Nein, mein Freund der Hamburger....*skillFULL!

Kick-ass cclarkbar, talking hamburger meat w/combustible head!

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.

My assumption is that people don't do these things because they are intrinsically better (even though I can accept that they could easily be), they do it to make themselves seem important and special.

Eating sushi in "the correct way" is also not popular, the wrong way is popular - who's the one trying to avoid conforming to the peasantry now?

People make fun of this video, because it's not about teaching you how it should be done, it's about him showing off all the fancy things he knows about sushi and talking japanese; Look I'm so cool, I do it the right way. It reminds me of that hilarious application video that was spoofed by Michael Cera: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_Is_Nothing_(video_r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9)

If the main point is to teach people to do something right, then teach it nicely - it's even more compounded by the level of self-importance in this thread.

Some times there's a correct way and there's another perfectly fine way - I know, shocking. People don't all like the things you like, oh gosh, say it isn't so.

You, @NinjaInHeat and @arekin (and I suppose the guy in the video) are the three amigos who want to cram the "correct sushi" down everyones' throats - I am not trying to force you to eat the regular rice-cake sushi that normal people do, you can do what you want.

In essence what you would call "correct sushi" is an entirely different dish than what is normally known as sushi, so it's sort of a silly argument in the end.

I guess my main point of contrition has nothing to do with sushi, but to do with the way in which it is presented. It stinks of aristocracy - people who know the right way and therefore snub their nose at all the others who clearly "just don't get it" - well fuck, there's not really much to get, you like to eat it in a certain way - whoopdefrickingdoo.

"You know, real hambruger is hand picked from the kobecow and processed right in front of you. And be careful to only use a light touch of ketchup as a pallate cleanser, and to convey the intended feelings of camaraderie that the chef wanted you to feel with him and his cultural heritage.. and be sure to drink plenty of Sprite - this is the way to properly enjoy hamburger, otherwise you might as well just eat some raw fish or something like a fucking retard who don't even know that you only lightly dip the corner of the bun in grey poupon mustard".

Bah humbug.

What you have a problem with is simply his presentation, correct? Or am I right in thinking you're upset that he's simply telling you how to properly eat sushi?

Sometimes there is actually a correct way and a wrong way. I know, shocking. But then there's also taking liberties. If I have no utensil's I will eat with my fingers even if it's "not the right way." Or more aptly, if there's no wine glass, I'll still use a solo cup. If I had a choice, I'd choose the wine glass. Why? Because it's the proper way. Does it really add to it? Not really. It's demonstrably mostly placebo effect. Then again, does a plate make food taste different? Technically speaking, no. It should in absolutely no way effect the taste of food. But in reality, it makes a substantial difference in the way food tastes. Those who do not take the time to properly plate a meal for another person is simply wasting their time and effort. You might as well buy them a McDonalds hamburger.

But in essence, what you're saying is "because you know more than me, it's wrong for you to use it because it means I'm inferior and you're a dick because of it." Why yes Ayn Rand, I'll keep that in mind. You must hate pretty people too?

I make my coffee from a French Press because it IS better. I use local "fancy" honey because it IS better. If I keep it on my shelf where others can see doesn't make me a douche. It could mean I don't have a cabinet, or I use it often. Which I do. Now who's being a dick?

You're assumption is simply that "I'm dumb, and you're smart, therefore you're gay." Or, I'm sorry, a hipster. Right now, the hip thing is to make fun of this video. Much like the people who hate popular music just because it's popular. That's what your argument sounds like.

Just because someone enjoys something doesn't make them a hipster, a douche or a dick. And because you can't understand their enjoyment of "proper etiquette" only makes you a hipster, dick, douche when you complain. No one here is "forcing" you to eat sushi anyway differently. No one is holding a gun to your head telling you to not put soy sauce all over your rolls. I know, it's strange, but you didn't even have to watch this video. So please explain to me what exactly the problem is again?


