In our country, Japanese restaurants are often called sushi bars, so many believe that sushi is any food of the Land of the Rising Sun. In fact, each appetizer or dish has its own difficult to pronounce name. And sushi is just a slice of fish, a seafood delicacy or an omelet, lying on a specially prepared rice.
Preparing for a meal
Immediately after accepting the order, the waiter brings hot ohibori towels to the guests of the sushi bar. They need to wipe your hands. After that, they take the hasi into their hands. If you were served individually wrapped disposable sticks, you need to separate them and rub them against each other if there are irregularities and splinters on the surface. With high-quality reusable hasi, this procedure is not performed. If a guest of a Japanese restaurant does not know how to eat with chopsticks, you should not ask for European cutlery, etiquette allows you to eat sushi and rolls with your hands, but only from your plate.
Do not pass sushi to another person with chopsticks, if you want to share, just hold out a plate or stand.
Preparing the sauce
Many Japanese dishes, including sushi, are served with three additional ingredients: soy sauce, wasabi, and gari - pickled ginger. The first is used instead of salt, the second is used for spiciness, and the third is used to restore the taste sensation after changing dishes. The Japanese do not manipulate these spices, but eat them as they are, for example, smear wasabi on sushi and rolls.
In Russia, and in other countries, the situation is somewhat different. In particular, you can see how guests of a Japanese restaurant ask to bring water to dilute the sauce or add wasabi to it for more spice. There is nothing reprehensible in this, and a real Japanese will not make a comment.
It is customary to place an individual saucer with soy sauce to the right of your plate, the sticks lying on the hasioki (stand) should be directed with sharp tips to the food.
How to eat sushi
In Japanese cuisine, it doesn't matter in what order you start your meal. You can take a sip of soup, try ginger, eat a roll, or vice versa. It is important not to change the location of the food on the plate under any condition. In addition, after taking a bite from the sushi, you cannot put it on the stand, the whole slice must be placed in your mouth. There are two ways to eat sushi.
Method 1. Sushi must be placed on one side, gently pick it up with chopsticks. Then a piece is dipped in the sauce so that only the fish (seafood delicacy or omelet) comes into contact with the liquid. Then the whole thing is put into the mouth. If the sushi is decorated with something, such as sesame seeds, the sauce is not used.
Method 2. Gary is taken with chopsticks and completely immersed in soy sauce. Then they need to brush over the surface of the land like a brush. Ginger is eaten separately, followed by a prepared piece. This method is also good for rolls.
Regardless of which method is chosen, it is necessary to eat everything that is on the plate. This is one of the basic rules of Japanese table etiquette.
