All About Sushi Etiquette

An expert Itamae chef will take 5 – 10 years to understand their trade to become a skilled sushi chef using traditional preparation methods. So, take time out to do that bit of scrolling to find the perfect restaurant with it's own Itamae.

Sushi is not just a meal; it's a food art that the Japanese have perfected over centuries. It has been said it was a fast food for a particular social class from the Edo period (1600 – 1800’s) onwards. While the focus often lies on the skill of the sushi chef or ‘Itamae’ and the quality of fresh ingredients, understanding the nuances of sushi etiquette is important. Let’s explore the finer points of how to eat sushi properly.

Choosing the Right Restaurant: You can start your sushi journey by selecting a reputable sushi restaurant. An expert Itamae chef will take 5 – 10 years to understand their trade to become a skilled sushi chef using traditional preparation methods. So, take time out to do that bit of scrolling to find the perfect restaurant with it's own Itamae.

Traditional Japanese Sushi vs. Western Sushi: Sushi menus can be diverse, ranging from offering Japanese-style sushi to nigiri using three to four fresh ingredients. Conversely, western style, from sashimi to hand rolls, uses ingredients, various creamy toppings and extra condiments.

Chopsticks or Fingers?: Many think that chopsticks are an ultimate tool for enjoying sushi. However that is not the case in Japan. The Japanese prefer to hold sushi with the fingers, avoiding touching the rice or protein and directly holding the seaweed. If you want to use chopsticks hold them towards the ‘top’ or thicker ends and not in the middle. When picking up a piece of sushi, do so gently and avoid stabbing it.

Rice: Rice is the hero of the sushi story, rather than fish. The rice that is used in sushi is Japanese short-grain rice. This rice is also used to make sake and rice vinegar. Sushi rice, known as "shari" or "sumeshi," is made by washing short-grain Japanese rice to remove excess starch. After draining, the rice is cooked with water and rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. The cooked rice is then cooled and seasoned, creating a slightly sweet, sticky consistency perfect for making sushi.

Soy Sauce - Shoyu: When dipping sushi into soy sauce, please do it carefully without soaking the rice making it soggy consequently falling apart and it going splat! The Japanese way is to pick up the sushi (rice and salmon only) on it's side then turning the chopsticks, dip the fish side of the sushi into the soy sauce. If you are holding a piece of sushi with nori wrapped around it, then dip only one side only for sushi. Never mix wasabi and soy sauce or ginger with the soy sauce and finally never shake the soy sauce off the item you are about to eat.

Wasabi and Ginger: Wasabi is a Japanese type-horseradish and ginger is known as shouga. These two ingredients are not optional side extras as they are in Western restaurants. Wasabi is served as a light topping or within the sushi roll itself. Pickled ginger is a siding to help cleanse the palate; remember never to place ginger on the sushi, a big no-no. Instead, pick up the ginger between bite of sushi with your fingers.

Nori: Nori is a dried edible seaweed made from species of the red algae. It has a distinctive and memorable flavour, used to wrap rolls of sushi. A good Japanese restaurant will use the highest grade nori which is the most tenderest of all the grading of nori.

Eating at the counter or table?: Typically, Japanese diners opt for the counter due to its impact on temperature. Temperature fluctuations can notably influence the flavour and quality of both the protein and rice, making even minor variations a crucial factor in the sushi experience.

Typical Traditional Japanese Sushi: There are many traditional dishes that restaurants can serve and specialise in. Here are a few items on the menu that you could find: chirashizushi - scattered sushi, oshizushi - pressed sushi, nigirizushi - hand-pressed sushi, narezushi - matured (fermented) sushi, makizushi - rolled sushi and inarizushi - fried tofu pouch filled with sushi rice.

Western Japanese Sushi: Hand rolls like California or lobster rolls are designed to be eaten quickly. Here you will find ingredients such as Kewpie mayonnaise, avocado, cucumber and crab, which Japanese sushi chef Ichiro Mashita invented in 1960s Los Angeles due to not finding the type of fatty tuna found in Japan, replacing it with an equally oily yet fresh ingredient of avocado. Another modern invention is the much-loved Kewpie mayonnaise was created by Toichiro Nakashima to improve the health of the Japanese population in 1925.

