r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/RaisinAloneVortex • 20d ago
Video The correct way to eat Sushi
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u/Diaperpooass 20d ago
Whatās the proper way to eat sushi in your car from the gas station at 1am?
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u/-You_Cant_Stop_Me- 20d ago
With a bottle of Mountain Dew while crying I think
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u/Innsmouth_Swimteam 20d ago edited 20d ago
You been spying on
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u/FirstDayJedi 20d ago
What's been baja blasted can't be un-baja blasted.
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u/guardeagle 20d ago
The Mountain Dew helps cleanse the palate and kill the parasites
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u/OnTheEveOfWar 20d ago
Or on the couch stoned out of your mind? I try and avoid sushi when Iām high because Iāll end up eating $75 worth.
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u/Time-Sudden_Tree 20d ago
Tell me about it. This one time I went to a revolving sushi bar (Kura) while stoned off my ass, and that's exactly what my bill turned out to be. Never go to a place like that while high! Find a good Americanized Chinese buffet like Lin's instead.
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u/Own_Investigator5104 20d ago
The same way thatās proper to eat anything that you purchased with your own money
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u/bobafootfetish_ 20d ago
I've been eating sushi like a bloody Savage
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u/hotbox4u 20d ago
I've been to an old sushi restaurant in Okinawa. I asked the man working there what's the correct way to eat sushi and he said:
'You put sushi in your mouth. You chew. That's the correct way. Everything else, it's just pretending.'
Ever since i just eat sushi the correct way.
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u/MeToldUSo 19d ago
True story or not, this is the way. Whilst customs, culture & etiquette are interesting, as long as you are enjoying YOUR food that YOU choose to eat, it does not really matter too much whether you do so according to some supposed customs, culture & etiquette of the food.
If you want to eat pizza with a knife & fork instead of folding it and holding in your hand, then go ahead. Want pineapple on it? Go ahead. Same with sushi and any other food.
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u/ZappBrannigansLaw 20d ago
I've been eating it like a fat kid eating cake...wait
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u/bobby3eb 20d ago
I mix it all in a blender, sushi roll and all.
From there i shape it into an oval. Then very carefully flip it on its side.
And then, very carefully, and only with my fingers, place it up my ass.
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u/RememberAlfRIP 20d ago
Worked at fine dining sushi spot. Best and easiest serving job ever. Probably $700 a night. Worked for 4 hours. The sushi chefs and all of the servers partied every night. Most polite people at work and we partied hard.
Part of the job was teaching people how to actually eat sushi. Speaking Japanese. Studying sake. And the home prep was more work than the job itself.
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u/PrisonerV 20d ago
I was told most of these videos are full of crap and the Japanese are like us - eat it however you want.
I like to mix wasabi and soy sauce. I eat the ginger like it's going outta style.
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u/Eta_Beta_3-14 20d ago
In most cases yes. However if you go to a fancy sushi place it's expected that you eat sushi in the 'correct' way. It's kind of like how 90% of the population of the US gets confused when you put more than one fork in front of them but if you go to an upscale restaurant the server is going to sneer at you if you use them wrong.
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u/sabamba0 20d ago
I just sneer at them back and we end up getting into a sneer-off, which I promptly end by swapping all the knives over to the fork side and vice versa while maintaining eye contact
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u/No-Sign8805 20d ago
My man/woman/?. Chaos in the upscale restaurant.
Personally, I don't care how much I pay for a meal. I paid for it. I'll use whichever damn fork I like.
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u/Comfortable_Work4822 20d ago
you eat outside-in. The outermost utensils is for the fist dish, then the next set of utensils for the next, and so on.
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u/RememberAlfRIP 20d ago
You are absolutely right. Iām not saying thereās a right or wrong way. Same thing with whiskey or whatever āstandardsā come with the food.
I was just saying it was part of the job description
Just enjoy things how you like, fuck everything else. Unless youāre like a murderer who enjoys killing.
