If you are about to visit Japan or are planning a trip there, one of the first things you may want to do on arrival is head to a restaurant to taste ‘real’ Japanese sushi.
Be aware, though: even if you love Japanese cuisine, local sushi bars can be quite different from the Japanese restaurants found in Italy and elsewhere in the West. You may wonder what the green powder served with your nigiri is, or why the itamae, the chef preparing the sushi, looked displeased when you dipped a piece in soy sauce. Deep Japan explains six things to know before eating sushi in Japan.
• 1. GREEN TEA IS OFTEN SERVED AS A POWDER – Its bright colour can make it look like freeze-dried wasabi. It is not wasabi, which is also served as a paste in Japan, so do not add it to your soy sauce. Wasabi should be added directly to the fish in small amounts. In Japan, green tea is served as a drink with sushi: the pairing works well because neither flavour overwhelms the other.
• 2. USE THE TOWELS – When you sit down at a sushi bar, you may be offered an oshibori, a small towel for cleaning your hands and mouth. Sometimes it is already packaged on the table. Japanese restaurants take hygiene seriously and do not reuse an oshibori without cleaning it. On the other side of the table there may be a small coloured cloth for wiping the table or counter after the meal. Remember: the white towel is for you; the coloured cloth is only for the table.
Sushi is not only one of Japan’s most famous dishes; above all, it is an expression of a very long history.
David Gelb
• 3. PINK GINGER: A LITTLE NOW AND THEN – Alongside sushi you may find a small silver container holding slices of pink ginger. Use it sparingly, just a little every two or three bites. Pink ginger has a strong flavour: eating too much makes it harder to appreciate the sushi and sashimi you ordered.
• 4. WASABI IS ALREADY IN THE SUSHI – Traditional Japanese sushi often includes wasabi inside the rolls or nigiri rather than serving it separately, as Western restaurants commonly do. Since not everyone enjoys its distinctive flavour, you can ask for less. Say ‘nashi’ if you do not want wasabi, or ‘sukuname’ for less than usual. For the normal amount, say ‘futsuu’; ‘oome’ means you would like plenty of wasabi.
• 5. CHOPSTICKS – These are usually in a dark wooden box beside your place at the table. There may also be a toothpick nearby for use after the meal. Never put used chopsticks back in the wooden box. Leave them on your plate, preferably horizontally, in keeping with Japanese etiquette.
• 6. BE CAREFUL WITH SOY SAUCE – Western diners often enjoy its savoury flavour so much that they drown their sushi in soy sauce, overpowering the fish. Avoid doing this in a Japanese sushi bar: not every kind of sushi or sashimi needs soy sauce. If you are unsure, show the sauce to the itamae and look to them for guidance.
Source: Il GIORNALETTISMO
