What would you order when your boyfriend takes you for sushi?

Are you just going out for sushi for the first time and looking for basic suggestions?

no i have been to sushi before but not with him. And I don’t want to look stupid eating it hahaha. What comes in small pieces?

Water, I hate everything about sushi.

California roll.

Most of it comes in small pieces, but start with rolls (California roll, Avocado roll etc) that have the ingredients you like in them. They’re really easy and uncomplicated to eat.

I’m only minorly acquainted with sushi, but try to order something “basic” .... the more complex it is or more “rare/specialty” fish it has in it, the more likely it is to not agree with your stomach. If you’re really squeamish, they have some sushi that has no meat in it at all.

(California roll is about as basic as it gets, someone suggested that).

Spicy tuna roll, some toro sashimi, salmon & avocado roll, aji & eel roll, oh goodness now I’m hungry!

My “Boyfriend”?

I love Sushi, my wife and I make it at home as well going out. We have two Sushi Bars and a Sushi train near us and so eat Sushi quite often. I tend to avoid the “Americanised” (California roll and its variations of pretend Sushi) versions and stick the the traditional Japanese Sushi and Sashimi.

Edamame. Tasty and not too messy. The salt will lick off your fingers easily. Fish-wise, I’d stick with tuna, but only because I can’t eat the shellfish.

Beef Terycocki.

The traditional rolls tend to be bite size; I find that some of the specialty rolls can get pretty big. A good rule of thumb is that the rolls with fewer ingredients will generally be smaller, and don’t fall apart as easily as those with many ingredients.

Don’t wear white!!! I’ve ruined a few shirts with soy sauce drips or splatters.

@Blondesjon: Niiiiiiiiice

Don’t worry about looking stupid in front of your boyfriend. Be yourself as much as possible, even if that means being clumsy, messy, etc.

I don’t like sushi so I can’t really answer the question

being a guy, stay away from everything with tentacles or eyes, it raises certain expectations LOL

A tip for your chopsticks: Usually, the bigger the item the easier to pick up. Due to the area. Imagine picking up a piece of sushi compared to a grain of rice. Maybe that’s just me though. Personally, I prefer the simpler Nigiri and Agemono. It all depends on your taste. You better like either seafood for vegies though. Because they make up a large portion of the menu.

I actually like the Honolulu roll. They’re good. If you’re a first timer to sushi, I recommend Vegtable sushi, or a California roll.

I would go Toro and Flying Fish Eggs

I always get Edamame and a California Roll to start. I also like to et the Veggie Tempura appetizer. If you don’t like sushi, don’t eat it.

Nothing at all! I HATE sushi=P

First of all, when faced with chopsticks you can always ask for a fork. Or use your fingers especially if the roll is wrapped in seaweed. By its nature most basic nigiri sushi choices are small enough for one or two bites each. Some of the fancy rolls with all the various sauces are more complicated to eat.

Secondly, since you say you have had sushi before order what you have had in the past and liked. However, I would avoid the really expensive stuff simply because you don’t want to use up all his funds and it isn’t really very nice to do.

Personally, I would order some of the following nigiri: salmon, salmon egg, eel, mackeral, tuna (toro), and/or sweet egg (tamago). If I want a roll of some sort I like the spicy tuna roll or the very American Philadelphia roll (smoked salmon, avocado and cream cheese). If I want sashimi I typically order either tuna or salmon.

I also like to start with edamame to nosh on while chatting, followed by miso soup and sunomono, especially if it is all cucumbers. Some places add sashimi to their sunomono, which can be lovely but more filling than you might want.

I like special treats periodically, such as monkfish liver, but when they are really expensive I only get them very rarely and when I have a major craving.

My SO introduced me to sushi (granted it was just California rolls) But I love them!! They make a great lunch, not too filling and just enough spice (with a healthy helping of wasabi) to get you through the day.

salmon encased in seaweed wrap with rice. delicious.

Baked green muscles in half shells, ohhh the juice is soo good, mmmm my favorite! Anything salmon yummy! California roll is okay…

SPICY SALMON ROLL!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! SPICY SALMON ROLL. if you already went and came back, do NOT forget to get that next time, or soon!!!

Don’t worry about chopsticks. Japanese people think it’s fine to use fingers. However, it’s not polite to dip the ricey part in the soy sauce. You might want to DRIP soy sauce on the non-ricey part with a chopstick – thereby using chopsticks without actually “using chopsticks”.
Vegetable sushi is the easiest on the newcomer, but if you want to eat fish, get some ebi,
which I believe is cooked shrimp; amaebi is raw shrimp (unless it’s the other way around.
Look at the little photographs.) Stay away from the monkfish liver; you’re not ready for it yet.
Eel, either uni or unagi, is also cooked, but is very rich. Finally, saba is pickled or brined mackerel and as such is “cooked” by the brining liquid. I love it and you may love it too.

@susanc I’ve never heard that, about dipping it into soy sauce. I have heard that in some places, it’s disrespectful to chew more than once.

Go for tempura. It’s the most delicious lightly battered and fried veggies and shrimp you will ever have. If you are squicky about eating raw fish (I don’t blame you, but please do try at least one or two pieces of rolled sushi at least!) it’s the perfect thing to eat.