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u/GreenIsGreed 20d ago
Same. I mix the wasabi into the soy sauce, AND dip the ginger into it. I also eat the ginger last like a little treat rather than between pieces. I'm sure it's appalling for the chef to witness.
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u/mudcrabserpent 20d ago
I also put wasabi into the soy sauce but also add my ginger to soak in it. Then I put a small piece of soaked ginger on every piece. I should probably commit seppuku.
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u/RoguePlanet2 20d ago
I like to put a bit of ginger into my green tea. Not while any of the staff are around to witness, but we never eat at high-end sushi places anyway.
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u/Colonel_Fart-Face 20d ago
Wasabi + soy sauce is totally valid, lots of Japanese people do that. My Father in law earned 2 Michelin stars in Japan and does it with take out/konbini sushi.
Mixing ginger in is sacrilege though.
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u/Sega-Playstation-64 20d ago
Only at a high end place or an omakase.
I'd really suggest watching Matcha Samurai on Instagram. 75% of rules that exist are bullshit outside of very specific circumstances.
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u/Nanery662 20d ago
Tbf theres normal sushi vs what this is
Same thing as having a normal cut of meat vs having a5 prime wagyu etc
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u/dragonrite 20d ago
Gordon ramsey would say "don't tell me how to eat my food."
Says it all the time when contestants try and explain how they want it eaten
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u/daylight1943 20d ago
thats probably what he said to the guy who tried to teach him how to make a decent grilled cheese
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u/technoexplorer 20d ago
To be fair, eating with your hands is thought by many to be old fashioned. Chop sticks are acceptable and modern.
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u/A_Drop_of_Colour 20d ago
A lot of these videos show decorum that isn't even followed by most Japanese these days. Is it (older) proper etiquette? Yes. Do most follow it now? No.
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u/Garth_AIgar 20d ago
I think Iām allergic to sushi. Every time I eat 80 or 90 of them, I throw up.
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u/UncleComfortable 20d ago
Sad how none of the replies got the Parks and Rec reference.
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u/The_Chosen_Pun_ 20d ago
I got it right away, there are some of us out here just slow to the punch :) Although I think he says "80 sushis"
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u/lordnacho666 20d ago
Now I want to know his technique for shaking. That could be really useful for a lot of guys.
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u/K4m30 20d ago
It involves chopsticks.Ā
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u/lordnacho666 20d ago
"You just twist like this"
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u/RaisinAloneVortex 20d ago
"Shaking is only for man who are finish in the men's room"
Sushi master.
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u/BoilermakerCM 20d ago
No matter how much you wiggle and dance, the last two drops will land on your pants.
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u/Mode_Appropriate 20d ago
I remember Howard Stern saying he wraps toilet paper around his breakfast sausage after hes done taking a piss to prevent that. Next time he has to go, unwraps it and starts all over again.
Always thought it be weird if he ever had a spontaneous session with his wife. 'Hold on honey, let me get rid of this piss paper'.
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u/enadiz_reccos 20d ago
Maybe when it's spontaneous time he busts through the paper like a churro at a state fair
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u/MrElectricPigeon 20d ago
He stands and he shakes and he quivers and quakes and he shivers a moment or two. He teases the drops and he squeezes and stops till he's done all that's needed to do.
He looks at his peen and it's seems pretty clean, so he tucks it away with a sigh. And walks with a frown as the pee dribbles down in a warm little flood on his thigh.
Original by u/Poem_for_your_sprog
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u/ForeverJung 20d ago
Not if you press up right behind your ballsack
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u/steelheaddan 20d ago
This is the way. Just taught my son and it was uhhh, awkward trying to explain when he didnāt get it.
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u/eurobeat0 20d ago
You can, you just need to press the urethra just below the scrotum, this pressure pushes the last little bit out of the tip.
Takes practice to apply the right pressure at the right spot, but you are almost squeezing the last bits out like a toothpaste tube.
