Sushi: Soy Sauce or without?
 

I generally do not enjoy adding soy sauce to my sushi rolls. The only time I would do so is with Sashimi where I would mix the soy sauce with wasabi for dipping purposes. But if they are the normal non-raw rolls, I prefer not to dip or add soy sauce as I feel they ruin the "real" taste.

I was at a sushi place recently and some Japanese folk showed up and sat next to me. I always thought that you add a bit of wasabi to the soy sauce, but these guys were doing the opposite - taking a huge lump of wasabi and then pouring a tiny bit of soy sauce onto it. :)

I never put soy sauce on my sushi. I like to taste the fish!

I ate at a sushi restaurant with one Michelin star in Tokyo and the sushi chef suggested that--rather than wasabi & soy sauce--we try our sashimi with wasabi and a little sea salt. It was a delicious and makes sense when you think about it (since soy is largely salt).

Soy sauce. No wasabi, ever.

The exception is rolls that already have some kind of sauce on it. Then everything just clashes so no sauce.

i don't put soy sauce on my rolls too. only a bit on sashimi or nigiri sushi and some wasabi sometimes

Darn, I must be the only guy who practically "drowns" his sashimi in soy sauce...

Depends on type of sushi.

These days there are sushi where you put ponze sauce on it instead.

Since there is already a base of vinegar in the sushi rice, so soy sauce is a good match.

Most of the places we go to in Japan, already add the wasabi to the sushi so adding wasabi to the soy sauce is overkill.

Generally speaking, I like to dip it into a little bit of soy sauce.

Depends on where I am as well as the type of sushi. In Japan I usually put a tiny drop of soy sauce and have more wasabi, even if wasabi is already in the sushi itself. I never mix the wasabi with the soy sauce.

If there is already a sauce I just use wasabi. Of course pickled ginger is a critical ingredient for all of it.

There are variations. Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto) or North are different, The US is very different, Peruvians (Nobu et al) are different again, and Brazilians (inexplicably with cream cheese in sushi ('Hot Filadelfia' anybody) have it different too. Those variations have me not use wasabi at all for some of them, use more soy sauce in some than others (the more vinegary the sushi rice is, the more soy sauce I use).

Thus, I have not fixed habits except: Never mix the soy sauce and wasabi!

Dunno but I tend to keep working on the wasabi until it's dissolved in the soy sauce. A slightly greenish light brown colour promises nice taste from experience. ;)

I was always told by actual Japanese people that, with nigiri, one puts a dab of wasabi on the fish and dips JUST THE FISH, not the rice, in a little soy sauce. For rolls, which usually have their own sauce, I just add a little wasabi.

Same here, and when in Japan, my hosts were aghast that I requested wasabi, since it was "already on the fish", and they were really shocked when I mixed the wasabi and soy. My impression was they had never in their lives seen that.

That's what I always do too. :)

But the Japanese folk I saw were using the opposite proportions, reversing what I always do. Once they finished mixing up their gigantic load of wasabi with a tiny bit of soy the end result almost looked like a portion of mashed potatoes... except that it was green, just slightly darker than plain wasabi.

I can assure you that mixing wasabi and soy is normal both in Japan and Korea that are the two big raw fish eating nations in Asia.

But not in high-end sushiya. There it might get you kicked out by the offended itamae.

Sushi Etiquette

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1hky3QMM4...+Etiquette.jpg

(btw, are pics not allowed in dining buzz? I tried to preview this to see how big it was but the preview showed nothing so i changed from an img to a url.)

Always, wasabi disolved into the soy.

At the end of the day I think it's all a personal matter. Who's to say that there's a certain way to eat this or that? If you go to a steakhouse then some people will grind a ton of pepper onto their steak, others will pour salt all over it, while some will grab the ketchup bottle and cover their meat in a red blob.

There is no right or wrong way, it's all about how you like to eat your food. If you like your sushi without soy, fine, if you like to drown it in soy, that's fine too. Who's to tell you that you can't have your food the way you like it?

But I'd not eat sushi with chopsticks any sooner than with
a fork and knife.

I often eat a piece in two bites; the key is not to put it back
on the plate (or, shudder, the soy sauce dish).

Apparently according to sushi etiquette it's ok to eat it with just your hands, though I've never actually seen anyone else do it. Hasn't stopped me though, especially with temaki.

I don't use soy sauce with my sushi (unless it's already on). I just smear a little wasabi on and top with a piece of ginger. It may not be etiquette but I like it.

