FINGERS OR 

 CHOPSTICKS? 



Tempted by the beauty and 

 nutritional value of sushi, neophytes 

 may find the manner of eating it 

 daunting. Surreptitious glances around 

 the bar will help, but they probably 

 won't give you all the points of etiquette 

 you need. So, for those of inquisitive 

 palate but hesitant hands, below are 

 some guidelines. 



Chopsticks 



Chopsticks usually arrive wrapped 

 in paper and joined at the large end to 

 show that they have not been used. 

 Some people vigorously rub their 

 chopsticks together, ostensibly to 

 remove splinters. However, in Japan this 

 is considered coarse and unnecessary, as 

 it actually raises smaller splinters. 



If you put your chopsticks down 

 between bites, lay them in front of you 

 parallel to the table or counter edge, not 

 at the side of your place as you would 

 knives and forks. 



If you share a platter of sushi with 

 someone else, flip your chopsticks 

 around and use the large ends to remove 

 pieces to your own plate. Then flip back 

 to the small ends to carry the food to 

 your mouth. 



Sashimi 



While sushi can be a finger food, 

 sashimi must be eaten with chopsticks. 



To season sashimi, mix a small 

 amount of wasahi into a saucer of soy 

 sauce for dipping. Chefs may be 

 offended if your soy sauce becomes a 

 wasabi sauce and you drown the subtle 

 flavor of the fish in the overpowering 

 heat. 



Sushi 



Don't mix wasabi in the soy sauce 

 for your nigirizushi because most pieces 

 already include it under the topping. 



Dip nigirizushi topping side down 

 because dipping the rice in the soy sauce 

 will cause the grains to fall apart. 



Dip the piece only lightly in soy 



sauce. The chef may be offended to see a 

 customer saturating his delicate creation. 



Eat sushi in one or two bites and 

 don't set down a half-eaten piece on 

 your plate. 



Eat a piece of ginger between bites 

 to cleanse the palate. Takahashi says this 

 is important "because each fish has a 

 different taste." 



If you plan to eat sushi at a Japanese 

 restaurant, it is a good idea to sit at the 

 bar. While you can order platters of sushi 

 from a table, you won't be part of the 

 lively conversations between the chef 

 and his customers. You also won't be 

 able to tell the chef how much wasabi to 

 put on each piece, a good reason for 

 opting for the bar and not a table. 



While following the rules may 



whisk you away to the Far East, 

 Japanese chefs and servers understand 

 that Americans approach their food 

 more casually. Most important to them 

 is that patrons enjoy the food and 

 atmosphere. 



Takahashi agrees. He is not 

 bothered at all by diners who glob 

 wasabi in their soy sauce and then dip 

 the already-seasoned sushi into the stew. 

 Neither is he irked by those who let their 

 sashimi swim in the mixture before 

 eating it. 



"No rules," he says emphatically. 

 "Everybody is different in what they 

 like." 



Knowing that, curious gastronomes 

 can venture forth without fear of 

 committing a culinary faux pas. 



Kanpai! □ 



HOW SAFE IS THAT SUSHI ON AAY PLATE? 



By David 



While many people enjoy 

 the flavor, texture and nutritional 

 value of uncooked seafoods, they 

 face some risks when eating raw or 

 underprocessed fish and shellfish. 

 The concern with raw fish is 

 parasites. 



Only two types of parasitic 

 worms can infect humans; most 

 parasites cannot adapt to their 

 human hosts and are simply 

 digested with no ill effect. Human 

 infection by parasitic worms from 

 marine fish is very rare. 



Eating raw molluscan 

 shellfish poses the greatest risk. 

 Raw shellfish — particularly 

 clams, mussels and oysters — can 

 harbor viruses and bacteria that 

 cooking destroys. Infection with 

 the bacterium Vibrio vulnificus is 

 rare and warded off by most 

 people's immune systems. But raw 

 seafood, especially shellfish, 

 should not be eaten by anyone 



Green 



with liver disease, cancer 

 (especially if taking anti-cancer 

 drugs or radiation), AIDS, 

 Hodgkin's disease, diabetes 

 mellitus, chronic kidney disease 

 or achlorhydria. Likewise, people 

 who use immunosuppressive 

 drugs or drugs that reduce 

 stomach acidity or who chroni- 

 cally drink alcohol are advised to 

 avoid these seafoods. 



To reduce the risk of 

 infection when eating raw 

 seafoods, heed the Food and Drug 

 Administration's recommendation 

 that fish and shellfish intended for 

 raw or partly cooked consumption 

 be blast-frozen to -35 C or below 

 for 15 hours or regularly frozen to 

 -23 C or below for seven days. □ 



David Green is an extension 

 seafood specialist with the North 

 Carolina State University Seafood 

 Laboraton in Morehead City. 



COASTWATCH 1 1 