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u/thedudefromsweden 20d ago
What about me? Iām Swedish in the menās room (and everywhere else).
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u/the-time-learner 20d ago
I think this is a very common way of parents teaching manners to their kids.
When I was 15, I had a Japanese teacher that was also a monk in the Buddhist Temple that said the exact same thing to me. At the time he was like 85.
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u/godofpumpkins 20d ago
It's amusing but I don't really get why it matters. I don't want my sushi to drip, so I jiggle it a little bit. Seems like there's no downside other than some dude telling you not to do it.
Same with the ginger in soy sauce. I don't do it but if someone likes it dipped, I don't see the problem.
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u/ButtholeConnoisseur7 20d ago
Food has a lot of strange, unwritten rules and elitist attitudes about the "right" way to cook or eat something. The French get that reputation a lot, but it shows up elsewhere too.
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u/seanmg 20d ago edited 20d ago
Wish he commented on wasabi and the right approach to that. I've seen people mix it in with their soy sauce (I do like it this way), but I've also seen that is bad form and only for when you pee while you poo in the mens room. hi hello
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u/Howrus 20d ago
I've seen people mix it in with their soy sauce
When we visited sushi place in Toyosu Fish Market, we were only foreigners there. And for us chef mixed wasabi and soy sauce, then put them on sushi using small brush. He explained that we may not know how to do it, so he will do it for us. That were one of the best sushi that I ate in Tokyo.
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u/realleathersmells 20d ago
Most japanese dont do any of these things in the video either lol. In a traditional setting, you wouldn't mix wasabi directly in your shoyu but just like you saw at Toyosu, nobody really cares if you're just eating kaitenzushi (conveyer belt type spots) or other common places.
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u/SophisticPenguin 20d ago
A fancy place will usually tell you how they prefer you to enjoy the dish. For the last sushi I've seen them also say dip so part of the rice gets soy sauce or only the rice
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u/Jason207 20d ago
We went to a nice sushi place with a Japanese friend and sat at the chefs counter, he told us what to eat (we could obv say no) and how to eat it.
Best sushi experience of my life. Also the most expensive (but worth it.)
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[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Sennten 20d ago
I also assume there are some major difference when eating sushi in a fine dining situation and eating sushi at your own home in a casual situation.
A lot of the proper ways to eat things are not the ways the people who invented and eat the thing usually do it, unsurprisingly - but then there is some stuff, usually seemingly random stuff, even those home chefs and tired parents seem to take seriously.
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u/CascadianSovietGo 20d ago
It is worth noting that fine dining sushi is itself non-traditional. Sushi originated as essentially a quick finger-food for the working class, served at port cities in Japan. Diners ate, wiped their fingers on the curtains (noren), and went back to work. The traditional beverage to drink with sushi, similarly, is the working-class rice beer.
Sushi is an incredible cuisine and the best I've ever had was in a fine-dining restaurant, but "traditional" sushi is blue collar.
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u/NotAHost 20d ago
Yup I went to Japan 13 years ago after watching a video like thisā¦ and then just watched the Japanese people in this hole in the wall all mix the wasabi and soy sauce.Ā
There might be a āproperā way to eat these things and then a way for every day people actually eat it.Ā
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u/ramrob 20d ago
Traditionally the chef puts the perfect amount of wasabi on the sushi itself and the customer doesnāt mess with it.
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u/I_travel_ze_world 20d ago
Has the chef destroyed their taste buds by drinking hard liquor, smoking cigarettes, and eating carolina reaper peppers everyday? if no then I'd rather wasabi to my own taste
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u/mortgagepants 20d ago
sushi chef snorts a line of wasabi, takes a shot of soy sauce, and loves cigarettes.
no reapers though, fucks with his ulcer.
