My girlfriend takes the ginger that comes with the sushi, puts in on top of the roll, and eats it all at once. She is under the impression that she is correctly eating sushi.
I was under the impression that the ginger was just to bite on between rolls to cleanse your palate. I think my girlfriend is crazy and wrong. Am I right?
It’s supposed to be eaten however you think it tastes best. However, your impression of the intention of the ginger is correct–it is a palate cleanser, and is supposed to be nibbled upon between rolls.
When I become Emperor of the Milky Way (any day now), ketchup will be outlawed to prevent these kind of abuses. I’ll use it as an excuse to get people’s minds off of the war with Andromeda I ordered the previous week.
Only at sushi bars where there are high concentrations of Japanese people locally, and at Japanese markets ditto.
Real wasabi is an ugly, knobbly root the size of a carrot. It’s finely grated and usually only served with sashimi, as making wasabi soup out of it for sushi the way a lot of Americans do is truly a crime. It’s an indescribable flavor - it’s searingly “horseradishy”, like the faux wasabi, but it’s also slightly sweet and tastes, to me, of toasted hazelnuts.
A local sushi bar keeps a little of it grated behind the counter and usually only gives it to Japanese customers. I spied it out and asked for some with my own sashimi, and the shokunin graciously complied. Then I keep back a little of it to nibble on bit by bit with the rest of the meal because it’s so addictive.
BTW, one root the size of a carrot sells for around $20 at the Japanese grocery store.