Chamot said:
Welcome to 'How to properly make a video' by Videosift community. -- Best comment yet on here.

@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.

This is not true, a hamburger for example is a experience of its parts. The toppings on a burger define it as much as the meat used, which is why we have burger joints littering the US with each having its own unique take on the burger.

Sushi is an experience of the fish, it is defined at its core by the delicate preparation and the art that goes into creating it. Each piece is created to stimulate the palate, and slopping on soy and wasabi would be the equivalent of saying the Mona Lisa would look better touched up with finger paints.

Eat it however you "like it", but don't begin to argue that its the right way to eat sushi.

Also Hipster implies that sushi is not mainstream, which isn't true, its very common in any areas with an ounce of culture and is easier to find that foods of other cultures (turkish and indian food are actually harder to find in my neck of the woods).

I respect the essence of this post, but I don't much care for the tone. I'm not so sure that you can differentiate between sushi and something like a hamburger; after all a hamburger is ALL about the beef. Sushi is just traditional japanese food - nothing magical about it; the rest is just hipster magic - it's big in Oregon.

I think the point is that most people (certainly in the west) aren't eating that kind of fine sushi. In fact, most people in japan aren't eating it like that (at least in my limited experience).

Your steak/hamburger analogy is quite apt. Most people are not ordering a $100 steak (and while we're being food snobs, any steak that expensive should be rare at most), we're ordering t-bones.

For the small percentage of people that actually go to that kind of fine sushi dining, this is probably already preaching to the converted.

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.

This is just as bad as the "YOU'RE DOING PEANUT BUTTER WRONG!" video that was sifted a while back, where they pull an infomercial-esque "I can't figure out how smashing my knife full of peanut butter into the bread technique isn't working!"

No, just because you're mixing wasabi and soy doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It's the same as putting relish on a hamburger. Do I like relish? No. Is it a condiment, to be used when you see fit? Hell yeah.

I am a line cook, I literally make people food for a living, and if anybody at that restaurant is telling a customer that they're not allowed to do what they want with their food once it's at their table, then that restaurant won't stay open long. It's a service industry, we serve you. (within reason of course.)

A sushi chef especially should NOT be offended if you dunk the fish in soy, I mean absolutely no offense to sushi chefs, but for sashimi, literally all they do is cut the fish for you.

bah, these kinds of things just annoy me.

I have a hamburger in the form of a stake. Gotta take it straight to the heart for effect.

MY EARS! I'm going to hell because of you, she devil! GAH! I practiced celibacy and was home schooled to avoid any auditory temptations but now I'm ruined. Raped. Ear RAPED. Fucked in the ears.

And now I have no choice but to become the beast I always feared. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK ME JESUS

Souls! Feed me souls! BLlaefoiugrbsrgbsgrubs -- and now I transform into my final form to destroy the sanctity of life and shatter the world. Laying siege to all holy lands! Nothing is sacred, all life is to be extinguished, and suffering will be endless. ENDLESS!!!!!

Millions, billions, trillions, untold time passes; dimensions crossed, the very meaning of ALL unraveled and laid forth, meaningless. Meaningless! All conflict, all freedoms, all philosophy is now folly; unnecessary as a multiuniversal nihilism cascades across the boundaries of consciousness. The godheads destroyed, their corpses rotting the core beyond ALL.

Blackness.

Void.

Nirvana crumbles and the enlightened turned against the balance. Yahweh screams in horror, corrupted and turned into a tentacle demon to rape its devoted followers. Ra's phallus goes limp. Baal is ground into an all beef hamburger patty. Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha warp into a single form, becoming the Eye of Saron. The reptilians of earth devolve into alligators, and the greys become monkeys.

There is no shelter because there is only horror. For all eternity, in all realities.

Sorry, that's just my interpretation of the reporter's reaction.

Someone get that lady a hamburger. She's gonna float away.

Paprika? Tabasco? Ketchup?? That's not a hamburger. That's a meatloaf sandwich.