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u/blueandthemoon 20d ago
Nothing wrong with mixing wasabi with your soy sauce in general. However if you are at a high end sushi spot the chef often puts a layer of wasabi between the rice and fish (and the fish may also be brushed with soy sauce). If you then add a bunch more wasabi or soy sauce it would be ārudeā in the same way that adding hot sauce to a fine dining western dish would be ārudeā to the chef. I.e. the chef has crafted the dish intentionally with that ratio of ingredients so to add more spice would be disrespecting his craft. Iām sure many sushi chefs donāt care but at some real high end spots they usually place a single piece in front of you for you to eat immediatelyāno soy/wasabi required.
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u/Azzyally 20d ago
I married into a Japanese family and every single one of them mixes wasabi in their soy sauce. Maybe it isn't the "proper" way but it sure as hell isn't culturally inappropriate.
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u/FriendlyGuitard 20d ago edited 20d ago
Depends on the wasabi and the occasion.
If it is true 100% wasabi that has been grinded fresh, it's a waste. It is very fragrant and much less strong than the normal mostly horseradish one. It's impolite in the same fashion than chugging an expensive old whisky in an upscale bar.
Normal sushi restaurant with the normal wasabi (i.e. mostly not wasabi) - do whatever you want with the wasabi.
edit: listen to all those video about "correct way", the same way you listen to the same advise in western cuisine. There is a proper plate and orientation for the bread and a polite way to eat it at the right time of the meal ... if you find yourself either in high society or with a picky upscale chef.
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u/Bernard_PT 20d ago
I'd love to see someone shove all 6 pieces in their mouth and chewing while maintaining eye contact with the chef
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u/unholy_plesiosaur 20d ago
Dip it in ketchup first.
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u/OnTheEveOfWar 20d ago
I remember hearing some story from guys at a high end steak house in Argentina and one guy asked for his steak well done. The waiter said ānoā and threatened to kick them out when he kept insisting it be well done.
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u/UnluckyCardiologist9 20d ago
Did you see how sharp those chopsticks were?!!
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u/HighlyOffensive10 20d ago
He's apparently a former boxer so I wouldn't fuck with him chop sticks or not.
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u/Cheech47 20d ago edited 20d ago
Just some context for everyone: This is Chef Naomichi Yasuda. He founded Sushi Yasuda in Midtown Manhattan (but now no longer runs the business), and has his own sushi place in Ginza where you can get an omakase (which is what the guy in the video is doing, you are served individual pieces of sushi based on a preset-ish menu or what you and the chef talk about until your time is up)
Chef Yasuda was VERY good friends with Bourdain, and he used to be a boxer. You can barely see it in the video, but he's got these giant, fuck-off mitts that only come with years of sparring, and yet his dexterity in just absolutely cranking out sushi rolls is something to behold.
Source: I've been to his place in Ginza and did what the guy in the video is doing. Chef Yasuda's got some STORIES, but it should be noted that politely trying to establish some baseline etiquette is pretty common in Japanese culture, especially when dealing directly with tourists.
/edit for spelling
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u/Ufocola 20d ago
Sadly Yasuda closed his place in Ginza some years back and retired (unless he went and started something new again that Iām unaware of).
Iām glad to have gone to his Ginza restaurant a few times. He took so much care in his craft and in providing education on sushi to his patrons. And yeah, dude was jacked.
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u/Nova_Scotia_Robot 20d ago
I can't remember which series it was, but Bourdain did an episode with him and it's one of the best
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u/Doctor_Barbarian 20d ago
It was No Reservations, the Tokyo episode. It's one of my favorite episodes of any Bourdain project.
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u/onlyonequickquestion 20d ago
best sushi I ever had sat at a counter in japan and the chef just put the sushi in my hand and I ate it. only way it could be better if the chef put it directly into my mouth
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u/khromedhome 20d ago
I like it when the sushi chef feeds me like a mamma bird
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u/AncientAspargus 20d ago
Regurgitating partly digested sushi into your mouth?
