No one's trying to cram anything down your throat, like I said, eat whatever and however the fuck you want to.

Yea the guy in the vid has a pretty strong douchebag vibe to him, and yea he goes about making his point not in the most delicate way. That doesn't change the fact that most of what he says is more or less true.

This isn't about your personal preference, it's about how Sushi, the dish (and Nigiri and Sashimi and whatever) is meant to be eaten, in order to be able to fully appreciate the taste of raw fish.

Again, like it or not, raw fish isn't hamburger or cornflakes or whatever. Being able to appreciate a good slice of raw fish requires that, for example, you don't put fucking ginger on top of it, the whole point of it being there is to cleanse the pallet between the different fish you're eating, so you'll be able to properly taste them - when you put it on top of the fish you're basically guaranteeing that you won't be able to feel the taste. It's there for a practical reason, not as a condiment. Same goes for dipping the entire thing in soy sauce, or whatever.
Even his point about eating with your hands as opposed to chopsticks is sorta valid. Many above-average sushi dishes WILL fall apart when you try and pick them up with chopsticks.

And no, you don't have to go to a 5 Michelin starred restaurant to be able to get a good dish of raw fish. Even a market stand will do if the fish are fresh.

At least realize that this "stench of aristocracy" you're referring to is a Western phenomenon, and you perceive it as such because generally it's much more common to see stuck-up pedantic bastards being strict about these kinds of things, as opposed to most people who just wanna shove crap in their mouths and have it taste "yummy".
That doesn't change the fact that these assholes didn't invent the way sushi is "meant" to be eaten, that there is a difference between a piece of fresh fish and one that's been frozen for months, and that that delicate difference, to be noticeable and appreciable has to be shown the proper respect.
Or you can just deep fry it.

Correct. Sushi is actually the rice, not the fish. Nigiri is the fish. However, much as we ask someone to pass a Klenex when we mean a tissue paper . . . But you are correct in the "if you're going to be nitpicky, at least be correct." lol

@arekin @NinjaInHeat -

"Sushi is all about the fish." False. Sushi is as much about the rice as the fish. In fact, it literally means "vinegared rice." Certainly the fish is important, however my understanding is that much of the subtlety that distinguishes various chefs is their preparation of the rice, not the fish. This may be why it is more acceptable to apply wasabi and soy to sashimi rather than to nigiri or maki. So yea, it's like a hamburger on a really fancy bun. I still want my barbecue sauce.

To anyone offended by the "pretentiousness" of this video:
You just don't get it do you? You can't compare this stuff to the way you eat cornflakes or how you prefer to take your hamburger.
What he's talking about, what most people seem to completely misunderstand, is that sushi is ALL about the fish, it's what differentiates good and bad sushi, it's what makes quality sushi so expensive...

Now, you can eat however the fuck you want to eat, but you need to understand that when you go to a fancy sushi restaurant and you dip your entire nigiri in soy sauce mixed with wasabi and then even add ginger on top, you're throwing your money down the drain.
It's the equivalent of ordering a 100$ medium-rare steak and covering it in ketchup, then deep-frying it.

If that's how you choose to take your steaks, enjoy. But pretending there's no validity in the many ways different cultures around the world have of enjoying extra-fine foods and of enhancing one's ability to appreciate the taste of extra-fresh ingredients is just childish.

I ran a side sushi bar at my cousin's club in Durango for a year, made California rolls and had Yellowfin for Nigiri and Sashim-With my leftovers...I took those home and served 'em in a bowl salad-style to my wife n son, simply cut it up an toss it with some shoyu and wasabi 'n ginger....MMmmMMMgoood, kept us lean n mean!!

The lack of wasabi in the maki and nigiri did strike a jarring tone for me too.

>> ^Phreezdryd:

>> ^artician:
Pathetic Nigiri.

Totally! I've never had fish sliced that thin on nigiri.
And no wasabi in the middle.
This must be sushi for little old white lady tea parties.

>> ^artician:

Pathetic Nigiri.


Totally! I've never had fish sliced that thin on nigiri.
And no wasabi in the middle.
This must be sushi for little old white lady tea parties.

Pathetic Nigiri.

A great introduction to the wonderful world of nigiri and maki. This is a children's song from NHK morning - I wish British kids tv was this good!