Tips
Etiquette
To relish Sushi the traditional way, you will need the fitting accessories.
 | Hashi · 箸 |
First there are the Hashi (箸), the Japanese
chopsticks. You will find them in front of you on the table.
While you do not use them, you lay them down parallel to the
edge of the table. Together with the chopsticks comes a small
ceramic bench, Hashi oki, where you put on the tops
of the chopsticks. Also you will have a small ceramic dish
to put in soy sauce later on. At the beginning of the
Sushi-meal you will usually get a hot towel, an
Oshibori, to wipe over your face and hands.
You can eat Sushi with your hands or the chopsticks. No
matter how, in both cases you take the Sushi piece, usually a
mouthful, and put it in the provided soy sauce. Take care just
to dip the fish part in and not the rice that could fall apart
(and this is said to be very indelicate). Besides, the rice
absorbs the soy sauce too fast and this covers the fine taste of
the fish completely. After dipping, the piece is eaten with
one bite.
Tip
It is very impolite to point with the chopsticks at things,
let alone persons.
|
While eating with chopsticks there may occur some
misunderstandings in Japan. It is very impolite to point
with the chopsticks at persons; also the passing on of a piece
of Sushi from one chopstick to another will at least incur
displeasure because this reminds of a Japanese tradition at
funerals.
Beverages
 | Sake · お酒 |
Traditionally you have green tea or Japanese rice wine with
Sushi. But a beer or a glass of wine will also fit perfectly.
If you want to have green tea with Sushi, you can resort
without hesitation to the common Japanese types like
Bancha or Sencha. Their sweet flavor
suits the raw fish very fine. To prepare the green tea you take
about 1½ to 2 teaspoons of tea per cup. Bancha
then is brewed per pot, Sencha per cup with boiling
water.
Japanese rice wine is called Sake (お酒). It is
made of fermented rice, malt and water. Sake has
an alcoholic content of 16 % to 19 % and its taste varies from
sweet to dry. You should store it in a dry and cool place.
You may drink it warm or cold. When drinking rice wine to
Sushi, you usually warm it up to body temperature.
How to drink Sake
Serve the guests by importance.
Do not pour in your tumbler yourself but wait until your
neighbor does it.
Lift up the Sake tumbler if it is refilled.
Raise your glass to the one who served you before you drink.
|
Soups
 | Misoshiru · 味噌汁 |
The ideal beginning for the Sushi pleasure is a soup.
Possibly a clear stock, Suimono, or a Miso-soup
Misoshiru (味噌汁), made of fermented soybean
paste. In Japan soups are always served boiling hot and
drunken out of a cup. You reduce the temperature by sipping to a
bearable mark.
|
