"Foodie" culture - sushi edition

 

I've always enjoyed the clash of "foodie" cultures, and the topics about which argument rages.

• Who invented pizza, and where, and when?
• Should hot dogs have mustard and ketchup and onions and sauerkraut, or only one or two of them - and which ones?  Why?
• Should jambalaya and gumbo use tomatoes, or not (i.e. river vs. upland Cajun recipes)?

The list is probably endless.

Nevertheless, I was a bit mindblown by this BBC article about sushi and its accompanying rituals.  Here's an excerpt.

On the fine-dining end of sushi consumption, there's Sukiyabashi Jiro, the impossible-to-get-into restaurant made famous from the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. On their website, they have a list of 12 rules that range from how to use your chopsticks and cleanse your palate to timing on when to eat the fish that's splayed out in front of you. This writer has eaten there and has been admonished for taking too much time between bites.

According to Kazunori Nozawa, the co-founder of the famed SUGARFISH sushi restaurants and veritable Sushi Shokunin (Master), there are a handful of dos and don'ts in the world of sushi. First, Nozawa says, "Don't rub your chopsticks together after you split them apart, that is seen as inconsiderate." He continues with a surprising note that, "eating with your chopsticks is preferred, but eating with your hands is also acceptable. If you need a fork, it's ok, just ask for one."

Additional etiquette rules from Nozawa include:

"Eat your sushi when it arrives, it's best right away. This is especially true so the nori does not lose its texture for hand rolls or gunkan style (gunkan means "battleship" in English and is similar to a handroll that's shaped more like a boat and usually topped with roe)."

"Eat nigiri in one bite."

"If you are adding wasabi, it's okay to add it to your soy sauce, but you should have another soy sauce that does not have wasabi. Not all dishes are best with wasabi."

"Don't add ginger on top of your sushi. It's meant as palate cleanser between dishes."

"If sushi is sauced, don't dip it in soy sauce. When dipping nigiri in soy sauce, I believe you should lightly dip the rice side, not the fish side, although many others believe differently. Try it and you will taste a difference."

"Not an etiquette rule, but when eating a hand roll, take a bite, flip the hand roll, and take a bite from the other side. This helps keep the hand roll intact."

Nozawa and Jiro would probably have a very long conversation about whether to dip the rice in soy sauce or not, as it's number six on Jiro's "don't" list.

But continuing in the world of super fine-dining sushi, unspoken rules abound. Andrea Fazzari, the James Beard Award-winning photographer and author of Sushi Shokunin as well as an upcoming book on Japanese culture, says, "when dining at a fine sushiya (sushi restaurant), it is essential to respect the sushi master, the ingredients and everything about where you are. If you are dining with someone else, conversation should be muted and hushed; the sushi master and what you are eating should be the focus."

She also explains that you "do not ask for extra anything: shoyu (soy sauce), wasabi, ginger. You will not be given a small saucer for extra shoyu in which to submerge your nigiri. The nigiri are already perfect as they are, prepared the way the master intends."

There's more at the link.

I like sushi, but I've never heard of most of those rituals, and I don't think I'll bother to follow them.  Not only am I unlikely to ever end up in a true Japanese sushi master's domain, I probably wouldn't be able to afford it if I did!  (Although it's a tempting thought . . . I have a yen to try it!)

I guess I'll carry on enjoying my gaijin-oriented sushi at local restaurants, and dispense with the cultural formalities.  Hmmm . . . we have a rather good sushi restaurant near us.  I must ask the chef whether he thinks adding mustard, ketchup, onions and sauerkraut to sushi would make it more American!

Peter