The Journal · Pillar
How to eat sushi, etiquette, vocabulary: guides to help you get the most out of every visit.
For nigiri, using your fingers is the traditional and preferred method. For sashimi and delicate maki rolls, chopsticks are more appropriate. The key is to show respect for the food and the chef.
No, you traditionally shouldn't mix wasabi into your soy sauce. The chef has already placed the ideal amount of wasabi under the fish. Mixing it creates a 'wasabi slurry' that overpowers the delicate flavors of both the fish and the soy sauce. Apply extra wasabi directly to the fish instead.
Gari, pickled ginger, cleans the palate between pieces, it is not a topping. Soy sauce touches the fish side, never the rice side, and sparingly. Used well, they underline the fish instead of covering it.
Eat nigiri in one bite, dip only the fish side lightly in soy sauce, use ginger between pieces, and trust the chef's wasabi dosing.
Hold chopsticks near the top third, rest them between bites, and never plant, rub, point, pass food with, or lick them. For nigiri, fingers are perfectly correct.
Thirty essential sushi terms covering rice and vinegar, fish and toppings, technique, and counter etiquette, so you can follow the conversation at any serious sushi bar.
Nigiri is hand-pressed rice with fish on top; sashimi is fish alone; maki is rice and filling rolled in nori. Each format has its place, and nigiri is the centrepiece of edomae tradition.
