How to Eat Sushi Like a Pro

Eating sushi can be a delicious experience every time you try it. However, if you’re a real fan of Japanese cuisine, it’s important for you to know and put into practice certain techniques to enjoy this popular dish to the fullest.

5-Minute Crafts created this guide with some useful tips to help you eat sushi like a professional.

1. Be familiar with the complementary ingredients.

When you’re served your sushi rolls, there are 2 other ingredients that will often be present. These are wasabi and pickled ginger.

Wasabi is a Japanese paste that has a very strong, spicy taste, which can be similar to horseradish. It leaves a burn that goes away after a few seconds. Traditionally, this ingredient is used to enhance the flavor of the fish.

On the other hand, pickled ginger has a soothing flavor, which can help you relieve the burn of wasabi and prepare your palate by cleaning it for the next piece.

2. Opt for eating with your hands instead of using chopsticks.

If you have been wondering why there are wet towels in sushi restaurants, the answer is quite simple: these are for you to clean your fingers with before eating. Moreover, using your clean hands is the traditional form of eating nigiri and maki pieces. Therefore, it’s completely acceptable to use this technique, especially if you don’t want to damage the shape of the piece of sushi.

✅ Once you’re done cleaning your hands with the wet towel, try folding it back just the way you received it before returning it.

❗ Although it’s okay to use chopsticks when eating sushi, keep in mind that these can damage the texture and flavor of the pieces. If you opt for eating with your hands, use chopsticks only for sashimi and pickled ginger.

🚫 Do not rub the chopsticks together. This could be seen as a rude practice. If you’re not using them, rest them on the holder parallel to yourself or on the soy sauce bowl.

3. Learn how to use soy sauce.

✅ Opt for a small amount of soy sauce. Pouring too much soy sauce into your bowl can be a sign that you don’t think the fish is fresh. That’s why it’s advisable to use a thin layer instead of a large amount of this ingredient. Remember that you can always add more soy sauce later if you need to.

🚫 Don’t dip the rice into the sauce, as it may absorb too much of it. Instead, tilt the sushi piece with the fish facing down to soak it in the soy sauce. This may also prevent the rice from falling into the bowl.

❗ Unagi sushi made with eel and sushi pieces that already have sauce on top should not be dipped in soy sauce.

🚫 Do not mix wasabi with soy sauce since this can affect the flavor of both ingredients. Instead, put the paste on the center of the fish piece and then dip it into the sauce.

4. Go from lighter to heavier flavors.

Eat the sushi pieces in a specific order to make the most out of your experience. Moreover, this will prevent fish with heavier flavors from overpowering those with a milder taste.

For instance, start with pieces that contain white fish, continue with silver ones, then move on to red, and next, try pieces with fish that are heavier in flavor, such as salmon roe or salmon. After that, eat fish with the most fat in it, then work your way to pieces with egg. Finally, have a simple tuna roll to finish your order.

5. Remember that ginger goes between sushi pieces.

Although putting ginger on your sushi may sound like a good idea, it’s actually the wrong way to use this ingredient. Remember that ginger works as a palette cleanser, so the right form of eating it is between sushi bites, never when you still have a piece of sushi in your mouth.

6. Eat the whole piece of sushi in just one bite.

Splitting sushi pieces into halves can make them fall apart. Moreover, this can be considered impolite for the sushi chef who put his talent into making the perfect sushi piece for you. Therefore, when eating a sushi piece, always remember that it is meant to be eaten in one bite only.

💡 You can always ask the sushi chef to adjust the size of the pieces if you think they’re too large to fit in your mouth.

7. Thank the sushi chef, but avoid tipping them by handing them money.

❗Handing money to your sushi chef is not a good idea since they must work with their hands all day long. Therefore, they shouldn’t touch coins or bills.

✅ However, it’s perfectly fine to thank them when you’re seated at a sushi bar. You can do so by saying “Domo arigato,” which is the Japanese equivalent of “thank you very much.”