Sushi chic (a complete guide to sushi etiquette)

The oldest main stream in this town is eating sushi. The instgram photos, the facebook statuses and the tweets always makes me feel that a person who's eating sushi did an achievement. Not to sound like a judgmental b*tch, I love sushi; however I am talking about the uncanny trend of our bourgeois generation. If you're a real fan of the japanese cuisine and of course you're fabulous - cause you're reading my blog, then you're about to learn what will differentiate between you and sushi posers. Here is the scoop:

Veggie Sushi

First of all , when ordering sushi, don't be ashamed to ask the waiter about the components of anything that might look interesting. You're not japanese and you're not an expert so you have the permission to ask; at least so you won't order something you regret. If you're in an ethnic place, chances are you'll be served saki; be ware it's alcoholic unless you're a drinker don't put yourself in this situation and politely refuse.

Unlike Egyptians, Japanese like to share food; so you might not want to order a plate for each person, you order for the table collectively and then you pick what you want to go on your plate. It's ok to munch on some of the small appetizers you get before the sushi, however you need to slow down on them so you can enjoy your actual meal.

Nigiri Sushi

Sushi can be eaten by chop sticks or hands. Japanese usually eat Nigiri sushi with their bare hands, it's not considered wrong to eat them with chopstick, however Nigiri is tricky as the rise might fall out of it's place if you're not a chopsticks wizard. I am just saying that because I know how to use chopsticks, I was taught how to do it by Chinese and japanese friends when I was in India, however what I see here in Egypt is a complete bull. Other types of sushi is usually eaten with chopsticks, it can't hurt if you use your hands. One important tip; you may not and can't take a bite of a sushi piece and return it to your plate, it's just not polite. Ideally you should have your sushi piece all on one bite, however if you're playing cute or it's too big for your mouth - doubtful; you can have one bite, chew then swallow and then eat the rest while it's still in your hand or your chopsticks. And don't divide your sushi with a knife or even your hands, you should enjoy the whole taste in one bite. Just don't let it touch the plate as soon as you pick it up.

There will be a warm towel in front of you on the table, it's called Oshibori. You use your Oshibori to wipe your fingers if you're eating with your hands or if you just feel like it. Don't follow the 70's Egyptian movies where they wipe their mouths with towels on the table after eating, that's considered not polite in Japan. Never rub the chopsticks you're given, that means you're removing splinters or cleaning them and it's very rude to accuse the place such a dreadful silent accusation. Of course the usual dining manner apply like no elbows on the table, don't chew with your mouth open and don't make a sound with you're chewing.

Soy Sauce

Wasabi

In Japan, chefs actually make the soya sauce and each chef has his own recipe. In the rest of the world or at least in Egypt, we're just served with a bottle of regular soy sauce. It's known that a sushi guest should use soya sauce sparingly, don't put too much soya in your saucer as it's considered rude to leave the table with leftovers soya sauce in your saucer; it means you didn't like it. I've seen some people mixing wasabi in soya and that's an even more rude thing to do, it ruins the taste of both and you probably end up with a weird looking sauce that you don't want to taste. The wasabi should be used very carefully, ideally the chef knows the right amount of wasabi to put and the guest isn't served any extra; however it's not tokyo.

Maki Sushi

When you're eating any kind of sushi, you're going to want to add some soy sauce to it. Don't dunk the sushi piece in the saucer, instead carefully let the fish on your sushi touch the surface of the soya, the rice can fall apart with soy sauce going through it. If you're eating a Maki sushi or any roll, you can let the sea weed touch the soya surface, as it's going to be hard to let the filling touch the soy sauce without hurting the rice in this case. When putting wasabi make sure you put it on the fish not the rice as well.

Pickled ginger

Usually sushi is served with amazing Pickled ginger. The pickled ginger shouldn't be put on the sushi piece, it's supposed to be eaten in between sushi pieces. It's also possible to dip the pickle in the soy sauce and move it over your sushi piece so you can enjoy soy sauce on both sushi and the pickle. When eating Nigiri sushi, it's usually served upside down with the rise touching the plate, However when you eat it; the fish should be the first thing to touch your tongue not the rice.

When you're picking up the sushi out of the main plate on the table to your plate, you use the bigger end of the chopsticks - the one that you don't eat with. In the middle of the meal you may rest your chopsticks on the small sticks holder known as Hashioki. When you finish eating you should rest the chopsticks next to each other on the soy saucer with each end facing it's similar one.

Enjoy your treat ... xx

Posted in: Food