The point here is that you might enjoy it more if you eat it as intended, because it might come with advantages (like how the ginger is a palette cleanser between servings). If those aren’t worthwhile to you that’s fine, but it’s better to be informed about how and why it’s expected to be eaten a certain way when you make those decisions.
Makizushi already existed and was popular. All Norway did was popularize Salmon, which used to be avoided because it was considered too susceptible to parasites
The modern form of sushi is believed to have been created by
Hanaya Yohei
, who invented
nigiri-zushi
, the most commonly recognized type today, in which seafood is placed on hand-pressed, vinegared rice. This innovation occurred around 1824 in the
Edo period
(1603–1867). It was the fast food of the
chōnin
class in the Edo period.
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]
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salmon sushi? that's like saying eel sushi is something different, or cucumber natto sushi, or whatever else they use to make sushi . Yes one ingrediënt is different, it doesn't mean Norway invented sushi lmao.
It's traditional sushi in everything but use of salmon, the only reason for this being that salmon available in Japan had to be cooked due to parasites. The only thing Norwegians did is convince the Japanese supply chain that their farmed salmon is parasite free and safe to use for sushi.
Yes and no. He also went on about how some things are "bad manners". Also eating a roll with your hands but a nigiri with chopsticks won't change a goddamn thing.
Some rules are simply grounded in tradition. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are worthless. Why do graduates in the US wear a cap and gown? Why do men wear ties to formal events? There isn’t much of a “reason” for things, but we hold certain traditions as a way of honoring things or showing respect.
Well, when I travel somewhere I do respect the local culture and etiquette.
But other than that, a lot of those traditions are absolutely worthless and/or useless. And this is a big reason why a lot of people think that conservative and authoritarian types can be so dumb. Now if you want to live your life without ever questioning anything and be a good little sheep that "respects" obsolete traditions and conventions for no reason at all (other than 'that's what you were told'), you do you. But you can't expect everyone to keep living in the past, especially in places that aren't secular.
Also, most traditions die off at a certain point because people realize how ridiculous and obsolete they are, and decide to move away from them as a society. A big part of why Japanese society strongly holds on to tradition is because of its unique history of geographic isolation, and social values/rules that prioritize group harmony and collective identity over individual disruption.
Just expressing my honest thoughts on the subject of this discussion. It's pretty much the main reason why public forums like Reddit exist. I mean, why are you here?
Manners aside I'll cringe watching people in restaurants struggling trying to eat maki with chopsticks because they think you're supposed to use chopsticks when it's completely acceptable to just use your hands. Even the nigiri where he says to use chopsticks, the chef has already shaped the rice with their bare hands to make it, so it seems weird to me for anyone to have a problem with you using your fingers to eat it.
Sushi is also cultural and he’s trying to teach Japanese culture here without saying as much.
I’m not saying you can’t eat sushi how you wanna eat it, but I’m saying in the right environment you might get looked at side-eyed while you’re eating like a savage.
I wouldn't call this lecturing, he's on camera providing information to someone who probably asked for it, and manners are baked into Japanese culture in a different way than western society. At the end of the day, if a foreigner walks into a sushi place in Japan, they are not going to expect you to know this or be offended if you eat sushi however you normally do. A much more common sentiment that I've come across is that they will be appreciative if you just make any effort to be considerate.
This “as intended” bs isn’t even universal in Japan. The whole “eat it with your hands” trend which seems to be making the rounds on social media these days is largely confined to extreme upscale places in Tokyo. Normal - even high end places you’ll see people doing a mix. And in kansai it’s very unusual regardless of how expensive the place is.
Eat how you like is right.
Source: lived in Tokyo and Osaka for 10 yrs, married to a Japanese woman from kansai for 22 years.
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u/Hydra57 10d ago
The point here is that you might enjoy it more if you eat it as intended, because it might come with advantages (like how the ginger is a palette cleanser between servings). If those aren’t worthwhile to you that’s fine, but it’s better to be informed about how and why it’s expected to be eaten a certain way when you make those decisions.