International Sushi Day 2015: 7 Fun Facts And How To Eat Sushi

Rice, raw fish and seaweed: What more could there be to know about sushi? There’s actually plenty of fun things to learn. Like “sushi” refers to the way the rice is flavored with vinegar and has nothing to do with the fish being uncooked. In honor of Thursday, International Sushi Day, some interesting tidbits about sushi are listed below, courtesy of Backyard Bite and About Travel.

1. Sushi is considered a finger food. It’s traditional to eat it with your hands and not use chopsticks. In fact, it’s encouraged. Wait for sashimi, which is slices of raw fish, to use chopsticks.

2. Forget what your mother taught you. When it comes to eating sushi, it’s proper manners to eat each piece right away instead of letting the dish get cold or warm.

3. Not only is it wasteful, but it’s considered bad form to leave behind soy sauce. And sushi rice should not be dipped in soy sauce. To add the sauce, only dip the fish part of the roll. If the rice becomes saturated and falls apart, this is considered sloppy.

4. Don’t leave chopsticks in the upright position in your bowl since it’s a symbol of offering food to the dead. Instead, place them across the place setting.

5. It’s widely believed that the sushi we know and love today originated in Japan, but inspiration for fermented fish wrapped in sour rice might have begun around the Mekong River in Southeast Asia before making its way into China and finally Japan.

6. It might be expensive now, but sushi originated as cheap fast food people would eat during a theater performance.

7. Sushi chefs used to have to undergo 10 years of training before they could get hired in a restaurant.

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