Sushi has long been a popular food worldwide. But just because your city is full of Japanese restaurants does not mean that you know how to eat sushi like a local sushi.
It is a dish whose origins date back to the 10th century. Although then it was a more primitive form based on fermented fish.
What you eat today was created in the 19th century and generally revolves around what is known as nigiri: fish with pressed rice, which can be topped with several dozen types of shellfish and other ingredients, the journalist tells CNN . specialized in Japanese culture Mark Robinson.
Precisely in his article Robinson explains the correct way to eat sushi as a Japanese would.
Although he points out that it is a simple food that, in theory, “can be enjoyed in almost any way”, there are a few ways to combine the different ingredients that enter the scene to get the most out of this delicious morsel.
How to dip sushi in soy sauce
Soy sauce is an extra that is not usually missing when you order sushi. But it is not always necessary.
As revealed by the master Koji Sawada, chef of the 2 Michellin star restaurant Sushi Sawada, its ingredients are seasoned with his own mixture of soy sauce and sea salt, so there would be no need to add more.
However, the customer is usually right, so if you want soy, you will have soy. Of course, when putting it do it well.
The correct way to dip your piece of sushi in the sauce is to turn it over to slightly impregnate the fish side.
It is a logical position, since if you choose to dip the rice, as you have surely done on more than one occasion, it is possible that it will fall apart. It will also “absorb too much salt, ruining the balance of flavor.”
Then take it to your mouth. “The fish should touch the tongue first,” advises Sawada.
How to use ginger and wasabi
Next to the soy sauce will probably be a bowl of sweet pickled ginger, “known as gari,” which serves to refresh the palate.
“Use your chopsticks to pick up a few pieces and put them on your individual sushi board, called a geta for its resemblance to a wooden clog of the same name,” explains Robinson.
Wasabi can be a dangerous extra, as overdoing it will make it the dominant flavor.
As the specialist warns, normally the chef will have already added grated wasabi to the block of rice in its preparation. So for sushi it is not necessary.
If you want to eat like a connoisseur, then wasabi should only be used with sashimi (the raw cuts of fish that go without rice). Mix a small amount with the soy sauce and coat the fish.
And if you are one of those who can barely defend yourself with your chopsticks, you are in luck. According to Sawada, even though he provides them, he prefers not to see the sushi handled with them . “Hands are the best,” she says.
This gesture, performed naturally, can suggest “a casual, carefree personality.”
However, chef Goh Saito, of the “cheap and cheerful” restaurant Magurobito, believes that almost everyone these days uses chopsticks “for hygiene.”
However, if you decide to use it, make sure not to press the piece too much with them. Well, “chopsticks can compress loose rice grains and alter the texture”, so using them incorrectly will alter the way you eat sushi.