You may find the topic “how to eat sushi” strange because picking up sushi and putting it into the mouth are so easy. But there are some worth-noting steps that improve your dining experience!
1. Start from the “white fish”
Having the “white fish” such as Tai (鯛) first will be a good start. You can clearly enjoy the mild-tasting of them at the beginning. It is best to enjoy sushi with stronger flavours such as Tuna (鮪) after all.
2. Pick a sushi with your hand
Although it sounds impolite to eat with your hands, sushi was a kind of fast food selling in the hawker food stalls. People used to stand in front of the stalls and picked sushi with bare hands. Enjoying sushi with your hand does not mean anything bad so you can try to do so as well. Of course, you are welcome to have sushi using chopsticks too.
3. Dip the ingredient in soy sauce
Some people are used to dip the sushi rice in soy sauce. However, rice soaks soy sauce swiftly and extra soy sauce will be too salty which may destroy the good-tasting of the sushi. The best way will be dipping the ingredient or the seaweed part into soy sauce instead.
4. Avoid too much wasabi
Normally the chef has put a suitable amount of wasabi in your sushi in advance. You can ask for extra wasabi if you want to, but remember not to add too much. The strong taste of excess wasabi may make it difficult for you to enjoy the real taste of the sushi.
5. Drink some tea and eat some pickled ginger
Green tea and pickled ginger can help refresh your palate and cleanse fishy tastes. It is highly recommended to have some tea and pickled ginger when you switch from “whitefish” to fish with stronger flavours.
Just some minor steps can greatly enhance your sushi dining experience. Do not hesitate to try it out next time when you visit a sushi restaurant!