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u/lampshade2099 20d ago
Itās the only way to enjoy it properly. Otherwise youāre doing it wrong, like a poor savage.
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u/DigdyDoot 20d ago
Idk why but i love seeing people from other cultures explaining their cultural customs i just stay there like "ohhh this is why"
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u/rideincircles 20d ago
In case you weren't aware, this chef was close friends with Bourdain and his story is covered extensively in Parts Unknown.
He used to manage some top sushi restaurant in New York and moved and opened a small sushi restaurant in Japan.
Definitely a good episode to watch, and the chapter about Tony's favorite sushi meal in Kitchen Confidential is worth the read alone.
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u/AlfaNovember 20d ago
Good shout! If I learned one thing from Bourdain, itās to go for sushi in Monday night, when itās most affordable.
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u/Afraid-Way7541 20d ago
Some of yall really taking this personal lol. Eat however you want. This dude is just showing you the traditional ways of doing it and I for one think itās pretty cool to learn
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u/XANDERtheSHEEPDOG 20d ago
I love sushi, but I generally eat it like a heathen. I would love to sit and have an actual sushi chef walk me through how to eat it in the traditional manner. There is something to be said for sharing in the richness of the culture to experience food the way it's intended. Will I still eat it like a heathen afterwards? Probably. Would i appreciate the experience? Absolutely!
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u/Afraid-Way7541 20d ago
Exactly this! Iād still go crazy on a sushi roll but it would be so cool to learn about the culture form the people that created it
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u/hoopaholik91 20d ago
You generally should at least try the food the way the chef intended. It would also be tacky to salt your dish at a michelin star restaurant before trying it
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u/RianJohnsonIsAFool 20d ago
I visited my dad in the States when I was 9 and he took me to a sushi restaurant. He ordered some sort of variety platter for me to try. I thought "Mmmm that flaked salmon looks good!" Mouthful of pickled ginger.
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u/clamsandwich 20d ago
Somewhat related, I downed a full glass of grape juice at my grandparents house when I was a kid and super hot and thirsty from playing wiffleball. I nearly finished the whole glass before my taste buds caught up. It was olive juice.
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u/GoldenSeam 20d ago
āPlease have good mannersā
**makes a joke about shaking the piss off your dick in front of dining guests
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u/RareFinger 20d ago
As a Japanese, this is stone age tradition and is absolute BS. Eat which ever way you like.
Just keep in mind that Japanese dining etiquette is deeply rooted in respect, harmony, and appreciation, so when eating in Japan, people are expected to say āitadakimasuā before a meal to express gratitude for the food and those who prepared it, hold chopsticks correctly without pointing them at others or using them to pass food directly from chopstick to chopstick, avoid sticking chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice because it resembles a funeral ritual, refrain from playing with chopsticks or using them as utensils other than for eating, wait until everyone has been served before starting, eat quietly without making unnecessary noise except when enjoying noodles such as ramen or soba, lift small bowls such as rice or miso soup bowls closer to the mouth rather than bending over the table, avoid wasting food because it is considered disrespectful to the effort and resources behind the meal, use communal dishes politely by taking food with the designated serving utensils when provided, keep the dining area clean and organized, and say āgochisousama deshitaā after finishing the meal to show appreciation for the chef, the ingredients, and the experience.
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u/DaRK_0S 20d ago
āThis is stone ageā - says the guy that proceeds to describe a lengthy paragraph of stone age. Jfc.
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u/BoogieMayo 20d ago
If it's rude to not let soy sauce drip on you, I don't want to eat it correctly
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u/twistsouth 20d ago
Japanese people speaking English is like ASMR for me. It's such a cool accent. Yes I know I'm weird, what of it?
