What is the proper way to eat wasabi on sushi?

Question

I have always just put some on top of the sushi and dunked it in soy sauce, but my friend says he mixes the soy and wasabi together. Does anyone know the proper way?

Answer 1

There is no "proper" way to do it I think its a matter of personal preference, though most people I have seen have mixed the wasabi and soy sauce together.

Answer 2

me and my friends always mixed the soysauce and wasabi in a small traay then we dunk the raw fish/ sushi in it and eat it

Answer 3

This is America. They don't expect you to understand the fine points of Japanese etiquette.

Answer 4

If you want to get technically "proper", you don't put it on sushi at all. The chef puts the proper amount in the recipe. You put it on *sashimi* by mixing it into the soy sauce before dipping.

Answer 5

You take your sushi, put it on your fishing hook, catch a nice fresh fish, filet it, and grill it until fork tender with some lemon butter.

Answer 6

It's all personal preference; if you mix it in with soy sauce it will get more of a balanced mixture of the soy and wasabi flavors that you had pre-mixed to your liking instead of having one overpower the other.

Answer 7

.As many people here have mentioned that their is no "proper" way, and this is also what I thought, I decided to look up "sushi etiquette".   I figured all cultures have their ways, and I was actually surprised at what I found since I live in Hawaii and everyone mixes their wasabi into the shoyu (soy sauce).  Here are some highlight of what I found.

Don’t put wasabi directly in the shoyu dish. Nigiri-zushi (fingers of rice topped with fish or another topping) comes with wasabi placed under the neta (fish) by the itamae (sushi chef), and reflects what he feels is the proper balance of wasabi to fish. It is ok to ask the itamae to prepare your sushi with extra wasabi.  So you my be wondering why they serve it to you?  It if for the sashimi, which is dipped into the soy sauce/wasabi mixture.

• It is OK to eat nigiri-zushi (sushi) with your hands. Sashimi is only to be eaten with your chopsticks.

• Pick up the nigiri-zushi and dip the fish (neta) into your shoyu, not the rice (which will soak up too much shoyu). The rice is like a sponge, and too much shoyu will overpower the taste of the food and could also lead to the rice falling into your shoyu dish and making soup, which is not a good thing.

For interesting sushi facts...

http://www.sushifaq.com/howtoeatsushi-et...

Answer 8

The only one who has given an accurate answer so far is "shine". Just because most people around you do something the same way doesn't necessarily make their way correct. You can do whatever you like in your own country but at the risk of picking up bad habits that may raise eyebrows when you go elsewhere. But in Japan they'll likely be too polite to correct you, in their mind simply excusing foreigners for their to-be-expected 'barbarian ways'.

Mixing shoyu (soy sauce) & wasabi is only for sashimi. And you should only lightly dip the fish side of sushi into shoyu, never the rice side and don't dunk. The rice is already seasoned with rice vinegar, salt & sugar and so more sodium through excessive shoyu is overkill. The key is balance in the taste, so too much shoyu or wasabi simply defeats the whole purpose.

Many people will dismiss such attention to details as being "silly & picky", but this is just basic respect for other cultures that have been around a lot longer than you have & which is part of their appeal. If the famous Japanese tea ceremony is just dunking a modern teabag into hot water, would anyone want to watch it?

Answer 9

As several people have already stated, there is no proper way. It's all a matter of taste preference.

But, if you mix the wasabi with (shoyu) soy sauce you will get a more well balanced consistant flavor.

Answer 10

There isn't a proper way. Most people I know mix it with soy sauce.

Answer 11

their is not a proper way to eat wasabi you can use  soy sauce or just spread it on the sushi and eat it so it all depends on what you like hot or not hot and some people do not like the taste of it.

Answer 12

Yeah your friend is right you mix it with the soy to whatever strength you like it