The ‘ right way to eat suchi

tips from the experts on suchi rules to follow

With the recent spate of sushi pranks that have rocked Japanese society, we set the record straight on the “right way” to eat one of the world’s greatest food delights. In February 2023, a video surfaced online showing a man licking a communal soy sauce bottle as it rolled by on a sushi conveyor belt. The man went on to tamper with other sushi dishes as well, to the dismay of restaurant onlookers. That should’ve been the end of the story, but like most viral trends (emphasis on virus), sushi-ruining copycats sprang up, showing videos of people licking chopsticks, rubbing saliva on sushi and putting wasabi on other people’s orders.

Three of the perpetrators have been arrested by the Japanese police, hopefully putting a stop to the sushi-destroying shenanigans, but it still shocked a nation that’s known for its rules, regulations, cleanliness and etiquette, especially with food. Additionally, sushi restaurants in Japan have begun to disable their conveyor belts or install sensors and cameras to catch the “sushi terrorists” red-handed (or red-tongued as it were), possibly putting an end to one of the world’s great sushi eating experiences.

Obviously, the offense of licking conveyor-belt sushi, known as kaiten restaurants, is limited to extremists, but there are still a bevy of sushi rules to follow if you want to avoid any fishy faux pas.

On the fine-dining end of sushi consumption, there’s Sukiyabashi Jiro, the impossible-to-get-into restaurant made famous from the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. On their website, they have a list of 12 rules that range from how to use your chopsticks and cleanse your palate to timing on when to eat the fish that’s splayed out in front of you. This writer has eaten there and has been admonished for taking too much time between bites.

According to Kazunori Nozawa, the co-founder of the famed SUGARFISH sushi restaurants and veritable Sushi Shokunin (Master), there are a handful of dos and don’ts in the world of sushi. First, Nozawa says, “Don’t rub your chopsticks together after you split them apart, that is seen as inconsiderate.” He continues with a surprising note that, “eating with your chopsticks is preferred, but eating with your hands is also acceptable. If you need a fork, it’s ok, just ask for one.”

Additional etiquette rules from Nozawa include:

“Eat your sushi when it arrives, it’s best right away. This is especially true so the nori does not lose its texture for hand rolls or gunkan style (gunkan means “battleship” in English and is similar to a handroll that’s shaped more like a boat and usually topped with roe).”

“Eat nigiri in one bite.”

“If you are adding wasabi, it’s okay to add it to your soy sauce, but you should have another soy sauce that does not have wasabi. Not all dishes are best with wasabi.”

“Don’t add ginger on top of your sushi. It’s meant as palate cleanser between dishes.”

“If sushi is sauced, don’t dip it in soy sauce. When dipping nigiri in soy sauce, I believe you should lightly dip the rice side, not the fish side, although many others believe differently. Try it and you will taste a difference.”

“Not an etiquette rule, but when eating a hand roll, take a bite, flip the hand roll, and take a bite from the other side. This helps keep the hand roll intact.”

Nozawa and Jiro would probably have a very long conversation about whether to dip the rice in soy sauce or not, as it’s number six on Jiro’s “don’t” list.

But continuing in the world of super fine-dining sushi, unspoken rules abound. Andrea Fazzari, the James Beard Award-winning photographer and author of Sushi Shokunin as well as an upcoming book on Japanese culture, says, “when dining at a fine sushiya (sushi restaurant), it is essential to respect the sushi master, the ingredients and everything about where you are. If you are dining with someone else, conversation should be muted and hushed; the sushi master and what you are eating should be the focus.”

She also explains that you “do not ask for extra anything: shoyu (soy sauce), wasabi, ginger. You will not be given a small saucer for extra shoyu in which to submerge your nigiri. The nigiri are already perfect as they are, prepared the way the master intends.”

With all this said, the experience of eating sushi in Japan shouldn’t be daunting. Sushi chefs want you to enjoy your experience as much as you do, but the rules and language barrier can be a hindrance. That’s where Sushi University comes in. To solve these problems, Sushi University partners you up with a translator who accompanies you on your sushi-eating journey so you can get the most out of the experience. They help you chat with the chefs, explain the history of the dishes and, of course, get you comfortable with the rules.

While Sushi University has a long list of sushi rules, Tetsuya Hanada, its founder and managing director, adds a few etiquette nuggets to consider, like “mak[ing] sure to only use a small amount of soy sauce on the topping only. Sushi rice (shari) absorbs soy sauce very quickly, so dipping the rice side of the sushi will make the piece fall apart. Also, do not use too much soy sauce so as not to inhibit the delicate tastes of the fish.”

Another quirk to the saucing rice debate.

Hanada also explains that, “Aojiso (green perilla), used a lot as tsuma (garnish), leaves a strong flavour in your mouth once you eat. This makes you lose the sense of the flavour of sushi, and therefore it is better to avoid it unless it is already prepared inside nigiri sushi or sushi rolls. The ginger is there to refresh your palate after eating a fatty topping. If you eat too much of it, it will affect the flavour of the sushi.

He adds: “Also, there is no specific order to eat the dishes in. Eat in the order you like. However, because their sweet tastes will affect your palate, it is better to leave anago (eel) and tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette) to the end.”

One of Hanada’s more unique pieces of advice is about the sushi counter itself. “The counter scratches easily so please do not place your phone, watch or other items on it. A cypress counter can cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. What you should do is remove your watch and place your smartphone on top of a handkerchief. And if you do accidentally spill some soy sauce, don’t clean it up yourself, but call over a staff member to wipe it up.”

To get back to where we started, there are also unspoken rules for conveyor belt sushi restaurants. For starters, hygiene is critical and you should always sanitise your hands. Hoarding plates is a no-no; just grab a plate, eat that piece then grab another. Once you’ve taken a plate, you keep the plate, never put it back on the belt. Never ever touch the conveyor belt or place anything on it. And finally, when it’s time to pay, stack your plates in an orderly fashion; they’re colour-coded to indicate what you ate and how much each piece costs.

Look, it wasn’t cool when Ariana Grande licked those doughnuts, and it was equally uncool when the sushi pranksters licked the fish on the conveyor belt. So, if you follow the basic rules, be considerate of others and the chefs and keep your tongue to yourself, you’ll be eating well and enjoying every sushi moment in the way it was intended – whether you dip your rice in soy sauce or not. (BBC)