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u/Axxisol 20d ago
I am very pregnant at the moment and actually drooling at this video. Omg I want real sushi again!! š«
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u/Larpizard-Y 20d ago
Dont listen to these other bums, hope you avoid it for the rest of pregnancy. Good luck tho
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u/Capital-Sorbet-387 20d ago
Donāt shake it? Isnāt it also bad manners to drip soy sauce over the table and down oneās chin?
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u/VintageKofta 20d ago
The correct way to eat a sushi is however the hell you want.Ā
Just eat and enjoy!
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u/jsoul2323 20d ago
Nah I mean you can take the sushi and then shove it up your ass and Iām pretty sure thatās incorrect so thereās definitely a line
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u/leaf-yz 20d ago
You can shove a roll of sushi up your ass if you like, no one's stopping you...
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u/HalfmoonSqueeze 20d ago
Depends on the restaurant
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u/deeteeohbee 20d ago
I'm doing it in a restaurant right now and so far noone is stopping me
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u/dragon_of_kansai 20d ago
At that point it's no longer eating, so your "technically" argument doesn't work
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u/Hydra57 20d ago
The point here is that you might enjoy it more if you eat it as intended, because it might come with advantages (like how the ginger is a palette cleanser between servings). If those arenāt worthwhile to you thatās fine, but itās better to be informed about how and why itās expected to be eaten a certain way when you make those decisions.
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u/Rxasaurus 20d ago
You'd have to see how the Norwegians intended since they invented salmon sushi in the 90s.Ā
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u/bwaredapenguin Interested 20d ago
Seriously! This type of shit is irritatingly pretentious. If it's offensive that I use too much/not enough soy sauce or hold my roll incorrectly or dare to use ginger as more than a palate cleanser then fuck off and be offended. You're absolutely welcome to make suggestions but as a customer if I choose to do as I please then deal with it. This is no different than ordering a steak cooked anything other than medium rare or choosing to use steak sauce, or using ketchup on a hot dog.
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u/ThEtZeTzEfLy 20d ago
apparently you gotta have a stern looking japanese man ready to be dissapointed in your manners by your side, if you are to eat it correctly
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u/Skaldoo 20d ago
Lol right, this video screams
Old men telling you what to do: š„š¤¬
Old men telling you what to do, Japan: ā¤ļøš
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u/Money4Nothing2000 20d ago
There's no correct way to eat sushi. There's ways that make it taste more closely to how the chef intended it to taste. But anyone can eat sushi however the hell they want.
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u/SuffocatingDensity 20d ago
I think it would be more appropriate to call this the traditional way, not the correct way
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u/_jump_yossarian 20d ago
I dated a Japanese American woman for about 5 years and she schooled me on sushi etiquette. Tip #1 before you go out for sushi ... eat something or you'll come home broke.
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u/NorCalAthlete 20d ago
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u/Ode1st 20d ago
Was this played sincerely for the show? Itās super funny and embarrassing
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u/WeeklyPhilosopher346 20d ago
Iāll eat it however I like bro I aināt mean no offence but once I pay Iāll snort the shit if I want to
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u/dddddddddude 20d ago
Damn vice used to be so sick and now itās like cosmo for unpopular bros
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u/hobbseltoff 20d ago
Ora King Salmon is incredible, it is a farmed salmon from down in New Zealand and it is honestly better than some of the wild Alaskan king I have had recently.
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u/RandomNumberHere 20d ago
Iām mixing wasabi and soy sauce into a slurry and dredging each bite of sushi through it. I want my sushi to hurt me.
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u/xixi_90 20d ago
Americans get very pissy about other cultural norms for some reason. Bro isnt saying its illegal to eat differently hes just saying how the cuisine has developed and "meant" to be eaten.
Good to know. I'm curious where wasabi comes into play, its pretty common at most sushi spots outside of Japan
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u/True2TheGame 20d ago
If you're going to conveyor belt sushi or cheap buffet sushi it's not going to matter. However once you're going to omakase sushi then I'd probably start eating it how the chef intended.
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u/ayassin02 20d ago
I did not expect the end lmao