sushi newbie - educate me, please

[Anonymous]

Wow. What a bunch of pretentious idiots.

Also, never drink wine except at the vinyard, and after inspecting the grapes. Never buy milk, except straight from a dairy. And never eat beef unless you personally shook the rancher's hand.

OP--storebought sushi is surely not as good as that made in a good sushi house. But you can eat it without sitting next to people who tell you they lived in Japan and you're not holding your mouth right. (I agree that you should get it from some place where they have a person rolling. And look it over carefully.)

[Anonymous]

Ha ha, you got me. I'm not nearly as much a pretentious idiot IRL as I am on DCUM. (Or at least I filter it, so you can't tell.)

But, to be clear--
OP did say she'd be ordering in a restaurant, and did ask for tips on how to eat it. Instructions on how to do it correctly without being rude to the chef are responsive to what she asked. (7:57's tips were right on.)
And wine, milk, and beef are not things I'm going to be eating raw. If they were, I'd be as particular about freshness as I am about raw fish.

[Anonymous]

Seriously.
Make sure you're holding the ginger at a 90-degree angle before you eat it. Oh, and also use only 2/7th tablespoon of soy sauce per roll.

[Anonymous]

Dammit! I always mix my wasabe into my soy sauce. No one ever told me I was being rude, but I suppose that is a very Japanese thing, too! I shall reform my ways.


But for goodness sake stay away from the grocery store stuff until you've at least tried normal sushi. After that you can make your own opinions. For example, my children will eat the grocery store sushi from Whole Foods or Harris Teeter (both made on site) but won't touch the stuff that comes in pre-made. Even 7 and 9 year olds can taste the difference.

[Anonymous]

Could any of you sushi experts recommend a restaurant to try? I'm not the OP, but have only had sushi from Wegmans (which is made fresh and you can eat it there with sake!) and one place in Arlington with a friend where I thought the dragon roll was not as good as Wegmans. I haven't tried (and wouldn't try) Safeway or other supermarket sushi, but Wegmans really is quite good.

[Anonymous]

It's a Japanese delicacy. It has a long history and tradition. Making it is a craft that people study for years.
Being American, we've mechanized it and commodified it for our convenience. We'd put it in drive-thrus if we could. And hey Guy--throw some pulled pork and Sriracha in that roll for me!

That's fine. This is America. Let's be gluttons, and let's have it how we want.

But if you're going to enjoy the good quality stuff in a Japanese restaurant, it might be good to learn the Japanese customs that go with it. So you don't end up standing out like the ignorant gluttonous American. (Or like Bill Gates shaking hands slouching with a hand in his pocket.)

If you don't care what people think when you reach into the Ethiopian platter with your left hand, terrific. If you think someone who would advise, "use your right hand" is pretentious, well, I guess that's that. But OP asked, and so she might want to know that putting the ginger on top of the sushi, or loading up the soy sauce with wasabi and then dunking the rice in it, is rude to the chef. Not quite like taking a crap on the counter, but close.

[Anonymous]

^^ Was responding to 9:31.

[Anonymous]

exactly why i don't sit at the counter

[Anonymous]

Todai

You'll figure out what you like, and what you don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure to dip it in wasabe (just a little of the green paste, very hot!) and eat some shredded ginger with it. And good quality sake.

Or don't. This isn't the way to eat sushi.

The ginger isn't supposed to be eaten with the sushi. The ginger is supposed to be eaten between type of sushi to clear the palate. You can also dip the ginger in the soy sauce and then brush it across the sushi to give it a light ginger flavor. The ginger is not directly eaten with the sushi after you brush it.

Too much wasabi will overwhelm the flavors of the fish. Some people mix the wasabi in the soy sauce, but that's considered rude to the chef.

There are several types of sushi. Nigiri is a piece of fish or other protein, placed over a rice ball. Maki is a roll of rice and fish and/or vegetable. Temaki is a hand-roll shaped like a cone and eaten like a taco.

If I were trying this for the first time again, I would try ordering the assortment (often labeld "Sushi A" or "Sushi B", which usually comes with a California roll, plus maybe another roll. The chef usually includes yellowtail and tuna in the assortment. If you have time, pick a slow day/time at the best sushi bar you can find. Sit at the bar. Talk to the chef and ask what he recommends. He can walk you through it.

If you are ordering a la carte, try this: tuna (maguro), fatty tuna (toro), salmon (sake), yellowtail (hamachi), octopus (tako), tamago (sweetened egg omelet), masago (roe), and a California roll or spicy tuna roll or a specialty roll from the house.