By understanding the nuances of sushi, you can enhance your dining experience and pay homage to the rich cultural heritage behind this iconic Japanese cuisine. Itadakimasu or bon appetite, as they say in Japan.

For many years, Etiquipedia contributor, Elizabeth Soos, has had a keen interest in cultural customs. With her European background and extensive travel, Soos developed an interest in the many forms of respect and cultural expectations in the countries she has visited. With her 20 years’ experience in customer service within private international companies based in Australia, and her lifetime interest in manners and research, she decided to branch out into the field of etiquette and deportment. Through her self-directed studies and by completing the Train-The-Trainer’s course offered by Emma Dupont’s School of Etiquette in London and by Guillaume Rue de Bernadac at Academie de Bernadac based in Paris and Shanghai, she founded Auersmont School of Etiquette.

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Sushi is Steeped in Etiquette

Dip the sushi fish-side down in soy sauce, then place it fish-side down on your tongue and eat it in one bite. Don’t insult the chef by using too much soy sauce or too much wasabi (Japanese horseradish). You are supposed to savor the delicate natural flavors of the seafood. Sushi is served in pairs rather than singles to allow fuller appreciation of the taste.
— Photo source, Pinterest 

Japan’s Traditional Seafood Dish

Some salient points about sushi:

• It is proper to eat these rice and seafood morsels with your fingers, grasping them with the thumb and first two fingers. Or you can use chopsticks.
• Before eating, wash your hands with the moistened towel that is offered, but don’t use it to wipe your face and neck.
• Dip the sushi fish-side down in soy sauce, then place it fish-side down on your tongue and eat it in one bite.
• Don’t insult the chef by using too much soy sauce or too much wasabi (Japanese horseradish). You are supposed to savor the delicate natural flavors of the seafood.
• Sushi is served in pairs rather than singles to allow fuller appreciation of the taste.
• Sushi chefs like their work because they thrive on the lively atmosphere of the sushi bar and enjoy pleasing customers.
• It takes 10 years of training before they are qualified to purchase fish.
• Left handed sushi chefs face one disadvantage. Knives constructed for left handers are more expensive than ordinary knives.

This was some of the information presented to the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food during Sushi Sunday, a seminar and tasting at the New Otani Hotel and Garden in Little Tokyo.

Eleven of Los Angeles’ leading sushi chefs explained their craft, answered questions and demonstrated how they cut up fish. Then they adjourned to individual sushi bars in an adjacent room to produce sushi for tasting.

Queried about the dangers of eating raw fish, the chefs responded that knowledgeable selection and handling of the ingredients should ensure safety. Problems are more likely to occur with improperly trained “instant” sushi chefs.

The so-called “sushi worm” occurs naturally in some fish during certain seasons, they said. Savvy sushi masters know how to spot and avoid it. And if they purchase fish that turns out to be defective, they either discard it or return it to the supplier.

When asked if women were qualified for their profession, they responded negatively. Women don’t make good sushi chefs because their body temperature is warmer than that of men. Thus they are unsuited to handling raw fish, the chefs claimed.

Not fish but eggs are used to judge the merits of a sushi bar. A traditional way to test an establishment is to sample its version of tamago-yaki, a thick, sweet omelet that is served sushi style. If the test is not satisfactory, the customer is entitled to leave without paying for the sample, the chefs said. The preparation of this omelet by combining layers of the sweetened egg mixture in a rectangular pan was also demonstrated at the program.

Sushi has a long history. One theory holds that it originated not in Japan but in Southeast Asia, where fish was packed in rice and allowed to ferment. The acid produced by the rice during fermentation acted as a preservative. Thus the fish could be stored and shipped without spoiling.

The Japanese copied this idea and, at first, ate only the fish and discarded the rice. Later, they ate both the seafood and rice. In the mid 17th Century they shortened the sushi-making procedure by adding vinegar to the rice rather than waiting for fermentation.

In 1824, the fish-topped cakes of rice that mean sushi to most Americans were introduced to the Japanese by an inhabitant of what is now Tokyo. This form of sushi is called nigiri-zushi or Edomae-zushi, Edo being the old name for Tokyo. — By B. Hansen, Times Staff Writer, 1989

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia