > [@](#): > > There’s not a thing in a sushi restaurant that wouldn’t be better with salt and pepper and thrown on a grill. I’ve had ahi tuna both in sushi and seared with salt and pepper, and I beg to differ. It’s certainly very good seared, but good ahi is even better as sushi. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/65 "2005-06-15T02:09:34Z")
I have a question for you people, here. Is there such thing as deep-fried sushi? When I go to the local chinese buffet/mongolian grill place, there’s a little man there making sushi for all to enjoy. It’s not amazing, but it’s the best sushi I’ve ever eaten at a chinese buffet. My question: There’s a kind of roll that they do that’s all brown and crispy on the outside. Golden brown. Like… deep-fried golden brown and crunchy. Does this exist? Should I muster up the balls and go ask? ---
**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 15, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/66 "2005-06-15T03:39:47Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > My question: There’s a kind of roll that they do that’s all brown and crispy on the outside. Golden brown. Like… deep-fried golden brown and crunchy. Does this exist? Should I muster up the balls and go ask? I’ve had a California roll coated in tempura batter and fried before. It was … weird … not bad … but weird … . Now a spider roll … that’s how you combine fried seafood with sushi! ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/67 "2005-06-15T23:12:18Z")
Inari sushi has a fried wrapper around tasty sushi rice. Half way down: [http://www.sushiandtofu.com/sushi\_and\_tofu/features\_sushiTheMostFamous\_0310.htm](http://www.sushiandtofu.com/sushi_and_tofu/features_sushiTheMostFamous_0310.htm) ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/68 "2005-06-16T03:52:53Z")
So I went there today, and got some of the mysterious deep-fried sushi. It’s definitely not the rice that’s deep-fried. It’s a batter. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/69 "2005-06-16T04:12:06Z")
You mean [tempura](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempura)? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/70 "2005-06-16T12:00:42Z")
Maybe. I’m not cool enough to be able to tell the difference b/w that and some other kind of batter. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/71 "2005-06-16T18:10:00Z")
You know, if someone was to take a California roll, dip it in tempura batter, deep-fry that bad boy, and sell it at the next State Fair of Texas, I bet you they’d make a million dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/72 "2005-06-16T20:26:55Z")
> [@DeVena](#): > > DeHusband learned to eat sushi in Korea. Gim-bap is a wonderful, fully cooked sushi-like salty goodness that is served with soya, rice wine vinegar, and fermented bean/chile paste. So he’s a bit warped from the git-go. Then he taught me how to eat sushi. > > Every sushi restaurant waitperson looks at us funny when we ask for rice wine vinegar. We’ve had them bring it to the table and stand there, watching, to see how we use it. Mix vinegar with soya in equal amounts, mix into wasabi until it’s a slurry not a paste. Dip fish in mixture. It keeps the soya from being too salty. And we like it, dammit. Stop looking at us like that! I can’t _wait_ to try this! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/73 "2005-06-16T20:30:04Z")
> [@Apricot](#): > > Inari sushi has a fried wrapper around tasty sushi rice. > > Half way down: [Sushi & Tofu](http://www.sushiandtofu.com/sushi_and_tofu/features_sushiTheMostFamous_0310.htm) I often eat this as dessert. It’s so yummy. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/74 "2005-06-16T21:07:44Z")
I too am a lover of Inari Sushi. I can take or leave the fish stuff. I’ll eat if there’s nothing else around. But Inari Sushi… mmm… What’s the proper way to eat it? I mix the wasabi in the soy sauce and dip, trying not to let the rice escape into the little dish. I avoid the ginger. Is that “right”? ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/75 "2005-06-16T21:16:28Z")
Well, from my intense observations of Koreans eating sushi, they all seem to mix some wasabi into the soysauce and/or dab a little bit of wasabi on the sushi itself, dip it into the soysauce and eat it in one bite. That’s how I was taught to eat it. I’ve also never heard of mixing ginger into soysauce and wasabi. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/76 "2005-06-16T22:31:38Z")
I got a sizeable bonus yesterday, so I had a bit of a celebration at the local sushi place. There ain’t too many in this neck of the woods, so we’re lucky it’s a good place. Anyway, I always mix wasabi into the soy (more or less, depending on my mood). Then I dip the sushi fish down into the sauce, and pop it into my mouth. I generally don’t use chopsticks for the sushi itself- just my fingers. I try to eat it all in one bite if I can, because if not, the second bite can be problematical. I’m a huge fan of gari (the ginger), so I usually eat all of that as a sort of dessert. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/77 "2005-06-17T08:49:37Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > I too am a lover of Inari Sushi. I can take or leave the fish stuff. I’ll eat if there’s nothing else around. But Inari Sushi… mmm… > > What’s the proper way to eat it? I mix the wasabi in the soy sauce and dip, trying not to let the rice escape into the little dish. I avoid the ginger. Is that “right”? I eat my inari plain. No wasabi. No ginger. Just that yummy sweetness. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/78 "2005-06-17T16:00:46Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > I eat my inari plain. No wasabi. No ginger. Just that yummy sweetness. I consider that the correct way. Wasabi doesn’t go well with _inari_. A small amount of plain soy sauce can be good though. But I must say I’m not a big fan of _inari_. They’re so filling that I can’t eat much else, and with all that sauce soaked into it, you can’t really taste the fried bean curd itself. ---
**Author:** ![QuarkChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c5a1d2/32.png) [@QuarkChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuarkChild)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/79 "2005-06-18T04:45:54Z")
I made sushi at home today. I use nori and fill the rolls with vinegar rice, cucumbers, carrots, and green onions. It’s very cheap. I think one can buy 10 sheets of nori for a few dollars at Asian grocery stores. My dipping method is to mix the wasabi with the soy sauce, put a piece of ginger on top of the piece of sushi, and dip the sushi in the sauce holding it with chopsticks. I never realized that one was supposed to eat the ginger separately. I’m not going to change my method–I’ve become too dependent on the gingery goodness of each bite. For those of you who like vegetarian sushi, I recommend making it at home; it’s easy and cheap. I’ve made inari at home too, buying the wrappers at an Asian grocery store (99 Ranch.) ---
**Author:** ![MrAlpen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@MrAlpen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAlpen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118/80 "2005-06-20T13:45:29Z")
I got back from my first ever visit to Japan last night. I’ve had a fantastic ten days, and could happily live out my life on Japanese food - never had sushi or sashami or whatever before. Anyhow, the whole point of the trip was to try to knock some cultural sensitivity into my western brain, so I had a lot of tutoring from our Japanese manager. He’s a bit of a Japanese aesthete (" the Japanese spirit is captured best in the desolate beauty of the cherry blossom …"). His opinion is that the Japanese nation is going to pot because the youngsters of today don’t care about the Japanese way. But at his favourite lunch place the wasabi was already between the rice and fish, and he said that was the reason he prefered the place. He, too, had a big thing about not putting the rice in sauce: definitely fish-first. And where you have got the wasabi running wild around your table he was very keen that you didn’t drown it in the sauce. Just one opinion, but he was very animated (“because tha’s ahh not a right way to do that”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-one-eat-sushi/308118.md?page=5)