How do you eat sushi?

[luxurieux]

I saw the "how do you eat cake" thread and it made me think of how people eat sushi. So I thought it would be interesting to make a poll!

I personally use my hands/fingers because it's much easier, and sushi is/was traditionally eaten with your hands. But I know most people probably use chopsticks, and still there are others who just can't figure chopsticks out. And there are people who don't eat sushi at all!

Anyway, I'm interested in how many people eat sushi with their hands like me because I haven't seen many who do. And most people I eat sushi with think I'm strange for doing so. :P

[IceHurricane]

At the beginning, I use chopsticks, but then my hand gets tired, and I can't hold them right so I end up using my fingers in frustration haha.

[Fire & Rain]

I use chopsticks, spoon, fork and my hand :D Damn, now I want some sushi!

[Guest]

I use my mouth....do you? :P

....wait....haven't I already used that joke?

Anyway, I use chopsticks (if provided) otherwise a fork.

[Philip027]

I don't. Not my kind of food.

[Xavy]

Chopsticks - vegan sushi

[5_♦♣]

I don't, as I don't really like the thought of eating seafood.

[marki]

Sticks beeotches yeah!!!!

Someday I wanna eat it off a cute girl!

[Corretto]

I'm not alone...I wave around the chop-sticks, trying to impress every non-Asian near me...then I dive-in with the bare hands, and lots of dark soy! Cia ^_^

[Vivaldi Ives]

I'm capable of using chopsticks, but prefer to use a fork.

[WhenSummersGone]

I like seafood but I don't eat sushi.

[Nameless123]

Chopsticks.

[marki]

Plenty of non seafood sushi options summers gone! I almost exclusively eat vegetable sushi.....and it is sooooooo good!

[TheKindredSoul]

I use chopsticks, though I do not hold them right! :lol:

[iamphoenixfire]

Chopsticks 4 lyfe. I used to not be able to use them but I learned how to. I love sushi so much though it is one of my favorite foods.

[marki]

I wonder if sushi is affordable in Japan? I love it but it always is so expensive!

[Guest_49836]

I use chopsticks, but here's what I'm wondering.

People have told me I eat sushi wrong and I kinda shake my head internally because they're judging how I apply condiments to my food. Some (non-japanese) people have told me to put the wasabi and the ginger IN the soy sauce dish and stir it in. I don't like this method, I prefer putting crumbs of the wasabi on top of the piece right before dunking it, then I can decide how spicy I want the next bite to be. Thoughts?

I wonder if sushi is affordable in Japan? I love it but it always is so expensive!

I've been told it is the equivalent to sandwiches in Japan. The thing that makes it expensive here is the scarcity.
Then again, eating out is expensive in general. A pasta plate with a glass of wine will cost me $20 - $30 if it's a nice place, just like a sushi dinner would (unless it's that imitation crab stuff)
If I'd have made the extravagant pasta myself with a glass of Chateau du Cardboard it would probably run me about $5-$8 per meal

I'm sure it's easier to have a (!!safe!!) cheap sushi experience in Japan because the availability and standards there.

[Member54880]

I use chopsticks, and I originally did put wasabi in the soy sauce bowl, but now put wasabi on the sushi, then dip it into the soy sauce.

[LaMaestra]

I only eat vegetarian sushi but on the whole I don't eat it so I voted that way. When I had vegetarian sushi I ate it with my fingers.

[Tja]

Chopsticks.

I too put the wasabi in a cup then add soy and stir. I must try putting it on the sushi then dipping next time.

[marki]

I eat my sushi add on free.....no ginger no wasabi and no soy sauce...I can't stand seeing people dunking the sushi in sauce...just eat it how it was given to you...lol!

[luxurieux]

I use chopsticks, but here's what I'm wondering.

People have told me I eat sushi wrong and I kinda shake my head internally because they're judging how I apply condiments to my food. Some (non-japanese) people have told me to put the wasabi and the ginger IN the soy sauce dish and stir it in. I don't like this method, I prefer putting crumbs of the wasabi on top of the piece right before dunking it, then I can decide how spicy I want the next bite to be. Thoughts?

