The sushi you eat at the counter is stylish and classy. However, what is confusing is how to eat it. Should you eat with your hands or with chopsticks? How do you eat sushi that you can’t eat in one bite? If you are a lady, remember how to eat elegantly.
Question 1: Should you eat nigiri sushi with your hands or with chopsticks?
A. Nigiri sushi is eaten with your hands
B. Nigiri sushi is eaten with chopsticks
C. You can hold it in your hands or use chopsticks, but women are better off using chopsticks.
Correct answer C. You can hold it with your hands or use chopsticks, either is fine. However, women are more beautiful when they use chopsticks.
Sushi was eaten at street food stalls during the Edo period. That’s why it’s said that “sushi is something you eat with your hands,” and it’s OK to eat it with your hands. Also, it is not bad manners to use chopsticks. In other words, you can eat with your hands or use chopsticks.
However, women are more beautiful when they use chopsticks. If you hold the sushi in your hands while eating it, it will make it easier for the sides of her body to open up. If you hold it with chopsticks, it will be difficult to open the sides, so if you want to create an elegant look, I think it is better to use chopsticks.
When eating with chopsticks, be careful not to lift the sushi vertically. Place the chopsticks parallel to the sushi to prevent it from falling apart. When holding the sushi with chopsticks, hold it slightly to the side and dip the tip of the toppings in soy sauce.
When eating with your hands, place your index finger on the toppings and hold the sides of the shari with your thumb and middle finger to prevent it from falling apart. Then, lay the sushi on its side and dip the tip of the toppings in soy sauce. Wipe your hands with a bean squeezer. Also, if you eat gari with your hands, please use chopsticks.
Question 2: How do you eat sushi that you can’t eat in one bite?
A. Push it into your mouth and eat
it in one bite B. Bite half of it and put the rest back on the plate
C. Eat about 1/3 of the rice first, then sprinkle the remaining 2/3 on the toppings.
Correct answer C. It is best to eat about 1/3 of the rice first, then sprinkle the rest of the rice with toppings and eat it in one bite.
Nigiri sushi is basically eaten in one bite.
However, there are some large pieces that cannot be eaten in one bite. What should you do then?
For large sushi rolls, flip the toppings a little and eat about 1/3 of the rice first.
Sprinkle the toppings over the remaining rice and cut into bite-sized pieces. Then, dip the tip of the topping in soy sauce and enjoy it in one bite. If you make large sushi into smaller sushi, you can enjoy it more elegantly.
However, you cannot eat only the rice first with gunkanmaki. If you can’t finish it in one bite, don’t put it back on the plate, just keep it in your hand and finish it in one bite and then another.
Question 3: How do you put soy sauce on Gunkanmaki?
A. Put the bottom part of the Gunkanmaki in the soy sauce on the soy sauce plate.
B. Tilt the Gunkanmaki sideways and dip it in the soy sauce
on the soy sauce plate. C. Pour a few drops of soy sauce directly onto the toppings, or pour soy sauce onto the toppings with a gari. Put on
Correct answer C. It is OK to pour soy sauce on the toppings or dip the soy sauce in the gari.
I see some people dip the bottom of the gunkanmaki in soy sauce from a soy sauce dish, but this is a no-no. The rice is brown and dirty, and it crumbles easily, leaving rice grains on the small plate. It doesn’t look good, and people will doubt your integrity if you eat like that.
It is also a no-no to place the gunkanmaki on its side and dip the toppings in soy sauce. If you lay the gunkanmaki on its side, the ingredients will spill out.
If so, what should I do?
There are two ways to add soy sauce to Gunkanmaki, one is to use gari. Apply soy sauce to the toppings using the soy sauce-dipped gari like a brush. If the gunkanmaki comes with cucumber, you can use cucumber instead of gari.
Another method is to add a drop or two of soy sauce on top of the toppings. These days, there are many soy sauce jugs that dispense soy sauce in small amounts. In that case, I think it would be a good idea to pour some tarari over the toppings. Etiquette is about not making others feel uncomfortable, and it’s about eating in a way that makes eating fun and delicious for you. If the person next to you drizzles soy sauce on your gunkanmaki, you won’t feel uncomfortable. It should be the same for your opponent. It is not a violation of etiquette to pour soy sauce on the toppings.
However, if you use a soy sauce jug that tends to drip soy sauce, it’s a different story. If you put too much soy sauce on it, you won’t be able to taste the toppings, and the soy sauce will easily spill out when you pick it up. In that case, use gari etc.
Have you misunderstood? soy sauce sauce
●Putting soy sauce on sushi rice – NO!
It seems like I’m repeating myself, but if you put soy sauce on the rice, it will not only turn the rice brown, but also make it more likely to fall apart. Remember that soy sauce should not be added to the sushi rice, but rather to the toppings and seaweed. For Nigiri Sushi, tilt the topping slightly to the side and put a little bit of soy sauce on the tip of the topping. Hold the sushi rolls, such as tekka maki, diagonally and put a little bit on the front edge of the seaweed and the sushi rice.
●It is bad manners to hold a soy sauce plate――NO!
You can hold the soy sauce plate with one hand like a saucer to prevent soy sauce from dripping. In fact, it may be more elegant for women to eat with a soy sauce plate.
●Pour soy sauce into someone else’s soy sauce plate—NO!
Probably out of kindness and consideration. Some people pour soy sauce into other people’s soy sauce plates, but it is best to avoid this. It’s difficult to pour soy sauce onto other people’s plates, and the amount of soy sauce used varies from person to person. If you feel uncomfortable using the soy sauce first, such as when the person you are speaking to is a superior, you can hand them the soy sauce jug and say, “Thank you, please.”
●If the table gets dirty with soy sauce, wipe it with a towel – NO!
If you spill soy sauce and make a mess on the table, don’t wipe it with the bean squeezer cloth. Most stores wash and reuse towels rather than disposable ones. If you wipe spilled soy sauce on the table, it will leave a stain, which can end up putting a burden on the store to do the laundry. If you make a mess on the table, leave it to the store staff to deal with it.
