Eating sushi with your fingers

[adegiulio]

From what I know, sushi is finger food. I prefer to eat my sushi with my hands, if for no other reason than I have better control over my digits than chopsticks. However, I tend to get strange looks from others in the restaurant (including my dining mates). I can count the number of people eating their sushi with their hands on one paw.

I'm not saying I am right or wrong, but how do you eat your sushi? How many people use that hot hand towel as a facial scrub?

[Fat Guy]

You may get strange looks from Americans, but certainly not from any Japanese person. You're doing it the right way. You're kickin' it old school.

Americans do a lot of silly things with chopsticks. For example, I’ve met many people who insist on using chopsticks in Thai restaurants, in order to be respectful of that culture. They are, however, overcompensating: in Thailand people eat with forks and spoons. The only time you’d receive chopsticks in a restaurant in Thailand would be if it was a Chinese restaurant, or you were being served a Chinese noodle dish. Otherwise, they haven’t been using chopsticks in Thailand since King Rama V introduced Western-style utensils there back in the 19th century. Whenever I’ve asked Thai restaurant owners in North America why they put chopsticks on the tables if chopsticks aren’t used in Thailand, they’ve told me it’s because customers expect and demand them.

Nor are chopsticks required in Japan to eat sushi. Sashimi, yes, but sushi is made with the hands and can be eaten with the hands. I know when I go to Japanese restaurants and eat my sushi with my hands, the people eating their sushi with chopsticks look at me like I’m a cretin. But the sushi chefs know it’s the traditional way. Eating sushi with your hands also has the benefit of being much easier than eating sushi with chopsticks. Especially when it comes to dipping nigiri in a little soy sauce, I find the chopstick maneuver almost impossible, because you're supposed to invert the piece and dip the fish, not dip the rice as many do.

[Hiroyuki]

From what I know, sushi is finger food. I prefer to eat my sushi with my hands, if for no other reason than I have better control over my digits than chopsticks. However, I tend to get strange looks from others in the restaurant (including my dining mates). I can count the number of people eating their sushi with their hands on one paw.

I'm not saying I am right or wrong, but how do you eat your sushi? How many people use that hot hand towel as a facial scrub? 

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Sushi was finger food in the Edo period, but now, more Japanese eat it with chopsticks, and I am one of them. Many think that eating sushi with your hands is the way to go if you sit at the bar in a sushi shop, but still, a decent sushi chef will tell you it's up to the diner whether to use your hands or chopsticks.

[cfm]

Especially when it comes to dipping nigiri in a little soy sauce, I find the chopstick maneuver almost impossible, because you're supposed to invert the piece and dip the fish, not dip the rice as many do.

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Aha! I read once that this dipping of the fish not the rice would get the best results, but I couldn't get it working for me with chopsticks. I'll be deftly dipping my fish with my fingers from now on.

Catherine

[Nathan]

Americans do a lot of silly things with chopsticks. For example, I’ve met many people who insist on using chopsticks in Thai restaurants, in order to be respectful of that culture. They are, however, overcompensating: in Thailand people eat with forks and spoons. The only time you’d receive chopsticks in a restaurant in Thailand would be if it was a Chinese restaurant, or you were being served a Chinese noodle dish. Otherwise, they haven’t been using chopsticks in Thailand since King Rama V introduced Western-style utensils there back in the 19th century. Whenever I’ve asked Thai restaurant owners in North America why they put chopsticks on the tables if chopsticks aren’t used in Thailand, they’ve told me it’s because customers expect and demand them.

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my understanding (which certainly could be wrong), is that chopsticks weren't used before the 19th century in Thailand either...they used fingers. chopsticks, throughout Asia, tended to arrive with Chinese merchants.....which I don't think really penetrated Thailand until the late 19th and early 20th centuries...(this is also when noodles first began to show up in Thai cooking)

[shane.ashley]

So can someone tell me the exact difference between sushi and sashimi. I've heard so many answers even from the chefs.

[LittleLea]

So can someone tell me the exact difference between sushi and sashimi. I've heard so many answers even from the chefs.

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Sushi is fish and rice formed into logs, handrolls or nigiri... sashimi is fish presented on its own, sometimes on a bowl of rice.

At least, thats how I understand it.

About eating sushi with your hands... I think that was how it was originally intended to be eaten... much akin to the western sandwich... it took a typical meal requiring utensils, and transformed it into finger food.

But then... I've seen my fiance's Brit mum eat a sandwich with a fork and knife.....

Edited July 12, 2007 by LittleLea (log)

[Fat Guy]

Americans do a lot of silly things with chopsticks. For example, I’ve met many people who insist on using chopsticks in Thai restaurants, in order to be respectful of that culture. They are, however, overcompensating: in Thailand people eat with forks and spoons. The only time you’d receive chopsticks in a restaurant in Thailand would be if it was a Chinese restaurant, or you were being served a Chinese noodle dish. Otherwise, they haven’t been using chopsticks in Thailand since King Rama V introduced Western-style utensils there back in the 19th century. Whenever I’ve asked Thai restaurant owners in North America why they put chopsticks on the tables if chopsticks aren’t used in Thailand, they’ve told me it’s because customers expect and demand them.