Wash you hands before eating.

Pour a little soy sauce in the shallow dish that they give you.

When eating nigiri, you eat it in one bite. If you want to eat with soy sauce, dip it fish side first in the soy sauce and then eat it. It doesn't go in rice side first. You can just dip it in the soy sauce.

I also almost always get some miso soup or edamame as an appetizer. Edamame are soy beans boiled and salted. You have to squeeze them out of their hulls and discard the hulls. My kids love doing this! Miso soup is a tofu soup that is salty

Choose a good restaurant. Grocery store sushi is not a place to start. It is not as well done as restaurant sushi. It can sit there for some time and get stale, too.

This is correct. Eating ginger on the sushi would defeat the entire purpose of the ginger. And, it is extremely rude to dip the rice side in the soy sauce, especially if you already have mixed in wasabi, as they have already - if it is a good place - seasoned the fish with some wasabi and you would just be covering up the flavors. Then again, do as you like, lots of people do, but this would be the more proper way of doing it.

[Anonymous]

The best Japanese restaurant in DC is Sushi Taro. However, it's a little pricey for dinner (and totally worth it). They have a chef's tasting menu (omakase) that would be mind-blowing for a beginner.

If you can go for lunch, they have very well-priced lunch specials, including sushi sets and bento for about $10-$15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure to dip it in wasabe (just a little of the green paste, very hot!) and eat some shredded ginger with it. And good quality sake.

Or don't. This isn't the way to eat sushi.

The ginger isn't supposed to be eaten with the sushi. The ginger is supposed to be eaten between type of sushi to clear the palate. You can also dip the ginger in the soy sauce and then brush it across the sushi to give it a light ginger flavor. The ginger is not directly eaten with the sushi after you brush it.

Too much wasabi will overwhelm the flavors of the fish. Some people mix the wasabi in the soy sauce, but that's considered rude to the chef.

There are several types of sushi. Nigiri is a piece of fish or other protein, placed over a rice ball. Maki is a roll of rice and fish and/or vegetable. Temaki is a hand-roll shaped like a cone and eaten like a taco.

If I were trying this for the first time again, I would try ordering the assortment (often labeld "Sushi A" or "Sushi B", which usually comes with a California roll, plus maybe another roll. The chef usually includes yellowtail and tuna in the assortment. If you have time, pick a slow day/time at the best sushi bar you can find. Sit at the bar. Talk to the chef and ask what he recommends. He can walk you through it.

If you are ordering a la carte, try this: tuna (maguro), fatty tuna (toro), salmon (sake), yellowtail (hamachi), octopus (tako), tamago (sweetened egg omelet), masago (roe), and a California roll or spicy tuna roll or a specialty roll from the house.

Wash you hands before eating.

Pour a little soy sauce in the shallow dish that they give you.

When eating nigiri, you eat it in one bite. If you want to eat with soy sauce, dip it fish side first in the soy sauce and then eat it. It doesn't go in rice side first. You can just dip it in the soy sauce.

I also almost always get some miso soup or edamame as an appetizer. Edamame are soy beans boiled and salted. You have to squeeze them out of their hulls and discard the hulls. My kids love doing this! Miso soup is a tofu soup that is salty

Choose a good restaurant. Grocery store sushi is not a place to start. It is not as well done as restaurant sushi. It can sit there for some time and get stale, too.

This is correct. Eating ginger on the sushi would defeat the entire purpose of the ginger. And, it is extremely rude to dip the rice side in the soy sauce, especially if you already have mixed in wasabi, as they have already - if it is a good place - seasoned the fish with some wasabi and you would just be covering up the flavors. Then again, do as you like, lots of people do, but this would be the more proper way of doing it.

PP who lived in Japan. I have never heard of it being considered rude to mix wasabi with the soy sauce.

It's also not considered rude to dip the rice side in soy sauce. It's just stupid, as the rice will fall apart due to the liquid!

[Anonymous]

FYI - most of the local "japanese" sushi restaurants are run by koreans. dip and eat away, however you like.

[Anonymous]

Go when it's not crowded, sit at the counter. Talk to the itamae, tell him what you said here. Ask him for tips, how to eat, what to put on it, etc. I think you will find most of the the things prepared will not need additional dipping. A lot of stuff is not on the menu, like hand rolls and he will make stuff like that for you. Just remember to try stuff a few times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a question -- why is Wegman's sushi not considered "fresh"? I watch them (humans) make it right in front of me and then they hand it to me... how is that less fresh than at a restaurant?

Yup.