Whether you’re a veteran sushi eater-person or a newbie, there’s a debate that’s bound to pop up every once in a while, and it involves ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.
The million-dollar question is, should you mix wasabi and soy sauce to dip your sushi into, and what about the ginger? Different people may have different answers. We’re here to settle this once and for all.
Many people experiment with spreading wasabi on the sushi and dipping it into soy sauce, mixing it into the soy sauce, topping ginger on the soaked pieces, or simply using the pickled ginger as a palette cleanser between it all – in addition to mastering the art of using chopsticks of course. But which one is correct?
To start with, chopsticks are optional, and you can eat sushi using your fingers – unless you’re into fine dining in which case that’s probably not an option. If you were hoping we would touch on the correct dipping technique, you’re in luck because that’s next on our list.
To Mix Wasabi Or Not, That Is The Real Question
The good news is that even if you are doing something that isn’t technically correct while eating sushi, for example mixing bits of wasabi into your soy sauce, you won’t get kicked out of a restaurant or disowned by your family.
What you will be doing, however, is disrespect the chef that created the beautiful, delicious morsels in front of you. It can also impact the flavour profile and overall experience of eating sushi.
To start with, mixing these two ingredients change the flavours completely. This is especially true – and rather insulting – when the soy sauce has been freshly prepared on-site instead of being bought off a shelf at the local supermarket. Specially made soy sauce has been made to compliment the sushi and changing the flavour will upset the balance of flavour.
This same logic goes for wasabi. It can be store-bought or freshly made, the latter of which is done with the utmost care to compliment your meal. The idea is to enjoy the meal the way the chef you intended it to be consumed.
Now, The Ginger Pickle
The trio of sushi condiments is brought full circle with ginger. So, do you mix it with the soy sauce, pop it on top of the sushi piece or just eat it as a side?
The idea behind the ginger is to be a palette cleanser between sushi servings. If the ginger is supposed to be a feature flavour, the sushi chef will add it to the dish.
So, How Should You Do It?
If you’re looking to add wasabi to your sushi, simply dab a bit on the side of the sushi, and then flip it over and dip it into your soy sauce. As for the ginger, place a piece of it in your mouth between different dishes.