Here’s a quick guide for any sushi newbie:
Sushi = a small rice finger with a raw fish piece lightly formed on top
Sashimi = just the raw fish.
Makizushi / Maki Sushi / Maki rolls: Sushi rolls, this is what most non-Japanese see when they think of sushi. Can be raw fish but a lot of North American sushi has cooked fish, and interesting combination of veggies and other things. Read the description and have fun. Any one with tempura bits inside are HEAVEN, order them for sure.

Sushi places sometimes have other things to order too:
Katsu: A cutlet (flat piece of meat, breaded and fried). I don’t really recommend this, it’s plain and very normal and plain, but if you’re a picky eater it’s a sure bet if you like chicken or veal.
Udon: Thick buckwheat noodles, served in a yummy light fish broth, and with lots of interesting bits added in. It’s similar to the vietnamese Pho, only with fish instead of beef. The fish taste is not very prominent. Tempura Udon is another sinfully delicious dish.

Oh, do yourself a favour and order a BBQ eel sushi or roll. It is one of the most delicious super yummy things ever. It’s cooked as well, and as far as I remember it the eel doesn’t have a potent or unusual taste to it. The BBQ sauce is what makes it awesome, thus I highly recommend ordering at least one to try it.

Proper sushi etiquette is tricky and no one will fault you for doing what you like or what’s easiest for you. (my mother used to put ginger ON the sushi piece, which is just so not done, as it would overpower the taste of the fish… ok I had to correct her on this one!) At the same time, try to avoid: sticking your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice (this is done in one of their death ceremonies), touching communal bowls with your pointy mouth end of your chopsticks (use the other side of the sticks for this). Slurping noodles is not only permitted but encouraged, it’s a sign that the noodles are so yummy that you just can’t help yourself!

The soy sauce should never touch the rice because the rice is seen as pure and pristine and perfect on its own. In fact, the method of cooking the rice true to tradition involves fanning and clapping the liquid on and using a special paddle to mix it around. Thus adding in soy sauce throws off the delicate balance created by the sushi chef. Some sushi purists take offense at adding in wasabi to the soy sauce, as sometimes the chef has put wasabi on the sushi piece already. Again, due to the differences in the world, don’t concern yourself with such details unless it’s something you really want to do, and know that two different sushi shops will have different amounts of etiquette… thus this etiquette is good to know but not necessary to follow :)

@casheroo, In my long years of sushi eating and living in Japan, I have never heard that. That’s just a choking hazard!

My husband is Japanese and doesn’t have any problem with either mixing wasabi in with the soy sauce in his little individual dish, or dipping nigiri, maki sushi or sashimi in the soy sauce and wasabi mixture.

My sushi eating etiquette is pretty much the exact same @Darwin, mix the wasabi with soy sauce, dipping the sushi rice (it absorbs more) into the mixture. I probably could have clarified that I don’t subscribe to many of the traditional etiquette rules, I want that sushi in my mouth ASAP!

If it is wrapped in seaweed I peel that off, but I love the seaweed salad. I won’t eat anything with little eggs in it, something about the texture makes me gag. I have no problem eating the raw stuff, but Im not sure if I’ve ever tried anything super crazy. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to put the rice in soy, I always do. I also put lots of wasabi in the soy.

@elijah I can’t eat roe either, my husband eats all different kinds and it totally grosses me out! I don’t even get that little orange stuff on my california roll (that’s roe too! sneaking it on as a garnish)

Tempura, or California Roll… Have the coconut soup. Mmmm good…

I also like vegetable or shrimp shumai (little steamed dumplings) and vegetable or shrimp gyoza (fried dumplings). I don’t dig on swine myself, but those are available too.

Oh, wait, this Q was yesterday, wasn’t it?

So whadja eat, @punkrockworld?

When I go for sushi I usually order nigiri and leave the choice to the chef’s discretion. And miso soup.

DRAGON ROLL!!!!!

Sushi is so widespread in America that you probably don’t have to worry about sushi etiquette at anywhere but the very best Japanese restaurants. Sushi actually originated as a pretty humble food, but fresh fish is expensive over here and other Japanese food is less common, so people tend to worry about making the right impression.

Most sushi restaurants have combos of different sizes, so if you don’t know what to pick you can just order one of those. The a la carte menu is pretty straightforward, and it’s more fun because you can pick things yourself. You can usually order either six rolls at a time or two pieces. If I’m getting raw fish I like pieces (nigiri) better. You don’t have to use chopsticks. It’s still polite to pick them up with your hands to eat them. The restaurant will usually give you a hand towel or a moist towelette for this. (But here’s a guide to using chopsticks in case. Just hold one steady and move the other one. http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-with-Chopsticks)

These are cooked:
eel roll- barbecue eel with rice, sometimes with avocado.
Philadelphia roll- smoked salmon, cream cheese
California roll
Oshinko roll- a type of sweet pickled… radish? I think it’s a radish or a beet.

Anyway, why are you worried? Your boyfriend probably doesn’t care if you look stupid.