# Sushi - are you supposed to dip rolls in the soy sauce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542 "2006-02-01T18:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/1 "2006-02-01T18:49:56Z")
I’ve mastered most of the basic rules of sushi - don’t dip the rice into the soy sauce, use only a small amount of wasabi, etc. But I don’t know what to do about rolls. Is it permissible to dip a roll piece into the soy sauce, or is this a violation of etiquette? Sua ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/2 "2006-02-01T18:54:49Z")
I eat the stuff whenever I can. But I’ll admit never in a fancy place. Depending on the roll’s content, I’ll give it a little dip. If it’s crab for example, yes. Can’t speak for the etiquette, but if I want a little soy sauce on the roll, I do it. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/3 "2006-02-01T19:06:28Z")
I always do… after making sure the soy sauce has enough wasabi in it, of course. I love the combination of soy, wasabi, and rice- and the way it all complements the fish. I’ve read that rolls aren’t supposed to be dipped, especially if the roll has a sauce already on it. However, I was once told that sushi is the japanese version of the hamburger, and that you should eat it however you prefer. All that really matters, when you get down to it, is whether or not you enjoyed eating it. If the chef is offended, find a place you can be more comfortable in. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/4 "2006-02-01T19:07:59Z")
Well, if you’re not suppossed to dip it in the soy sauce, then why is it there? Of course you dip it, but from what I understand, it’s a light dip, not a dunk. Get _some_ soy sauce on the roll, don’t drench it. And I thought the wasabi was more to cleanse the pallette between different rolls, not neccesarily to put on the rolls themselves? I admit I don’t eat the stuff, I just happened to pick up knowledge from several friends that do, so it might be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/5 "2006-02-01T19:18:45Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Well, if you’re not suppossed to dip it in the soy sauce, then why is it there? Of course you dip it, but from what I understand, it’s a light dip, not a dunk. Get _some_ soy sauce on the roll, don’t drench it. And I thought the wasabi was more to cleanse the pallette between different rolls, not neccesarily to put on the rolls themselves? > > I admit I don’t eat the stuff, I just happened to pick up knowledge from several friends that do, so it might be wrong. Obviously, you don’t. 😉 Cleansing one’s palate with wasabi would be akin to cleansing it with Drano - the stuff is strong. You’re thinking of the ginger. As for the soy sauce, it’s there to dip the sashimi and the (fish part of) the sushi in. I’m just not clear on its relationship to the rolls. Sua ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/6 "2006-02-01T20:02:36Z")
> [@Lightnin'](#): > > I always do… after making sure the soy sauce has enough wasabi in it, of course. Grasshopper, wasabi is to be used sparingly. It was originally included because, pre-refrigeration, the fish could be slightly spoiled, and wasabi masked the off-flavor. To use much these days implies that you think the chef may be serving you partially spoiled fish. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/7 "2006-02-01T20:17:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Grasshopper, wasabi is to be used sparingly. Also, pain is not a flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Azadeh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cab0a1/32.png) [@Azadeh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azadeh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/8 "2006-02-01T20:58:30Z")
I don’t know about etiquette, but I know some people that use wasabi - and quite a bit of it - simply because they like the taste. Me, I’m American-raised Japanese, and I _hate_ wasabi. I also put ginger on pretty much every sushi and roll I eat… just shows how uneducated I am, I guess. :smack: From [http://www.slashfood.com/2005/09/29/sushi/](http://www.slashfood.com/2005/09/29/sushi/) > [@](#): > > I want to pick up a piece of sushi (with my fingers, since that’s okay) and plunge the entire little salmon submarine into that deep brown briny sea, to emerge with the fish dripping dark and every grain of rice soaked through with soy sauce. Salty. > > And the sushi chef would keel over right before my very eyes. > > …The best thing to do is to pour but a tiny puddle of soysauce in the shoyu sara. Dip, don’t dunk, the sushi in it fish side down, so you maintain the integrity of the rice. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/9 "2006-02-01T21:10:13Z")
> [@SuaSponte](#): > > I’m just not clear on its relationship to the rolls. I’d like to know that, as well. I had some kappa maki (cucumber roll) last time I was in San Diego, and I was brought a small bottle of soy sauce and a little dish for it, along with wasabi and pickled ginger. I know that the ginger is a palate cleanser between types, and that wasabi shouldn’t be overused, but I wasn’t sure if I was being given the soy just because I’m an American and apparently they think all sushi needs it, or what. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/10 "2006-02-01T21:13:36Z")