In Korea, I have to insist that they serve me sushi with no wasabi (I hate the stuff, it's the devil's spawn) but they just roll their eyes and the sushi they bring me has wasabi in it. Then I lift the fish off the top of the rice ball, physically scrape off every bit of green, then eat the fish and rice separately. Oh and if you go to a raw fish place they serve you a whole bunch of food you can't identify (I don't touch anything in which I can't identify all of the ingredients and the method of cooking-places that give you a menu with pictures and no description I despise). And then they charge me $100 a plate or something ridiculous like that. Now I just don't eat sushi anymore.

....and I start counting the days left until August 1st, 2012 or thereabouts.

It depends.... different pieces of sushi deserve different treatment. I agree with the sea salt and wasabi option... ^

This is a fun read for anyone interested in sushi

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Sushi-Un.../dp/0060883510

How to eat at a Sushi Bar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc6v8IUe_0g

^ even if it isn't considered proper etiquette.

I smear a little wasabi on top, cap with a slice of pickled ginger. I might like a little soy, but I'm so bad with chopstix, any detour between the plate and my mouth is inviting disaster.

It's probably an urban legend, and more so given that 99.9% of the wasabi served in restaurants is not even fresh wasabi, but I believe mixing soy sauce (a salt) with wasabi (antiseptic properties) helps kill off any bacteria which might be growing on the outer surface of the fish. I give the fish a good dip, then wipe the excess off on a spare rice ball. I also eat plenty of the gari, which helps digestion.

If I'm at a good, high quality sushi restaurant, I trust the freshness of the fish and wouldn't do this, but if it's a place I have no experience with, I'm more inclined to be safe than sorry - and so far (touch wood), I've never been sick and I eat ALOT of sushi and sashimi.

I guess it's like any other meat... So-so sushi would generally get a bit of soy sauce. Good sushi would never, ever get it.

I used to roll my eyes at the folks who mixed the wasabi and soy sauce, but whatever. If someone thinks that putting ketchup on their wagyu makes it taste better, they probably don't care what anyone else thinks of it either (nor should they).

I usually put wasabi with my soy sauce when I eat sushi. Before dipping the sushi into the wasabi/soy sauce mixture, I put some ginger over the sushi. :)

I prefer sashimi and I prefer using gochujang instead of soy sauce and wasabi. Obviously, I will only find it at a Korean-owned restaurant unless I get lucky.

Correct, that's how I was taught to eat sushi by Japanese chefs. However, only a tiny bit of soya sauce, not soaked in it.

A good sushi rice ball is supposed to fall apart when you put it in your mouth so if you dip the rice part in soy it would literally fall apart right in the dish.

Besides the flavour of the fish being overwhelmed by soya sauce by having soya sauce-soaked rice.

I thought I was the only one who doesn't use soy sauce! Whenever I dine with someone, they think it's so weird. I usually order a combination of raw rolls and specialty rolls, and just love the flavor too much. I do tend to have a piece of ginger between some bites though.

Mark me down as another who never uses soy sauce. I do love wasabi, however, and always put a little on top of my sushi.

I use a little soy sauce and a good amount of wasabi. Too much soy and you can't even taste the fish.

Depends on what you are eating.

I'm a with and I've always been a with. I've been told by people in very snobby voices that if I'm using soy sauce I'm "not doing it like they do in Japan" but food to me is all about personal taste and after trying it both ways, I go with.

I just hate when I'm not holding it properly and some of the rice falls into the soy sauce and gets too saturated.

By habit, I used to dip my maki rolls into soy sauce but I've started to wean myself off of doing that. I find the soy masks/overpowers the taste of the rice and the key ingredient in the roll. However, I still use soy sauce for my sashimi and most of my nigiri's. To limit the amount of soy sauce I apply tho, I occasion use a slab of ginger to brush it onto my piece of nigiri instead of dipping it directly into soy sauce. (I can distribute it more evenly too.)

I use fingers every so often also.

I love it when people tell me how "in Japan they do it this way" to point out what I am doing wrong. I usually ask when was the last time you were in Japan? Usually the response is never. I then say I only spent three years in Japan so I may not have seen that.

I will put a small amount of soy in the bowl add in some wasabi and mix. If the chef is using really good wasabi and using the right amount then there is no need to add more. Then I use chopsticks turn the sushi over and lightly touch the fish to the soy.

We had a native Japanese poster in another forum offer the following option of applying soy to your sushi.

Take a long piece of gari (ginger) with your chopstick, dip it in the soy (or soy/wasabi mixture if you're so inclined), then "paint" the mixture on the upper surface of your sushi fish so you apply just enough for flavor without soaking the fish or the rice.

It also keeps the mixture clean of dropped rice and fish oils.