Sushi: finger food?

I think hands are proper. I can be corrected.

here is some sushi etiquette rules for ya:

Do…

Feel free to alternate between chopsticks and fingers. Believe it or not, both are completely acceptable!
Dip the fish into the soy sauce (not the rice side).
Eat each piece of sushi in one mouthful. And please—chew with your mouth closed, of course.
Signal to your waiter that you’re finished eating by resting your chopsticks across your soy sauce dish.
Use the blunt, wide end of your chopsticks when serving yourself from a shared plate.

Don’t…

Rub your chopsticks together to sand down any splinters. It implies that the chopsticks are of low quality and is considered rude.
Dip the rice side of your sushi into the soy sauce (remember, just the fish).
Use the pickled ginger as a garnish for your sushi; it is meant to clear your palate in between bites!
Dump wasabi into your soy sauce; wasabi should be put directly on your sushi.
Bite your sushi in half and put it back on the plate.
Give the sushi chef a tip. Traditionally sushi chefs never handle money directly (and thank goodness because money is dirty).

I always use my fingers.
I always mix my wasabi into the soy sauce.
I always dip the rice side into the soy sauce.
I will sometimes eat my sushi in 2 bites, not one.
I didn't know about the chop sticks across the soy sauce bowl.

OMG! I'm uncouth!

By the way, I thought I'd pass along a tip I've learned about eating sushi:

If you've ever eaten sushi and about a half hour later you have urgent bathroom needs, you might be allergic to one particular type of sushi.

I had this happen to me at least 3 times, but not every time. Then I caught a bit of Tom Fitzmorris, and he mention this syndrome.

The answer? You need to avoid the white fish (I don't know what it's called). It's usually in nigri form.

Since I've started avoiding this, I've had no problems. It's been a couple of years now.

(So TF isn't all bad in my book.)

Another issue I have with some oriental places: They may have 2 soy sauce containers on the table, one marked low sodium, but I can;t tell the difference in them. At home, I can definitely tell which is low sodium, and I prefer the taste.

I think the restaurants refill all the bottles with regular sauce because it's easier, simpler and maybe cheaper.

Do a quick taste test next time. If I think they're both regular sauce, I may discreetly add a bit of my plain iced tea to thin it off.

OMG! I'm nuts, too!

quote:

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about a half hour later you have urgent bathroom needs, you might be allergic to one particular type of sushi.

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yeah, i've had that happen, but usually it's due to the amount of sushi eaten..

I use my fingers.

I eat it in two or three bites, though. I like to savor it, not stuff a giant roll or piece of fish in my mouth. Half the time it is impossible for me to fit the whole thing in my mouth.

I never use chopsticks. All hands for me

Yea I read that somewhere a while back, so now I always laugh to myself when im with people and they use the chopsticks to be "proper"