Many Japanese don't use soy sauce or wasabi at all. But wasabi is usually placed onto the sushi itself rather than mixed into the soy sauce. Because the flavor and spiciness of the wasabi usually dissipates once placed into a liquid. As for soy sauce, it's not supposed to touch the rice at all because it's supposed to be flavored already. Nigiri, for example, would be dipped into the soy sauce fish-side-down. And ginger is meant to be eaten between mouthfulls of sushi to refresh the palate.

Of course, I'm not Japanese so I don't know for sure. This is just what I've gathered from the internet. And they're not really "etiquette rules" so much as "helpful guidelines." Eat sushi the way you want to eat it, I say.

[iamphoenixfire]

I don't like wasabi or ginger very much but a good soy sauce is fine by me :) I tend to dip it in soy sauce, well, some sushi anyway. Really good sushi doesn't need the stuff. The only okay sushi though.... then a little soy sauce is nice.

[catsaregood]

I only eat vegetarian sushi, with my fingers 'cos I love to feel the different textures of the food! If I'm at home I dip, if I'm out I use the fish-shaped soy sauce dispenser (I prefer tamari sauce, but they never give you that with take-away!). Wasabi I only use sparingly, and I usually put it on after I've applied the soy. Pickles I could eat forever mmmmm

I'm lucky, in that we have fairly cheap sushi here, and some very good stuff. Now I really want some rice rolls...Nice poll, luxurieux!

[Larien]

With my FACE!!

But really though, I f-ing love sushi and chopsticks are fun.

[Skycaptain]

Chopsticks out of preference, otherwise another utensil. I like the taste of sushi, but not fishy-smelling fingers afterwards

[Hooded_Crow]

With chopsticks, which makes me look ridiculous. I think it's traditionally eaten without utensils XD

[SecondMoon]

chopsticks

I suppose it'd be fine to eat maki with the nori on the outside with me fingers, but for whatever reason, I just can't handle it. (Pun intended.) I mean anything is fine as long as you're fine with it, but assuming I don't want anything left behind on my fingers (which is the case) nori would leave 'em clean and dry, but again...

Fun Fact: I make it a hobby to try out every japanese/sushi restaurant I can around Toronto to compare them on a variety of features and determine which are the best when it comes to the balance of all features. (Okay,maybe not every; maybe some books I'll judge by the cover.) It means I have a good excuse to eat a lot of sushi (although in more recent times, I haven't been taking full advantage). It also means I've become somewhat of a snob-according-to-my-own-tastes. (What are you gonna do? Sushi Elitist, Ho!)

I use chopsticks, but here's what I'm wondering.

People have told me I eat sushi wrong and I kinda shake my head internally because they're judging how I apply condiments to my food. Some (non-japanese) people have told me to put the wasabi and the ginger IN the soy sauce dish and stir it in. I don't like this method, I prefer putting crumbs of the wasabi on top of the piece right before dunking it, then I can decide how spicy I want the next bite to be. Thoughts?

I do not understand why anyone would put ginger in the soy sauce, unless perhaps all of the sushi are the same and you definitely want to taste ginger on all of it...but, anyway, I agree with you, it's much better to keep them all separate so you can decide what to do with each bite. As luxurieux said, ginger is traditionally a palate cleanser, and that's the only way I ever eat it. As far as wasabi goes, I always taste a little on it's own to see how flavourful and spicy it is (it always varies from place to place), then decide how much to put on each kind of sushi on the plate; I've found that the more fat there is, the more wasabi you need for the flavour to come through (Fatty=avocado, salmon, butterfish, toro/fatty tuna, unagi, etc. Less fatty=tekka/standard tuna, hamachi, snapper, cucumber, etc.) And this is, of course, assuming you'd want some wasabi on there in the first place! Speaking of, I cannot bring myself to even try adding wasabi or soy sauce to uni--let me know, anyone, if you think I'm making a horrible mistake! Heh.

[Diceman]

Yuck yuck yuck =P I'm a New Englander, we cook our fish up here!

[marki]

Boooo....clam chowdah is teh craps!

Ooooh.....Toronto sushi...you ever go to sushi ya near the airport? I got lost my first time in Toronto and found it for lunch....then 5 years later I was at a hotel and found the same place and ate it again. Super nice!