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my understanding (which certainly could be wrong), is that chopsticks weren't used before the 19th century in Thailand either...they used fingers. chopsticks, throughout Asia, tended to arrive with Chinese merchants.....which I don't think really penetrated Thailand until the late 19th and early 20th centuries...(this is also when noodles first began to show up in Thai cooking)

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That may be. I'd love to find a source on that. I assumed the Chinese merchants brought them over in the 15th or so century, but what do I know?

[Busboy]

Americans do a lot of silly things with chopsticks. For example, I’ve met many people who insist on using chopsticks in Thai restaurants, in order to be respectful of that culture. They are, however, overcompensating: in Thailand people eat with forks and spoons. The only time you’d receive chopsticks in a restaurant in Thailand would be if it was a Chinese restaurant, or you were being served a Chinese noodle dish. Otherwise, they haven’t been using chopsticks in Thailand since King Rama V introduced Western-style utensils there back in the 19th century. Whenever I’ve asked Thai restaurant owners in North America why they put chopsticks on the tables if chopsticks aren’t used in Thailand, they’ve told me it’s because customers expect and demand them.

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my understanding (which certainly could be wrong), is that chopsticks weren't used before the 19th century in Thailand either...they used fingers. chopsticks, throughout Asia, tended to arrive with Chinese merchants.....which I don't think really penetrated Thailand until the late 19th and early 20th centuries...(this is also when noodles first began to show up in Thai cooking)

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That may be. I'd love to find a source on that. I assumed the Chinese merchants brought them over in the 15th or so century, but what do I know?

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I've overheard waiters in Thai restaurants telling customers that they can't have chopsticks because Thais don't use chopsticks. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing a place setting in a Thai place that included chopsticks (unlike a most Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants these days, which set out both sticks and forks, or sticks only).

On the question of sushi, I once asked a guy I worked who had been Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo if you could eat sushi with your fingers and he said that he had never done it nor seen it done by any of the Japanese he'd dined with. Possibly his striped-pants status threw him in with a more formal crowd, but in an an upscale setting I'd go with sticks.

(Also on the subject of Japanese dining habits, he noted that noodle eating is sufficiently sloppy -- even for the locals -- that men's neckties in Japan are regularly coated with a shellac-like substance in order to prevent broth stains from setting in the silk. )

[Fat Guy]

I've gone over the sushi-with-hands issue with several of the top Japanese sushi chefs in America, and they've all been strong advocates for eating with the hands. Both Yasuda and Shin Tsujimura at Nobu have, after we established rapport over the course of many meals, implored me to use hands especially for nigiri. Both independently told me that when they prepare sushi for someone using hands it gives them the flexibility to pack the rice very loose. If they send sushi out to the tables, or they serve people who are using chopsticks, they have no choice but to form a denser nigiri, which is undesirable.

This is confirmed by the author's observations in the new book, "The Zen of Fish."

"You also need to be able to adjust your nigiri, depending on the customer and the situation," Tetsu went on. The sushi chef's job wasn't simply to make sushi. A good chef had to make snap judgments about every customer who sat at his sushi bar.

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A customer who chooses to use chopsticks instead of his fingers will also require a firmer pack of rice.

[Kouign Aman]

When my mother stayed with a Japanese family in Japan, one of the family members was a sushi chef who prepared a sushi meal for the family at home one night. The family used chopsticks, until my mom, in her fatigue, asked if it was ok to use her fingers, whereupon they said "of course", put down their utensils and ate with their fingers. We've always assumed it was consumate politeness on the part of the hosts/esses that lead them to make the switch, rather than it being a normally acceptable alternative.

[ermintrude]

With hands - thought that was the point of the warm towels. Also if it's good sushi and I invert it with chopsticks to dip into soy it often falls apart - sod it, I want maximum pleasure from my food and hands are the way to do it.

Edited July 12, 2007 by ermintrude (log)

[Terila]

I used to eat sushi with my brother a lot and not only was he a big man, but also almost totally blind.

I told him it was perfectly acceptable to eat sushi with his hands as he had big problems with chopsticks. He did get looks but, frankly, I feel that the people who don't know it's acceptable are the ones who are displaying their ignorance and there is no reason to feel self conscious.

[MattJohnson]

If you really want to know how to eat sushi, watch this video on youtube

Very instructive.

[turkeybone]

Someone a few posts up said that sushi is the rolls of fish and rice, and that sashimi is the fish by itself; Chef Pardus taught us that sushi is the rice, and sashimi is the raw fish, in whatever form it may be. This thought goes against the "do you like sushi? 'no, I dont eat raw fish' " mentality.

[Fat Guy]

Sushi and sashimi developed along different historical timelines, and there are various debates about what can and can't be included in the definitions of each.

In general, sushi equals rice with toppings or fillings. Those toppings or fillings can be raw fish, cooked fish, vegetables -- anything. The actual word sushi references the rice, so as a technical matter it's not sushi if it doesn't have rice. However, you will find the occasional maki made without rice, and that's probably considered to be sushi at this point. In any event, modern fresh raw-fish sushi with vinegared sweetened rice is a relatively recent innovation. Back in the day the fish was fermented in rice to preserve it. The vinegar came in to substitute for that fermented taste when fresh raw fish started to be used in sushi.