> [@Azadeh](#): > > I don’t know about etiquette, but I know some people that use wasabi - and quite a bit of it - simply because they like the taste. Maybe, but if they’re putting so much wasabi that they can’t taste the fish, it’s a waste of money and an insult to the chef. As for rolls, I think most Japanese people use soy sauce. If you buy rolls in a Japanese supermarket it’d come with soy sauce. But “dip” isn’t the word I’d use - it’s just a quick touch. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/11 "2006-02-01T21:22:17Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > I wasn’t sure if I was being given the soy just because I’m an American and apparently they think all sushi needs it, or what. No, you’re cool. I spent a few months in Japan, and every time I and my Japanese companions had sushi, we got given little fish-shaped bottles of _shoyu_ (Japanese soy). What my Japanese companions did was pour the shoyu in the little bowl, pick off a tiny little blob of wasabi with the two chopsticks, and wipe it on the fish - not mix it with the soy - then dip the sushi very briefly in in the shoyu and eat it. They did this with one wasabi blob and dip per mouthful - then “cleanse” with the ginger in between sushi types, though if they were having more than one piece of the same kind of sushi, they didn’t have the ginger. And it didn’t seem to matter what kind of sushi, either - all went through the same process. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/12 "2006-02-01T22:03:29Z")
[http://www.eugeneciurana.com/musings/sushi-eating-HOWTO.html#l\_mechanics](http://www.eugeneciurana.com/musings/sushi-eating-HOWTO.html#l_mechanics) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/13 "2006-02-01T22:27:09Z")
And a bit of sushi etiquette humor: [Link to video](http://www.youtube.com/w/sushi?v=E8c2fMDatoU&search=sushi). “Toro is a junk food for low-income earners…” ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/14 "2006-02-01T22:33:01Z")
Man, I shudder to think of all the Sushi Chefs I offended while in Japan. I dipped the rice part every time, and used lots of wasabi mixed in the soy sauce. I had no idea it wasn’t proper etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/15 "2006-02-01T22:34:29Z")
Eat it however you like it and don’t let the snobs ruin your enjoyment. This is not necessarily the way Japanese eat it. Their palates have been trained to completely different tastes. Are you there to enjoy a meal or to make an impression? Once I happened to be eating sushi in the presence of a Japanese and was surprised to see him pick up his sushi with his fingers and dip the fish while I was carefully trying to turn my piece over with chopsticks. I quickly joined. Yes, the recommend not dipping the rice in, but no police will come if you do. And the place I was in (Tsukuba) lacked the tradition of using wasabi, although they would provide if you asked. One of the best things I tasted was a specialty of the region around Kumamoto (on the island west of the main island). They stuffed fresh lotus root with a mixture of which wasabi was a major constituent. Unfortunately, fresh lotus root does not keep and this is not available anywhere else in Japan. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/16 "2006-02-01T22:36:34Z")
> [@SuaSponte](#): > > Grasshopper, wasabi is to be used sparingly. It was originally included because, pre-refrigeration, the fish could be slightly spoiled, and wasabi masked the off-flavor. To use much these days implies that you think the chef may be serving you partially spoiled fish. > > Sua I’ve heard that before. Never from an actual sushi chef, however. My favorite sushi chef- the best I’ve ever met, and I’ve had a LOT of sushi in my life- told me that, if you enjoy it, you’ve eaten it correctly. I like the heat that wasabi gives the sushi- and, since I’ve been welcomed back at the sushi restaurants I frequent, I don’t think they were too insulted. By your logic, ANY amount of wasabi would be an insult. I do, in fact, use it sparingly- I only use as much as I enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/17 "2006-02-01T22:49:46Z")
Grrr. I have such a fucking craving for sushi now you wouldn’t believe. I can actually taste it, the ginger and the fish and the wasabi and the shoyu. But it’s nearly 11 pm here in England and I’ve only just moved to this city so I don’t know where there’s a Japanese restaurant nearby and I’m damned if I’m going out in the bitter cold and the dark to find a place that sells it. Damn this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/18 "2006-02-01T22:56:27Z")
BTW, in most US restaurants, that green stuff they call Wasabi is actually horseradish with food coloring. Real wasabi is expensive and not easy to cultivate. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/19 "2006-02-02T00:37:15Z")
When I’ve eaten sushi “omakase” (at the chef’s pleasure, served morsel by morsel at the bar), the chef said “no soy with this one” or “a little soy”, depending on the flavours and seasoning of the piece. ---
**Author:** ![jawdirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jawdirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jawdirk)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542/20 "2006-02-02T01:51:55Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > What my Japanese companions did was pour the shoyu in the little bowl, pick off a tiny little blob of wasabi with the two chopsticks, and wipe it on the fish - not mix it with the soy - then dip the sushi very briefly in in the shoyu and eat it. Yes! Independent verification that I have good taste! Everyone I know in California mixes the wasabi with the soy sauce to form this green sludge. I like wasabi, but I think mixing it with soy sauce is revolting. The flavors simply do not compliment each other. They are contrasting flavors. Mixing them is like pouring your orange juice into your coffee. On the other hand, I must admit that I’ve been putting ginger directly onto some of the sushi rolls. So that probably nullifies everything I said. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-are-you-supposed-to-dip-rolls-in-the-soy-sauce/342542.md?page=2)