05 Aug 2007, ST
By Chris Tan
Q WHAT is the correct way of eating sashimi and sushi?
For sashimi, I was told we should eat the light-coloured fish first before eating the rest.
I noticed that a lot of people stir the wasabi into the soy sauce.
As for sushi, we should eat the nori-wrapped ones first, right? And what are the shredded white radish and carrots for?
Chan Pheng Keong
A If you're having both in the same meal, sashimi is usually served first, followed by sushi.
Other than that, there are no strict conventions about eating sushi items in a certain order or amount, though, if you wish, you can progress from simpler-flavoured items to those with more complex tastes.
If you're having an omakase (chef's choice) meal, the chef will decide the order for you. If you're ordering a la carte, then anything goes.
Nigiri-zushi, rice balls topped with thin slices of raw fish, originated as finger food and, in Edo-era Tokyo, was enjoyed by people at street stalls, so it is correct to eat sushi (but not sashimi) with your fingers.
If you prefer to use chopsticks, turn the piece of nigiri-zushi on its side, then pick it up so that one chopstick touches the rice and other the fish, thereby holding the two together.
Dip just the tip of the fish into the soy sauce, keeping the rice dry.
If you are transferring sushi from a communal plate to your own, use the wider ends of your chopsticks, not the ends you eat from.
Speaking of chopsticks, rubbing them together to remove splinters is unnecessary and considered insulting in good Japanese restaurants. It implies that they would give you inferior chopsticks to use.
Asking if the fish is fresh is also rude, for similar reasons.
Go easy on the shoyu. The practice of dipping sushi into soy sauce dates back less than a century.
Sushi in its original form consisted of salted fish pickled in a bed of fermenting cooked rice, and later variations semi-cured or pre-seasoned the fish with soy sauce.
The inherently salty, tangy flavour of these preparations needed no condiments. It was only later, as vinegar was substituted for the acids of natural fermentation, and completely raw fish came into favour, that shoyu was served as a dip.
At a high-end sushi bar, you may not be given a dipping sauce at all, or the sushi may be served already brushed with an appropriate sauce.
Stirring enough wasabi into the shoyu to make a murky sludge seems to be a peculiarly Singaporean habit.
Japanese sushi chefs go through years of arduous training to learn how to select and prepare fresh fish so as to showcase their flavour. Therefore obliterating the fish's delicate marine nuances with a sinus-spiking dip not only misses the entire point of the dish, but it is also an insult to the chef's hard work.
If you must have more wasabi - remember that there may already be some between the seafood and rice - place a dab on the fish, then dip the sushi in shoyu.
Eat nigiri-zushi in one bite - it's designed for that.
Small bites of finely julienned white daikon may be eaten so that its light pungency refreshes your mouth. Nibble on the sweet-sour pickled ginger to cleanse your palate more thoroughly. Both these garnishes should be eaten only between pieces of sushi, not with them.
By Chris Tan
Q WHAT is the correct way of eating sashimi and sushi?
For sashimi, I was told we should eat the light-coloured fish first before eating the rest.
I noticed that a lot of people stir the wasabi into the soy sauce.
As for sushi, we should eat the nori-wrapped ones first, right? And what are the shredded white radish and carrots for?
Chan Pheng Keong
A If you're having both in the same meal, sashimi is usually served first, followed by sushi.
Other than that, there are no strict conventions about eating sushi items in a certain order or amount, though, if you wish, you can progress from simpler-flavoured items to those with more complex tastes.
If you're having an omakase (chef's choice) meal, the chef will decide the order for you. If you're ordering a la carte, then anything goes.
Nigiri-zushi, rice balls topped with thin slices of raw fish, originated as finger food and, in Edo-era Tokyo, was enjoyed by people at street stalls, so it is correct to eat sushi (but not sashimi) with your fingers.
If you prefer to use chopsticks, turn the piece of nigiri-zushi on its side, then pick it up so that one chopstick touches the rice and other the fish, thereby holding the two together.
Dip just the tip of the fish into the soy sauce, keeping the rice dry.
If you are transferring sushi from a communal plate to your own, use the wider ends of your chopsticks, not the ends you eat from.
Speaking of chopsticks, rubbing them together to remove splinters is unnecessary and considered insulting in good Japanese restaurants. It implies that they would give you inferior chopsticks to use.
Asking if the fish is fresh is also rude, for similar reasons.
Go easy on the shoyu. The practice of dipping sushi into soy sauce dates back less than a century.
Sushi in its original form consisted of salted fish pickled in a bed of fermenting cooked rice, and later variations semi-cured or pre-seasoned the fish with soy sauce.
The inherently salty, tangy flavour of these preparations needed no condiments. It was only later, as vinegar was substituted for the acids of natural fermentation, and completely raw fish came into favour, that shoyu was served as a dip.
At a high-end sushi bar, you may not be given a dipping sauce at all, or the sushi may be served already brushed with an appropriate sauce.
Stirring enough wasabi into the shoyu to make a murky sludge seems to be a peculiarly Singaporean habit.
Japanese sushi chefs go through years of arduous training to learn how to select and prepare fresh fish so as to showcase their flavour. Therefore obliterating the fish's delicate marine nuances with a sinus-spiking dip not only misses the entire point of the dish, but it is also an insult to the chef's hard work.
If you must have more wasabi - remember that there may already be some between the seafood and rice - place a dab on the fish, then dip the sushi in shoyu.
Eat nigiri-zushi in one bite - it's designed for that.
Small bites of finely julienned white daikon may be eaten so that its light pungency refreshes your mouth. Nibble on the sweet-sour pickled ginger to cleanse your palate more thoroughly. Both these garnishes should be eaten only between pieces of sushi, not with them.
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