In general, sashimi equals plain slices of raw fish, and has been around for much longer than fresh raw-fish sushi. But it's possible to slice up other things and call it sashimi, and have people understand what you mean. For example, you could say "avocado sashimi" and not be speaking nonsense. You probably couldn't cook a piece of fish and call it sashimi, though. Then again, a Nobu innovation was "new-style sashimi," which refers to sashimi that has been cooked -- it's laid out raw on the plate and hot oil is drizzled on top to cook it just slightly.

[Hiroyuki]

Many people, whether Japanese or non-Japanese, hesitate to eat sushi with their hands for some reason or other. If you are like these people, here is a practical way to eat sushi with chopsticks (actually recommended by some sushi chefs in Japan):

Turn a piece of sushi on its side with the chopsticks, pick it up with the chopsticks, and dip the tip of the neta (topping) in soy sauce.

Whether to use your hands or chopsticks to eat sushi is much of a personal preference, and what should really be avoided is to separate the neta (topping) from the shari (vinegared rice), dip it in soy sauce, put it back on the shari, and eat it. I thought this was kind of a taboo until I found this:

http://kotonoha.cc/no/10983

(Japanese only)

To the question,

寿司を食べる時はネタを剥がして醤油につけ、シャリの上に戻してから口に運ぶ

When eating sushi, do you first peel off the nega, dip it in soy sauce, put it back on the shari, and eat it?

more than ten percent of the 245 respondents have said yes so far.

Probably the percentage is high because the respondents are mostly young people.

[Norm357]

Sushi is finger food. You are supposed to use your finger.

Damn, now Im jonesin for Sushi.

[Terila]

If you really want to know how to eat sushi, watch this video on youtube

Very instructive.

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Very funny!!!

I love how the sushi chef wipes the cutting board with the towel, uses the same towel to completely wipe down his sweaty face, then uses the same towel to wipe the knife he is using.

"Gari" ... nobody knows what it is.

Subtle humor.

[MattJohnson]

Yeah. That vid cracks me up everytime. I like the little cup of salt outside the door too. heh. Glad you liked it.

[Hiroyuki]

If you really want to know how to eat sushi, watch this video on youtube

Very instructive.

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I personally hate that one, and I don't think it's instructive.

I much prefer this Kuitan (Japanese TV drama) episode:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=iB7fxqlywiI

[hummingbirdkiss]

ok if you are eating sushi why on earth would you be looking at how someone else is eating sushi?

I think anyone who gives you a strange look has no clue how much attention the food in front of them deserves!!!

at the same time..you should really just

ignore them ....and eat away get every egg off your fingers with a loud noise and big look of satisfaction on your face ..that is what eating sushi is all about ...

Edited July 17, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[MattJohnson]

If you really want to know how to eat sushi, watch this video on youtube

Very instructive.

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I personally hate that one, and I don't think it's instructive.

I much prefer this Kuitan (Japanese TV drama) episode:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=iB7fxqlywiI

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Sorry you hate it. I was being sarcastic about it being instructive. I do think its very funny though. Can't please everyone I guess.

I am one of those who loves eating sushi with my hands. When I lived in northern Japan, there was a little place by the train station I would go to. I let the chef give me what he wanted. He would place the sushi right on the wooden bar in front of me. He did a great job of varying the prices of the pieces so I was always satisfied and not broke.

[Hiroyuki]

If you really want to know how to eat sushi, watch this video on youtube

Very instructive.

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I personally hate that one, and I don't think it's instructive.

I much prefer this Kuitan (Japanese TV drama) episode:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=iB7fxqlywiI

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Sorry you hate it. I was being sarcastic about it being instructive. I do think its very funny though. Can't please everyone I guess.

I am one of those who loves eating sushi with my hands. When I lived in northern Japan, there was a little place by the train station I would go to. I let the chef give me what he wanted. He would place the sushi right on the wooden bar in front of me. He did a great job of varying the prices of the pieces so I was always satisfied and not broke.

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You don't have to be sorry. I just hate it, that's all. I would love it if it were sarcastic or satirical in any way, but it's just plain stupid.

***

I had lunch with my children at the local kaitenzushi (conveyor sushi restaurant). We sat at a table on the raised tatami (straw mat) space. I used a pair of disposable chopsticks (waribashi) to eat my sushi, as usual. Surprisingly, I found my children both eating theirs with their fingers!

Ramen and sushi set (my favorite)

830 yen. A very satisfying meal.

I also had one akami, chu-toro, and o-toro set:

(Sorry, blurry)

520 yen. Not bad, but I must say the slices were too thin to savor the flavor.

[dividend]

Slightly off topic, but I have a question. I have it in my head that peices of sushi are intended to be eaten in a single bite, but often times the peices are too large to do that with any degree of grace. (This may be because I've been under the impression that I'm supposed to use chopsticks.) Is it horribly gauche to bite a peice in half? What's the etiquette for this?