Learn how to eat sushi like a pro and build your Japanese vocabulary, all at the same time, with your hosts Jessi and Hiroko
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| 皆さん、こんにちは。(Minna-san, konnichiwa) |
| Hello, everyone! Today, we are here at Itamae, a famous sushi restaurant in Akasaka, Tokyo. |
| In this video, you're going to learn the right way to eat sushi and it's a lot harder than you might think. |
| How hard? Before we start, a quiz. Which of the following is the wrong way to eat sushi? |
| Number 1 - pick up the sushi with your fingers, slightly dip the fish side into the soy sauce and eat it with the fish side touching your tongue. |
| Number 2 - pick up the sushi with your fingers and turn the sushi 90 degrees and slightly dip the fish side into the soy sauce and eat. |
| Number 3 - pick up the sushi with your fingers and put the rice side of the sushi into the soy sauce and eat. |
| Okay, Hiroko so now we're inside and seated, where do we start? |
| So first, we wipe our hands with a おしぼり (o-shibori) “a wet towel”. As soon as you sit down at the table, you'll be served with a wet towel which is called おしぼり (o-shibori). It can be either hot or cold. |
| Great! So now, I think it's time to order. Hiroko, what are you going to get? |
| お好み (O-konomi) “I’ll pick myself”. |
| Okay, sounds good and I'm going to go with おまかせ (o-makase) which means I'll let the chef pick it out for me. |
| Usually, there are three ways to order sushi: お決まり (o-kimari), a preset menu with several sushi on a plate; お好み (o-konomi), ordering the sushi you want to eat; おまかせ (o-makase), leave it to the chef to pick for you. He'll usually ask if there's something you don't like. |
| お待ちどうさまです。(O-machi dōsama desu.) |
| (“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”) |
| Wow! It looks delicious. Okay, so here, the chef has prepared his recommendations for me. When you order おまかせ (o-makase) (o-makase), you're bound to get something good. |
| 美味しそう。(Oishisō.) |
| ね。(Ne.) |
| Okay, so now Hiroko, please show us the right way to eat sushi. |
| I'll try, but even Japanese people don't eat sushi the right way. Remember our quiz? |
| Yes. Which one was the wrong way to eat sushi again? |
| Number 3 - soaking the rice side of the sushi in the soy sauce is considered bad manners. |
| That and letting the sushi sit for a long time are the only really taboo things to do in the sushi restaurant. |
| First, pour soy sauce into the small dish. Make sure you don't use too much. |
| First, the most proper or so-called professional way to eat sushi is also the most difficult way, but you’ll look like a pro if you master it. Pick up the sushi with three fingers; thumb, index, and middle like this. Now, while pressing the edge of the sushi with your index finger, turn it upside down by pulling your index finger towards you. Dip the fish side into the soy sauce. Make sure you don't use too much. Bring the sushi towards your mouth. Keep your head straight and eat the sushi in one bite and make sure to put the sushi in your mouth with a fish side down so that the fish is the first thing you taste. Clean your fingers with a “wet towel” おしぼり (o-shibori). |
| The proper way looks pretty hard. Is there another way? Yes! To be honest, I'm not good at the proper way myself so I'll teach you a secret shortcut. With your index and middle fingers, push the sushi on its side so it faces 90 degrees. Then pick up the sushi with two fingers like this. Dip the fish side into the soy sauce. Again, eat the sushi in one bite. Then if it was too hard, you can also do this. |
| One more question. Is it okay to use more わさび (wasabi)? |
| わさび (Wasabi) is already between the fish and rice, but if you want more, you can ask for more わさび (wasabi). Add it on the fish like this. You might not want to add わさび (wasabi) into the soy sauce. |
| What if you don't want わさび(wasabi)? That's okay and common. Simply say, わさび抜きお願いします。 (wasabi nuki o-negai shimasu.) |
| This is pickled ginger and it's called がり(gari). You can eat がり (gari) to cleanse your palate after you eat one type of sushi and before you eat another. |
| Hiroko, I see a lot of people using chopsticks and not their hands. Is it okay to use chopsticks too? |
| Sure! You can either use chopsticks or your hands. Actually, a lot of people eat with chopsticks. |
| This sushi looks different from all the rest. What is it called? |
| This is called 軍艦巻き (gunkan-maki). Can you show me how to eat this 軍艦巻き(gunkan-maki)? |
| Sure! You add soy sauce like this and you eat it like this. |
| Okay, before we go, we want to stress that we've covered some very complex sushi rules that most Japanese don't even follow every place we went to, so don't overthink sushi so the important thing is to have fun and enjoy it. |
| それではまた。(Soredewa mata.) |
| Master Japanese the fast, fun and easy way. Click the link in the description to start learning. |
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